Georgia’s Summer Reading Challenge 2013

1. Georgia’s Summer Reading Challenge2013 Goal: To make every child a successful reader!

2. Georgia’s Summer Reading Challenge The Council of Chief State School Officers, in partnership with MetaMetrics®, is coordinating a national, state-led summer reading initiative to bolster student reading achievement during summer break. Purpose of the “Chief's Summer Reading Challenge” is to • raise national awareness of the summer loss epidemic, • share compelling research on the importance of personalized reading activities, and • provide access to a variety of free resources to support targeted reading and the initiative as a whole.

3. HELP EVERY CHILD FIND GREAT BOOKS TO READ THIS SUMMER

4. Find a Book & Lexiles • “Find a Book, Georgia” is a great way to generate personalized reading lists. • Georgia’s students receive a Lexile measure on their CRCT or CRCT-M Reading reports or on the Ninth Grade Literature or American Literature reports. • Remember a Lexile measure is a measure of text complexity only. It does not address the subject matter or text quality, age-appropriateness of the content of a reader’s interests. The Lexile measure is one piece of information that you can use when selecting books.

5. How to Use “Find a Book, Georgia • GO TO www.lexile.com/fab/ga • 2. ENTER the child’s Lexile measure. • A Lexile measure is included on the CRCT & GHSGT score reports. • 3. SELECT the child’s interest categories. • 4. VIEW AND REFINE the search results. • As you browse books that the child nds interesting, • click the “Find in a Library” button next to the book title • to check its availability at your local public library. • 5. PRINT the child’s custom reading list.

6. Strong Reading Skills Are Essential for Student Success • The most important factor for college and career readiness is a student’s ability to read and understand texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. • The Lexile® Framework provides valuable insights into student readiness by measuring both the complexity of college and career texts and a student's ability to comprehend these texts. • Providing Lexile measures in grades 3-8 and high school allows educators to see how a student’s reading ability is developing.

7. Lexiles & College and Career Readiness • The Lexile Framework has been aligned to reflect new text complexity grade bands. • The “stretch” bands of the Lexile Framework show an upward trajectory of reading comprehension development through the grades to indicate that all students should be reading at the college and career readiness level by no later than the end of high school.

8. Lexile Bands These “stretch” Lexile bands are the basis for determining at what text complexity level students should be reading—and at which grades—to make sure they are ultimately prepared for the reading demands of college and careers.

9. Accessing the Find A Book Toollexile.com/fab/GA

10. Making Connections Using Lexiles The Lexile Framework is a tool for teachers, media specialists, librarians, and parents to use in conjunction with existing reading programs and is not a replacement for existing reading programs. HOME LIBRARY SCHOOL

11. How to Use Lexiles • It is recommended that readers choose texts within their Lexile range. • A Lexile range is 50L above and 100L below a student’s reported Lexile measure. • Practice with a variety of texts. • Use Lexiles to set goals. • To learn more, visit: www.gadoe.org/lexile.aspx

12. Summer Reading Is Essential ! Research studies show that --- • students can have up to a 2-3 month loss in reading ability over summer. • lower income students may suffer most due to lack of books in home and transportation access to public libraries. • rural area students also lack easy access. • innovative partnering of schools, publishers, and public libraries have great promise for solving the summer reading loss dilemma.

13. Using Lexiles to Promote Reading • Improve students’ reading fluency and increase enjoyment of reading. • Students who spend a minimum of 3 hrs/week reading at their own level for their own purposes develop reading fluency which leads to improved mastery. • It is recommended that readers choose texts within their Lexile range. • A Lexile range is 50L above and 100L below a student’s reported Lexile measure. • Use Lexiles to set goals. • Practice with a variety of texts. • Challenge the BEST readers. • Success breeds enjoyment.

14. Parents Can Use Lexiles • Promotes family-school connections. • Know your child’s Lexile measure. • Know your child’s Lexile range. • 50L above and 100L below their reported Lexile measure. This range represents the boundaries between the easiest kind of reading material for your child and the hardest level at which he/she can read successfully. • Use the Lexile Find a Book Database (at http://lexile.com/fab/GA) to find books in the child’s Lexile range. Source:http://www.lexile.com/m/uploads/downloadablepdfs/Lexiles-at-Home.pdf

15. What if my child wants to read a book outside his/her Lexile range? • A child can read books that are above or below his/her Lexile range. • Student interest and age-appropriateness need to be taken into consideration when selecting books. • Reading books below one’s Lexile range offer little challenge in developing new vocabulary and dealing with more complex grammatical/syntactical structures. • Reading books that are too far above one’s Lexile range may be too frustrating and discourage future reading.

16. Reading Outside One’s Lexile Range Can Serve a Purpose • Higher Lexile measures allow an advanced and enthusiastic reader to: • be challenged with high-interest books • seek help with a hard but interesting book • find other books on the same topic at a higher Lexile level • Lower Lexile measures allow a struggling and reluctant reader to: • build skills with less challenging books on topics of choice • select high-low books based on Lexile and developmental levels • find other books on the same topic at his/her own reading level

17. Parents Can Use Lexiles • Ensure that your child reads every day. • Parents should read to set a good example. Reading newspapers and magazines will show children that reading is a wonderful pastime as well as a window to the world of learning. • Ask school or library for book lists within Lexile range. • Student’s interests should play a part in book selection. • Visit public libraries often. • Participate in summer reading programs. Source:http://lexile.com/m/uploads/downloadablepdfs/Lexiles-at-Home.pdf

18. Parents Can Use Lexiles • When a reading a book proves to be too difficult, provide adult-directed assistance: • Review words and definitions from glossary or dictionary. • Ask or review questions at end of chapter before child reads text. • Pair-share read – Parent and student alternate reading the text. Stop, discuss, and ask questions along the way to see that student understands. • Return to end of chapter questions and glossary to make certain your child understands the material. • Celebrate your child’s reading accomplishments. • Set goals – • number of books read • variety of books • stretch to books at higher Lexile Source:http://www.lexile.com/m/uploads/downloadablepdfs/Lexiles-at-Home.pdf

19. Reading is the to success in school. Georgia’s Summer Reading Challenge http://www.lexile.com/chiefs-challenge