Fountas and Pinnell reading levels

"Mom and dad, I am reading at a level M!"

Have you been greeted with that news and wondered what does that mean?  Below is a brief description of each level, as detailed by Scholastic books, and examples of books at each level.

The transition in third grade is from

"Learning to Read"

to

"Reading to Learn!"

Level J: Informational books with new concepts and beginning chapter books with complex narratives and memorable characters.  These books require the reader to problem-solve through a longer text read over several days.  The books have full pages of text with few illustrations to support meaning and understanding.  Ex. Dig Dig Digging, The Rain Came Down, Just Us Women, Young Cam Jansen series, Inside an Ant Colony, How Do Your Lungs Work?, Bear Shadow, and Looking at Maps and Globes.

Level K: Chapter books and short informational books with difficult concepts; readers learn about concepts and events outside of their own experiences.  Readers need to use a variety of strategies to figure out different writing styles. Ex. Chrysanthemum, Frog and Toad All Year, The Gym Teacher from the Black Lagoon, A Girl Named Helen Keller, and Chickens Aren't the Only Ones.

Level L: Books are much longer and more complex. It includes biographies,longer texts with multisyllabic words and expand the readers' vocabulary.  Some texts present abstract and symbolic themes. Ex. Amelia Bedelia series, Cam Jansen series, Tony Baloney, Anansi books, Young Thurgood Marshall: A Fighter for Equality, The Grapes of Math, Tell Me Planets Have Wings, Spiders, & The Mud Pony.

Level M: text includes more complex language and requires readers to make interpretations. Most books have greatly expanded vocabulary.  Print is smaller with narrower word spacing. Ex. Jigsaw Jones Mysteries,The Lamb Who Came for Dinner, Bailey School Kids series, Stink: The incredible Shrinking Kid, Five True Horse Stories, Turtles Take Their Time, and California or Bust! 

Level N: Vocabulary continues to expand and topics go beyond readers' own experiences. Variety of text offers readers a chance to interpret information and speculate on alternative meanings. Ex. Detective Larue: Letters from the Investigation, Monarch Butterfly, Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears, Fables, Special Olympics, and Louis Braille: the Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind.

Level 0: Longer books presenting varied vocabulary that requires readers to interpret the meaning of texts. More sophisticated subjects and more complex sentence structure. Ex. Amelia Earhart: Adventure in the Sky, A Mouse Called Wolf, You Can't Taste a Pickle in Your Ear,Chocolate Fever,The Patchwork Quilt, Stargazers, Where There Was Smoke, and Boxcar Children series.

Level P: Informational texts include history and biography, enabling readers to learn how to gain information from a variety of structures.  Concepts may include issues of early adolescence. Ex. Gooseberry Park, Magic Pickle and the Planet of the Grapes, Da Wild, Da Crazy , Da Vinci, Helen Keller's Teacher, Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone: a Math Adventure, and The Magic Schoolbus series.

Level Q: Themes that foster group discussion, relationship of illustrations to text offers opportunities for exploration and discussions as well. Text contains difficult words, some from languages other than English. Ex. All About Manatees, Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street, Bunnicula, Punished!, You Be the Detective, and Folktales from China.

Level R: Sophisicated vocabulary to challenge readers, some of the longer chapter books require sustained reading effort over several sittings.  Books present a wide range of times in history. Ex. Clarice Bean Spells Trouble, Miracles on Maple Hill, The Island, The Report Card, The Trumpet of the Swan, The Great Fire, Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? and Brian's Winter.

Level S: Selections challenge readers to make connections with previously read books and historical events; words present many shades of meaning that require readers' interpretation.  This level includes chapter books in a variety of genres. Ex. Confessions of a Gym Class Dropout, The Good Dog, Taking Sides, When Women Played Baseball, Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Bluish, The Civil Rights Movement in America and Earthquake; the Story of Old San Francisco.

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