Hi, folks. This question is specifically for the children's librarians out there. I have had to help parents locate books according to some of these criteria, and on many of these occasions I have had difficulties doing it. Are there any tips or resources to help us in locating these materials? Please give us your thoughts!
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The best place to find AR levels is www.arbookfind.com . Many local schools use this resource for themselves, and hae the students pick books listed on the website (1000s of titles). My local schools no longer use Lexile levels, but try the database Novelist if you have that question.
ReplyDeleteThe Main Children's staff did a lot of work a few years ago making lists of books owned by JPL according to the Fountas and Pinnell Alpha Leveled Book List used by the public school system. One list for each list of books, i.e. "K" or "S" level. These lists can be found in the G:Shared drive under G:\SHARED\MAIN LIBRARY\Children's\Bibliographies\Alphabet Levels. This won't cover the most recent books, but is a great resource for older stuff that we actually own.
ReplyDeleteAlso, NoveList has a great Lexile system. You can look up books by putting in a number or range of numbers, or get the number for any book they've got listed by putting in the title.
In 2007, DCPS and JPL coordinated on the recommended summer reading lists, coming up with books we own, and also putting the letter levels that DCPS uses. These older lists are still very valuable, and many Children's depts still have them to give out (at DU, we use them frequently.)
Of course, each school pays for their own set of AR tests, and only that school can supply the exact books their students can test for. Try the school's website for their specific list. It's complicated, not standardized, and not mandatory (in most cases). It limits what the children are willing to read, because they frequently don't want to be bothered if they don't get credit for a book. And the most recent titles don't usually have tests.
Don't forget the Lexile website! I've found it easy-to-use and relatively quick to load (always a bonus @ JPL). If someone wants to know the Lexile score for a certain book, often you can find it using their site.
ReplyDeleteAlso, check your reference section for books on Fountas & Pinnell. During a fit of frustration once, I started typing madly into the computer and found out that my library owned an entire guide in our reference section! Now that we know its there, we use it all the time.
Usborne Books features specific lists of Lexile and Accelerated Reader titles. See http://www.raising-readers.com, and look for the links to the left. Good luck!
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