Hi, Thanks for your comments below. I think you're right when you say that teachers think about reading level when they thing about appropriate text for their students. Thinking about different layers is a good way to get away from that. So, for example, for early readers text that is interesting but easy for them could help them keep moving. Too many layers that get in the way of enjoyment and understanding can be frustrating for beginning readers. Elisa
Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The key is that I thinking text can be deemed challenging on many layers: reading "level" (whatever that means), vocabulary, lack of prior knowledge, text structure, genre, "meaning", purpose, interest, content, etc. From what I've read and observed, students must be challeged on at least one layer in order for them to become authentically absorbed in the text. When they are challenged on too many layers, that is when text becomes frustrating and the meaning-making process often breaks down in a big way. The problem I see is that teachers typically seem to only think about "reading level" when answering this question. I think we owe it to kids to make the conversation about so much more than that! I've found that instructional decisions are the most sound when we make them based on RIGOR (which can be achieved in multiple ways), RELEVANCE (kids "get" the point and engage authentically), and RESPECT (building a respectful relationship between student and teacher, but also helping students to build a respectful relationship between themselves and learning.)
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