Read Aloud Reflection

As you reflect on your year thus far, consider writing down 10-20- read alouds you have done with your class since September.  (Books, chapters, excerpts, articles, etc...)  

Of the pieces you choose, list them in the order you read them to the class.  Then, determine their lexile level.  Finally, take a look at the progression of read alouds.  Do they: 

1. Consistently increase in lexile as the year progresses? 
2. Are they at or above your grade level's suggested lexile level?   
3. Are they just out of reach to your class' independent reading abilities? 
4. Do they increase in complexity? 

If you answered yes to any or all of the above, you are certainly working to increase the complexity of texts your students experience.  The goal of text complexity is for the answer to be "yes" to all of the above.  

Need a lexile converter? Check out this site.  If your title isn't in the database, copy and paste a section of the text in plain text to determine the lexile.  http://www.lexile.com/analyzer/

Every piece of text in our library has a lexile level already determined!  

One final tidbit: Consider the idea that read aloud does not always have to be an entire book.  It can be a chapter or passage.  Sometimes just a piece of the text will also provide an awesome selection for close reading exercises.