Many early reading programs assign children to books by reading level. What are the pros and cons of such programs?

Many beginning readers programs are organized around leveled books. That is, they organize books in a progression from simple to more complex and challenging and then assign children to read books that are labeled at their level.

There are many ways to determine the level of difficulty for a particular book. Some programs use readability formulas to determine grade level. For example, the Frye formula involves counting the number of syllables and sentences per hundred words at the beginning, middle, and end of a book, then dividing the average number of syllables by the average number of number of sentences. The number is plotted on a graph that provides the approximate grade level of the text. Other systems, for example that discussed by Irene Fountas and Gaye Su Pinnell,^[4] organize texts by level of difficulty according to characteristics such as the number of high-frequency words, natural language and familiar content. What are some reasons that you might choose to use either of these methods? What are some of the cautions you might raise with each approach.

In an article from The Reading Teacher Edna Brabham and Susan Kidd Vilaume suggest there is "good news and bad news" regarding the use of leveled texts.^[5] Give your own points in favor of using leveled books with young readers. Then list reasons against this approach.

^[4] Irene Fountas and Gaye Su Pinnnell. Matching Books to Readers: Using leveled Texts in Guided reading. Portsmouth NH Heinemann, 1999.
^[5] Edna Greene Brabham and Susan Kidd Vilaume. Leveled Text: The Good News and the Bad News. The Reading Teacher V 55,#6 February 2002. 438-441.