READING LEVELS & BEHAVIORS  FOR
EMERGING  AND DEVELOPING READERS

• is learning letter names and sound associations
• is developing phonemic awareness skills
• is learning about the concept of story and how to handle books.
• is learning about basic concepts of print.  Examples, include left to right directionality, concepts of letter and word.

Levels A, B, C

Kindergarten

• has some familiarity with the handling of books and concept of story.
• is beginning to understand basic concepts of print, including direction.
• uses memory and pictures as cues to predict text.
• uses language to figure out unknown words.
• uses some letter sounds to figure out unknown words.
• is beginning to look at the picture and cross-check the word.
• can recognize some familiar words in text.

Levels D, E, F

First Grade

• is beginning to look beyond the first letter of the word to decode words.  For example, word endings and chunks.
• uses pictures and personal experiences as cues when reading text.
• uses visual information and language as cues when reading text.
• sight word knowledge is increasing.
• can read books with several lines of text.

First Grade

• can hold meaning with less picture support and less pattern of text structure.
• demonstrates more independent solving of unknown words using a variety of cue sources.
• demonstrates more consistent self-monitoring and self-correction with little or no prompting.

Levels H 

First  Grade

• can process text independently
• solves new words by more efficient visual analysis using a balance of cue sources.
• reads with more accuracy, requiring less self-correction.
• monitors reading and self-corrects independently.

Levels I and J

End of First/Beginning Second

• maintains meaning through longer, more complex text.
• reads a greater variety of text.
• reading fluency will adjust with the purpose of reading
• can read silently for increasing periods of time.
• increasing range of comprehension skills.
• is able to decode words in a variety of ways.

Level K, L and M

 Second Grade 

• can read long stretches of text fluently and have little difficulty solving new words in context.
• regularly read silently for extended periods of time.
• reads text which are increasingly complex in their demands on the language and comprehension skills of the reader.
• chooses books from a wide range of genres.