Leveling Guide
Scholastic has provided this leveling guide to help you align TRIO with
your existing curriculum with the goal of matching your readers to the
appropriate text for successful growth in reading.
At Scholastic, we know that teachers across the country use multiple
systems to level their books when matching books to readers. The
levels included in this guide are: Lexile Levels, Guided Reading Levels,
and DRA Levels.
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The TRIO™ Library contains books at the “just-right” levels, including a span
of ranges in each set to meet the needs of the diverse student levels in
today’s classroom.
An independent level is one at which students can read text with 95%
accuracy. This means that the level is comfortable enough so that children
don’t stumble on individual words.
TRIO book levels serve as a guide and can be altered according to the
needs of your students. These books have been leveled using scales that
teachers know and are comfortable with – Lexile, Guided Reading and DRA.
Since each leveling tool measures text in a different way, the two scales may
sometimes rate the relative difficulty level of a pair of books differently and
appear to have been placed out of order. The Scholastic Editors have used their
best judgment when placing books in the below-, on-, and above-level
categories. An individual teacher may choose to reassign a book to a different
individual or group of students based on his or her own judgment.
Lexile Levels
The Lexile measure is a number indicating the reading demand of the text in terms
of the semantic difficulty (vocabulary) and syntactic complexity (sentence length).
The Lexile scale ranges from 200 to 1700 Lexiles, although actual Lexile measures
can range from below zero to above 2000 Lexiles.
To help you understand the codes: Beginning Reading (BR) A text designated as
"BR" is any text that has a Lexile measure of one hundred or below. The measure is
shown only as "BR" without the number appearing.
Non-Prose (NP) A text designated as "NP" is any book whose content is at least
50% nonstandard prose, like poems, plays, and songs.
Guided Reading Levels*
According to Fountas and Pinnell, guided reading is a small group instructional
process in which a teacher works directly with students of the same reading level.
Building fluency requires individualized reading practice in materials that are at the
student’s independent reading level. This means students are reading the selected
text with a 95% accuracy rate.
To help you understand guided reading levels: The levels, identified by the
letters A - Z are organized along a continuum of increasing difficulty. Levels are
assigned based on different factors including, book length, layout, illustrations,
internal text structure, content, and theme.
*The guided reading levels that follow have been assigned by expert educators based on the following
resource guides, and have not been officially sanctioned by the authors:
•
Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, Matching Books to Readers, Using Leveled books in Guided Reading K-3 (Heinemann,
1999)
•
Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, Guided Readers and Writers Grades 3-6 (Heinemann 2001)
DRA Levels*
The Developmental Reading Assessment was created for primary classroom teachers
to assess their students’ reading progress and to identify their instructional needs.
DRA levels are intended to guide teachers' ongoing observations of children's
progress within a literature-based reading program.
*These levels are based on the conversion of Guided Reading levels, and sanctioned by the research of E.
Jane Williams, Ph.D. in Preliminary Validation of the Developmental Reading Assessment.
Set 2
Social Studies
Family History
The Blue Mittens (Rachel Mann)
A Birthday Basket for Tia (Pat Mora)
Lexile Level Guided Reading
BR
400
Level
DRA
Level
K
L
20
24
The Hickory Chair (Lisa Rowe Fraustino)
700
O
34
Community Workers
Firefighters (Christopher Mitten)
Fire! Fire! (Gail Gibbons)
Fire Fighters (Robert Maass)
330
540
740
M
M
N
28
28
30
Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman (Philip Abraham)
Harriet Tubman (Wil Mara)
Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky (Faith Ringgold)
200
370
760
F
H
M
10
14
28
Famous Americans
Martin Luther King Jr.
George Washington: Our First President (Garnet Jackson)
A Picture Book of Eleanor Roosevelt (David A. Adler)
450
350
680
F
K
M
10
20
28
Volcanoes
Boom! (Howard Gutner)
Volcanoes (Lily Wood)
The Magic School Bus® Blows Its Top (Gail Herman)
360
540
540
M
M
P
28
28
38
Life Cycles
Penguins (Janet Reed)
The Emperor’s Egg (Jenkins)
Penguins! (Gail Gibbons)
260
570
610
K
M
O
20
28
34
Sound
Beat It! (Ellen Tarlow)
Sounds All Around (Wendy Pfeffer)
Hearing Sounds (Sally Hewitt) It’s Science
130
510
680
K
O
P
20
34
38
Plants
From Acorn to Oak Tree (Jan Kottke)
Fall Leaves Change Colors (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld)
A Tree Is Growing (Arthur Dorros)
410
500
790
H
I
M
14
16
28
Science
Lexile Level
Guided
Reading Level
DRA Level
Three Fables (Maryann Dobeck)
City Mouse-Country Mouse (John Wallner)
Aesop’s Fables (Ann McGovern)
150
400
780
I
J
K
16
18
20
Multicultural Tales
The Very Big Potato (Janelle Cherrington)
Tikki Tikki Tembo (Arlene Mosel)
The Legend of the Bluebonnet (Tomie dePaola)
140
BR
630
F
L
O
10
24
34
Variant Tales
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Melissa Stuart)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (James Marshall)
Leola and the Honeybears (Rosales)
70
570
800
I
L
O
16
24
34
Grade 2 Favorites
Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia (Peggy Parish)
Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend (Cynthia Rylant)
Shipreck Saturday (Bill Cosby)
220
340
490
L
J
K
24
18
20
Language Arts
Fables
Set 3
Lexile Level
Guided
Reading
Level
DRA Level
Immigrant Stories
On Their Way (Meish Goldish)
If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island (Ellen Levine)
Coming to America (Betsy Maestro)
200
800
890
N
Q
L
30
40
24
Native American Culture
Native American Art (Motil)
American Indian Festivals (Jay Miller)
Totem Pole (Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith)
640
700
860
Q
M
N
40
28
30
Our Country
Our Flag (Cynthia Rothman)
The Story of the White House (Kate Waters)
The Statue of Liberty (Patricia Ryan Quiri)
360
710
740
J
S
P
18
40
38
American Inventors
What a Great Idea! (Liane Onish)
Five Notable Inventors (Wade Hudson)
A Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison (David A. Adler)
360
620
730
J
P
P
18
38
38
Deserts
Desert Life (Rachel Mann)
Cactus Hotel (Brenda Z. Guiberson)
One Day in the Desert (Jean Craighead George)
610
700
860
O
K
P
34
20
38
Solar System
The Sun’s Family of Planets (Fowler)
The Magic School Bus® Lost in the Solar System (Joanna Cole)
A Book About Planets and Stars (Betty Polisar Reigot)
470
480
700
I
P
O
16
38
34
Weather
Weather or Not (Maryann Dobeck)
Thunderstorms (Paul P. and Diane M. Sipiera)
Can It Rain Cats and Dogs? (Melvin and Gilda Berger)
420
490
710
N
M
N
30
28
30
380
690
770
Lexile Level
N
N
L
30
30
24
DRA Level
Social Studies
Science
Dinosaurs
At Work in a Museum (Robin Bromley)
A Dinosaur Named Sue (Fay Robinson)
Apatosaurus (Elaine Landau)
Language Arts
Pourquoi Tales
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Joseph and James Bruchac)
A Wise Wish (Anne Miranda)
260
300
Guided
Reading
Level
L
L
24
24
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (Verna Aardema) 770/N
770
N
30
Multicultural Tales
It Takes a Village (Jane Cowen-Fletcher)
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (Paul Goble)
One Grain of Rice (Demi)
390
670
830
N
M
M
30
28
28
Mysteries
Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones (David A. Adler)
The Boxcar Children: The Haunted Cabin Mystery (Getrude ChandlerWarner)
Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake! (Donald J. Sobol)
490
630
880
L
O
Q
24
34
40
Grade 3 Favorites
Doctor De Soto (Walter Steig)
Fourth Grade Rats (Jerry Spinelli) 340/M
Charlotte’s Web (E. B. White)
560
340
680
M
M
Q
28
28
40
Set 4
Lexile Level
Guided
Reading
Level
DRA Level
U.S. Explorers
In Their Own Words: Lewis and Clark (George Sullivan)
Lewis and Clark (Andrew Santella) [Watts Library]
Sacajawea (Joseph Bruchac)
710
710
840
R
S
Y
40
40
-
Famous Americans
A Picture Book of Helen Keller (David A. Adler)
The Story of George Washington Carver (Eva Moore)
Indian Chiefs (Russell Freedman)
660
700
1030
M
N
S
28
30
40
The Old West
California or Bust! (Judith Stamper)
The Legend of Freedom Hill (Linda Jacobs Altman)
Rachel’s Journal (Marissa Moss)
460
680
930
M
P
Q
28
38
40
The 50 States
Look What Came From the United States (Kevin Davis)
Fabulous Facts About the 50 States (Wilma Ross)
State Flags (Sue R. Brandt)
NL
690
NL
P
Q
P
38
40
38
400
760
1020
O
O
P
34
34
38
440
770
P
N
P
38
30
38
500
730
NL
P
M
W
38
28
44
450
770
980
Lexile Level
P
S
N
38
40
30
DRA Level
Social Studies
Science
Inventions
Inventions (Meish Goldish)
The Kids’ Invention Book (Arlene Erlbach)
Incredible Inventions (Nick Griffiths)
Wild Weather
Weather (Julian Fleisher)
Do Tornadoes Really Twist? (Melvin and Gilda Berger)
Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms (Patricia Lauber)
Rocks
The Magic School Bus® Inside the Earth (Joanna Cole)
Rocks and Minerals (Edward R. Ricciuti)
A Look at Rocks (Jo S. Kittinger)
Rain Forest
In the Rain Forest (Dina Anastasio)
Exploring the Rain Forest (Mattias Klum and Hans Odoo)
Life in the Rainforests (Lucy Baker)
Language Arts
Grade 4 Favorites
School Days (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Encyclopedia Brown Sets the Pace (Donald Sobol)
Beezus and Ramona (Beverly Cleary)
520
660
780
Guided
Reading
Level
M
P
O
28
38
34
Poetry
Sidewalk Chalk: Poems of the City (Carole Boston Weatherford)
A Pizza the Size of the Sun (Jack Prelutzky)
Plum (Tony Mitton)
NP
NP
NP
NL
NL
NL
N/A
N/A
N/A
Tall Tales
The Tall Tale of John Henry (David Neufeld)
McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm (Sid Fleischman)
American Tall Tales (Mary Pope Osborne)
570
630
970
T
O
Q
44
34
40
African-American Biographies
Let Freedom Sing (Kay Livorse)
Duke Ellington (Andrea Davis Pinkney)
Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson (Barry Denenberg)
460
800
930
T
L
V
44
24
44
Set 5
Lexile Level
Guided
Reading
Level
DRA Level
World War II
In the Time of War (Daniel Ahearn)
Memories of Anne Frank (Alison Gold)
A Place to Hide (Jayne Pettit)
310
890
1120
R
X
X
40
-
American Revolution
The British Are Coming! (Capers White)
American Revolution (Joy Masoff)
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? (Jean Fritz)
330
910
1000
R
V
R
40
44
40
Escape to Freedom
Harriet Tubman (Dina Anastasio)
Two Tickets To Freedom (Florence B. Freedman)
Freedom Train (Dorothy Sterling)
450
1030
910
R
S
U
40
40
44
Immigration
Journey to Ellis Island (Carol Bierman)
Ellis Island (R. Conrad Stein)
The Journal of Otto Peltonen (William Durbin)
750
810
1010
R
S
W
40
40
44
Outdoor Scientists
Destination: Everest (Karen Glenn)
Destination: Antarctica (Robert Swan)
Mountain Survivor’s Guide (Rory Storm)
450
900
1140
L
X
Z
24
-
Oceans
Do Whales Have Belly Buttons? (Melvin and Gilda Berger)
What Makes an Ocean Wave? (Melvin and Gilda Berger)
Life in the Oceans (Lucy Baker)
730
870
940
N
O
T
30
34
44
Solar System
Solar System (Gregory Vogt)
Seeing Earth From Space (Patricia Lauber)
The Usborne Book of Space Facts (Struan Reid)
580
890
1080
M
Y
Z
28
-
630
1010
1050
Lexile Level
N
N
U
30
30
44
DRA Level
Social Studies
Science
Learning From Stone
Mesa Verde (Meish Goldish)
Limestone Caves (Roy Gallant)
Stories in Stone (Jo S. Kittinger)
Language Arts
Historical Fiction
A Ballad of the Civil War (Mary Stolz)
Abraham’s Battle: A Novel of Gettysburg (Sara Harrell Banks)
680
750
Guided
Reading
Level
T
NR
44
44
The Journal of James Edmond Pease (Jim Murphy)
1070
V
44
Autobiography
26 Fairmount Ave. (Tomie DePaola)
Knots in My Yo-yo String (Jerry Spinelli)
Under the Royal Palms (Alma Flor Ada)
760
980
1070
P
U
T
38
44
44
Grade 5 Favorites
Crazy For Chocolate (Frieda Wishinsky)
The Borrowers (Mary Norton)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
520
780
940
O
S
T
34
40
44
Author Study
Smiffy Blue: Ace Crime Detective (Walter Dean Myers)
Somewhere in the Darkness (Walter Dean Myers)
The Greatest: Mohammed Ali (Walter Dean Myers)
540
750
1030
O
Y
W
34
-
Set 6
Lexile Level
Guided
Reading
Level
DRA Level
Ancient Civilizations
Archaeology (Dennis Fradin)
Ancient Greece (Susan Altman and Susan Lechner)
City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (David Macaulay)
700
NP
1100
O
NL
Z
34
44
-
Ancient World Leaders
Confucius: The Golden Rule (Russell Freedman)
Hannibal (Robert Green)
Cleopatra (Robert Green)
1080
980
1060
W
T
X
44
-
The Titanic
Titanic (Howard Gutner)
Exploring the Titanic (Robert D. Ballard)
Voyage on the Great Titanic (Ellen Emerson White)
790
980
1090
V
Q
W
40
-
Civil Rights
Little Rock Nine (Carolyn Clark)
Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court (Deborah Kent)
The Day Martin Luther King, Jr., Was Shot (Jim Haskins)
850
900
1140
S
S
Y
40
40
-
Wildlife Conservation
Saving the Animals (James Marlett)
Wildlife Rescue: The Work of Dr. Kathleen Ramsay (Jennifer Owings Dewey)
Sea Otter Rescue: The Aftermath of an Oil Spill (Roland Smith)
660
900
1160
S
U
W
40
44
-
Ecology
Spare the Mare! (Robert Lawson)
Listening to Crickets (Barbara Ransom)
50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth (The Earthworks Group)
580
930
900
Q
T
S
40
44
40
Mummies
Under Wraps (Meish Goldish)
Mummies Bones & Body Parts (Charlotte Wilcox)
Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure (Lila Perl)
670
900
1090
W
V
Z
-
450
830
1080
Lexile Level
S
T
Y
40
44
DRA Level
Social Studies
Science
Natural Disasters
The Chicago Fire (Howard Gutner)
Volcano (Patricia Lauber)
Blizzard! (Jim Murphy)
Language Arts
Thrillers
Frankenstein [based on the novel by Mary Shelley] (Terry M. West)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Eight Tales of Terror (Edgar A. Poe)
300
990
1340
Guided
Reading
Level
NL
Z
Z
-
Classics
Moby Dick [based on the novel by Herman Melville] (Terry M. West)
Gulliver’s Stories (Edward Dolch) [retold from Jonathan Swift]
Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne)
410
800
1070
Grade 6 Favorites
Bluish (Virginia Hamilton)
Sounder (William H. Armstrong)
Brian’s Winter (Gary Paulsen)
460
900
1140
Myths
Demeter and Persephone (Trina Robbins)
Favorite Greek Myths retold by(Mary Pope Osborne)
The Adventures of Ulysses (Bernard Evslin)
250
870
860
NL
P
Z
24
38
-
U
T
R
44
44
40
Q
N
Z
40
30
-