Books for Preconventional Readers Children at the Preconventional stage take their first steps as readers with wordless books. Tana Hoban has written over two dozen wordless books, such as Look! Look! Look! (1992), that spark conversations and focus preconventional readers on details in the illustrations. These appealing texts encourage students to use their oral language to tell stories. Some children can also read simple “label books” with one or two words on a page that match the illustration or photograph. For instance, Growing Colors by Bruce McMillan (1988) includes pictures of objects from nature. The matching label is a color word (e.g., “yellow” for a sunflower). By matching pictures to a word, children begin to focus on print and mimic the reading behaviors of siblings and adults. PRECONVENTIONAL READERS AND BOOK CHARACTERISTICS Student Behaviors Book Characteristics • Begins to choose reading materials (e.g., books, • Illustrations provide strong support. magazines, and charts) and has favorites. • Some texts are wordless. • Shows interest in reading signs, labels, and logos • Some texts have 1–2 words per page. (environmental print). • Some texts have one line of print per page. • Recognizes own name in print. • Illustrations appear on every page. • Holds book and turns pages correctly. • Illustrations closely match the text. • Shows beginning/end of book or story. • Illustrations often show concrete and familiar objects or • Knows some letter names. actions. • Listens and responds to literature. • Print placement is consistent. • Comments on illustrations in books. • Simple text follows consistent structure. • Participates in group reading (books, rhymes, poems, • Text includes clear spacing between words. and songs). • Print is large and clear. Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Leveling System™: A PRECONVENTIONAL BOOK LIST Fiction Hiccup by Mercer Mayer B Look! Look! Look! by Tana Hoban Going on a Lion Hunt by Harriet Ziefert and Mavis Smith The Snowman by Raymond Briggs Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann Sunshine by Jan Ormerod One, Two, Three to the Zoo by Eric Carle In the Woods by Ermanno Cristini Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie de Paola B Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day & Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle (A) The Trunk by Brian Wildsmith Monster Muffins by Rosann Englebretson A Boy, a Dog and a Frog by Mercer Mayer B Dig, Dig by Leslie Wood (A) B School by Emily Arnold McCully B The Bath by Judy Nayer (A) Of Color and Things by Tana Hoban B A Party by Joy Cowley (A) Early Morning in the Barn by Nancy Tafuri B The Toy Box by Andrea Butler (A) Peter Spier’s Rain by Peter Spier B Look What I Can Do by Jose Aruego (A) Who’s Counting? by Nancy Tafuri I See a Song by Eric Carle Deep In the Forest by Brian Turkle Nonfiction We Hide, You Seek by Jose Aruego I Read Signs by Tana Hoban Animals A to Z by David McPhail Family by Helen Oxenbury & Tabby by Aliki B A Zoo by Andrea Butler (A) Change, Changes by Pat Hutchins B Growing Colors by Bruce McMillan (A) One Hunter by Pat Hutchins Tail, Toes, Eyes, Ears, Nose by Marilee Burton Developmental Continuums, Figure 4.2 Copyright © 2001 Christopher-Gordon Publishers Books for Emerging Readers (Ages 4–6) At the Emerging stage, students begin to attend to both the illustrations and print. Some of the first books that children learn to read are books with rhythm and repetition. For instance, Have You Seen My Cat? (Eric Carle, 1988) begins with the question in the title and the rest of the story is carried through the illustrations. Many of you have listened to students or your own children proudly “read” books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Bill Martin, Jr., 1967), which they have memorized. Repeated reading and subsequent memorization provide the foundation upon which young readers can build. Short books at this stage, like Everyone Wears Wool (Gare Thompson, 1997), have illustrations or photographs on each page that closely match the text. Some simple texts, such as The Bicycle (Joy Cowley, 1983), have only 8–10 pages. The new Social Studies Emergent Readers by Scholastic are examples of eight‐page nonfiction books with interesting content and simple texts of two or three words. Books at the end of this list may include one or two lines of print on each page and sentences that may run onto the next page. These books can be 10–20 pages and may include simple dialogue and a few compound words. EMERGING READERS AND BOOK CHARACTERISTICS Student Behaviors Book Characteristics • Memorizes pattern books, poems, and familiar • Texts reflect common experiences, familiar objects and books. actions. • Begins to read signs, labels, and logos • Some texts include repetition of one or two sentence patterns. (environmental print). • Patterns change only slightly (1–2 words change). • Demonstrates eagerness to read. • Texts include 1–3 lines of print per page. • Pretends to read. • Texts include memorable, repetitive language patterns. • Uses illustrations to tell stories. • Texts include an increasing number of high frequency words. • Reads top to bottom, left to right, and front to • Some texts are based on familiar rhymes and songs. back with guidance. • Some texts include varied opening and closing sentences. • Knows most letter names and some letter sounds. • Texts include predominantly oral language structures. • Recognizes some names and words in context. • Illustrations appear on every page. • Makes meaningful predictions with guidance. • Illustrations clearly support the text. • Rhymes and plays with words. • Print placement is consistent. • Participates in reading of familiar books and • Adequate spacing appears between words. poems. • Early books are usually 8–10 pages. • Connects books read aloud to own experiences • Later books are 10–20 pages. with guidance. Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Leveling System™: A B C D EMERGING BOOK LIST Fiction Pigs Peek by Rhonda Cox (C) B Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle (B) B Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.(C) Cat on the Mat by Brian Wildsmith (B) & B The Bicycle by Joy Cowley (C) Can You Find It? by Amy John Casey (B) The Painting by Joy Cowley (C) B Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri (B) Rain by Robert Kalan (C) Carrot Parrot by Jerome Martin I Want a Pet by Barbara Gregorich (C) Mitten, Kitten by Jerome Martin Up Went the Goat by Barbara Gregorich (C) My Cat Muffin by Marjory Gardner (B) B I Went Walking by Sue Williams (C) Bunny Opposites by Anne Meyers (B) Every Monday by Gare Thompson (C) Bo Peep’s Sheep by Gare Thompson (C) Now We Can Go by Ann Jonas The Fox on the Box by Barbara Gregorich (C) & Ben’s Pets by Anne Miranda (C) Developmental Continuums, Figure 4.2 Copyright © 2001 Christopher-Gordon Publishers B The Chick and the Duckling by Mirra Ginsburg (D) The Good Bad Cat by Nancy Antle (D) & B I Like Books by Anthony Browne (D) Things I Like by Anthony Browne (D) B Mary Wore Her Red Dress and Henry Wore His Green Sneakers by Merle Peek (D) Nonfiction Whistle Like a Bird by Sarah Vázquez (D) Everyone Wears Wool by Gare Thompson (A) Look Up, Look Down by Tana Hoban (D) Rainforest Colors by Susan Canizares and Betsey Going to the Pool by Ena Keo (D) Chessen (B) Hide and Seek by Roberta Brown and Sue Carey (D) Dancing by Susan Canizares and Betsey Chessen (B) The Bear Escapes by Gare Thompson (D) Playground Opposites by Anne Meyers (B) Bears on Wheels by Stan and Jan Berenstain (D) B We Like the Sun by Ena Keo (C) What Is Big? by Shane Armstrong and Susan Hartley A Busy Week by Katherine Mead (D) (D) B School Bus by Donald Crews (D) Me Too by Susan Winter It Sounds Like Music by Sarah Vázquez (D) The Haircut by Susan Hartley and Shane Armstrong My Skin by Alan Whitaker (D) (D) I Can by Susan Winter Developmental Continuums, Figure 4.2 Copyright © 2001 Christopher-Gordon Publishers BOOKS FOR DEVELOPING READERS (AGES 5–7) Developing readers encounter more challenging texts as the books become less predictable and readers must focus on the print and use their growing decoding skills. Children at the Developing stage read more challenging pattern books. In some texts, whole sentences may be repeated (e.g., All by Myself by Mercer Mayer, 1983). As books become more difficult, only a few phrases or words may be repeated (e.g., I Like Books by Anthony Browne, 1988). In Cookie’s Week (Cindy Ward, 1988), the days of the week and the illustrations provide cues for young readers. Rhyming text and supporting illustrations can also help Developing readers read these demanding pattern books (e.g., Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, 1990). Books at this stage use more literary language and include some challenging vocabulary, although the text is still supported by the story line and the illustrations. Print placement can vary and sentences are longer. Books at the beginning of this stage are usually about children’s everyday events and experiences. These books often have 2–4 lines of print on a page and range from 10–20 pages. At this stage, students rely on both the illustrations and the print to make meaning. Children read slowly and you can see their eyes move back and forth between the words and the pictures as they cross check for meaning. It is vital that students read texts at the appropriate level as they incorporate new reading strategies into their repertoire. Later in this stage, texts are a bit longer (10–32 pages), with more challenging vocabulary.