home :: how to use this site :: the levels within the libraries :: text level two Text Level Two Back This level roughly corresponds to the following levels in other systems: Reading Recovery©(RR) Levels 3-4 Developmental Reading Assessment(DRA) levels 3-4 Text Characteristics for TC Level Two: There are usually be two lines of print on at least some of the pages in these books, and sometimes there are three. This means readers will become accustomed to making the return sweep to the beginning of a new line. The texts are still patterned and predictable, but now the patterns tend to switch at intervals. Almost always, the pattern changes at the end of the book. The repeating unit may be as long as two sentences in length. The font continues to be large and clear. The letters might not, however, be black against white although this is generally the case. Children still rely on the picture but the pictures tend to give readers more to deal with; children need to search more in the picture to find help in reading the words. High frequency words are still helpful and important. The sentences in Level 1 books tend to begin with 2-3 high frequency words, for example "I like to run. I like to jump." At this level, the pages are more apt to begin with a single high frequency word and then include words that require picture support and attention to first letters, for example, "A mouse has a long tail. A bear has a short tail." Sentences are more varied, resulting in texts that include a full range of punctuation. Characteristics of the reader: (Readers in this group will demonstrate most of the behaviors listed below) Get the mouth ready for the initial sound of a word Use left to right directionality as well as a return sweep to another line of print Locate one or two known words on a page Monit for meaning: check to make sure it makes sense Benchmarks: The following titles are representative of the kinds of books found in this grouping. Shoo, Sunshine I Went Walking, Sue Williams All Fall Down, Brian Wildsmith Rain, Robert Kalan Assessment: The following titles can be used to determine if a reader is ready to move on to the next grouping of books. This type of assessment is most effective if the text is unfamiliar to the reader. If these titles will be used as assessment texts, they should not be part of the classroom library. The Bus Ride, Little Celebrations DRA 3 Fox on the Box, School Zone DRA 4 We generally move children from Level 2 to Level 3 texts when they know how to use the pictures and the syntax to generate possibilities for the next word, when they attend to the first letters of unknown words. These readers will also read and rely on high frequency words such as I, the, a, to, me, mom, the child's name, like, love, go, and and. Next: Text Level Three
	A Field Guide to Your Classroom Library, Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Heinemann © 2002, Teachers College, Columbia University; http://www.heinemann.com/fieldguides