Quick Reference Sheet for Leveled Books
Level A

One line of print with few words, about 8 pages

Ample space between words, large font, consistent print placement, strong
picture support

Follows natural language, familiar topics

High frequency words
Level B

Two or more lines of print, longer sentences, about 8 pages

Ample space between words, large font

Follows natural language, familiar topics and characters

Dialogue, high frequency words
Level C

Straightforward plot, few characters, about 8 pages

Longer sentences connected with and

Compound words and high frequency words

Strong picture support, dialogue
Level D

Longer, more complex stories

Topics generally familiar, but may be abstract

Starting to vary from natural language

Compound sentences connected with and

Sentences may be carried over to the next page

Illustrations begin to enhance the text

High frequency words, words with inflected endings

10 – 20 pages
Level E

More complex ideas, embedded phrases and clauses

Realistic, fantasy, and simple informational books

Fonts vary in size, 10 – 20 pages

Moderate picture support

More interesting vocabulary
Level F

10 – 30 pages, require sustaining meaning over pages

More written language than spoken language

Everyday life, human and animal fantasy, simple folktale, simple informational

Texts may be short with unusual language, abstract concepts
Level G

Little support through repetition

Several events and characters

Opportunities to solve words with regular spelling patterns

Challenge in ideas and vocab (technical words)

Greater variety in text layout

Illustrations support and extend

Longer texts requiring students to remember information over time
Level H

Text layout varied greatly, longer stories (10-30)

Literary and poetic language (some texts)

Multisyllable words

Moderate picture support, pictures appear on most pages in the story

Realistic fiction, fantasy, folktale, informational

Characters learn and change, events require interpretation
Level I

Mostly narrative, some informational

Realistic fiction, fantasy, folktales

One main problem with a solution, multiple events to understand

Characters and events require interpretation

Smaller font, 30-40 pages, layout varies

Great deal of dialogue

Most new sentences begin at the left margin

“chapter-like” books
Level J

Similar to Level I, but longer – over 50 pages

Chapter books, great deal of dialogue

Adjectives and adverbs

One plot with several episodes, but most books cover a period of 1 day

Word solving requires automatic recognition of a large number of words and
quick solving of three and four syllable words
Level K

Longer, slightly more complex chapter books

15–75 pages

Shorter books may have difficult vocabulary and concepts

Some historical fiction that does not require extensive background

Different writing styles

Multiple episodes related to a single plot that take place over a longer period of
time

Vocab that is not common in spoken language

Analyzing language for humor

Perspectives of characters

Several characters may talk on one page

Black and white pictures placed thorough the text
Level L

Longer picture books, chapter books

Text include illustrations, but students rely on them less

Full range of genres from realistic fiction to biography

Students may need background info

Multiple characters and interactions

Symbolic or abstract themes

Sophisticated plots, take place over an extended period of time, events build on
each other

More characters are speaking and dialogue is not always assigned

70-80 pages, many conventions (ellipses, italics, all capitals, indentations, bold
letters)
Level M

Topics vary widely from familiar to brand new subjects

Longer chapter books feature everyday adventures with few illustrations

Shorter books are more literary

Complex themes – respect for differences, loneliness, seeking independence,
ethical treatment of animals

Lots of text in small print with narrower spacing

Vocab specific to context – may be introduced to create a feeling of mood

Dialogue not always assigned
Text Difficulty by Band Rather than Level
Lucy Calkins
February 9, 2010
In order to:

make strategy lessons more focused on the skills readers need to be able to
equip readers to do new work and,

to make the work at various Bands of levels portable,
Lucy Calkins has developed a set of characteristics in reading bands rather than just
reading levels. Use read alouds in new text band so you can mentor students in that
band.
Band of K,L,M (Nate the Great to the Paint Brush Kid)

Required to carry storyline throughout book, across chapters

Characters don’t change – few dominant, labeled characteristics (Horrible Harry)

Name of book often names problem in story

Follow predictable story structure

Character often wants something concrete

At the higher end of the band, character gets not the concrete thing but what
motivated the character to want concrete thing (doesn’t get popular shoes, but
becomes popular anyway)

Harder words (2-3 syllable words, and subject specific words)
Band of N,O,P,Q (Forever Amber to Chocolate Touch and A-Z mysteries to
Fudgeamania)

Characters become more ambivalent (Amber Brown wants to be a teenager and
a kid at the same time)

Problem has more angles
o Teach kids to ask what the central problem is
o Teach kids to keep their eyes on the central storyline, while being
willing to revise thinking as more information is revealed over time
o Teach kids to ask why the characters do what they do, realizing there
can be more than one cause

Characters are complex, but not usually subtle, feelings labeled by author

Academic language, tricky phrases and passages
o Language requires world knowledge
o Language can lead readers astray, requiring readers to self-correct
and change interpretations if text doesn’t support interpretation
Band of R,S,T (Because of Winn-Dixie to Tiger Rising to Bridge to Terabithia)

Place becomes a major element (historical fiction, example). Place is the
character!

Characters more complex, internal, emotional lives – not labeled, must infer

Problems more complex-layered with meaning

Tricky chapters – expect that sometimes you will not understand what’s going
on, but keep reading to become clearer
Band of U,V,W (Number the Stars to Stargirl to Freak the Mighty)

Stories told chronologically but sometimes with back story

Multiple plot lines and sub plots

Characters and settings become symbolic of bigger themes

Characters are increasingly teenagers

Point of view increasingly important – some perspective is adult requiring
understanding of the complexities of the adult world

Very often story is a statement if major social issues like oppression, injustice, or
social norms

Author wants confusion for the reader

Reader usually understands more than the character involved
Band of X,Y,Z (Where the Red Fern Grows to Of Mice and Men)

Discussion on these levels still in progress – some books leveled as Z because
of adult content, not text complexity

Multiple genres included

Multiple voices

Overlapping and conflicting perspectives

Reader must engage in figuring-tings-out work while reading

Requires a lot of world knowledge and knowledge of other texts

Many literary references

Books may be set up as puzzles

Characters use vernacular and vocabulary from an other time and place
Adapted from Lucy Calkins workshop February 9, 2010