How to "Lexile®" my library
"I'm going to 'Lexile' my library this year."
What does this really mean? Librarians all over the country have found that it can mean many different things. With Lexile measures on your library resources, you have a lot of versatility in helping young people connect with reading on the levels—and terms—that they need to.
The Lexile Framework is a tool, not a prescriptive reading program. Here are some ways that librarians around the country have used Lexile measures to help grow readers in their schools. Click the case study links for more detail.
One elementary school in Alaska...
The librarian and parent volunteers color-coded all the books in the media center by Lexile zone with spine stickers. Teachers then told every student his or her reading color. The librarian kept the media center open an hour before and after school. Teachers constantly encouraged their students to visit the media center for leisure reading during these times, and the librarian sent information home to encourage parents to take advantage of the extra school time.
Circulation quadrupled over three years. Before-school and after-school reading became a part of the culture of the school, and a part of family routines. Students took ownership over their own reading growth and were motivated to move from one color group to the next. Read the case study for more information.
Middle schools in a district in Florida...
Librarians across the district wanted to help students transition better from learning to read into reading to learn. They looked at the Lexile distribution of student test scores for each school, and aligned their library book purchases with their students' abilities. Many schools developed some select shelves just for high-Lexile and low-Lexile books, in order to help struggling readers connect with books they could read, and to help highly motivated readers find books to challenge themselves.
Advanced readers got excited about more challenging books. Some even got involved in the operation and organization of the media center, designing displays and mini-collections for classmates. Struggling readers responded to the ease of finding high-low books. Leveled collections helped them see the developmental path in the library's collection, and they started moving toward and above "proficient" levels on tests. Read the case study for more information.
One elementary school in California...
At a school in which almost all students were reading below grade level, teachers and the librarian needed to better facilitate both leisure reading and reading for classwork. Students were getting Lexile measures right at the beginning of the school year from an interim assessment. So teachers made sure that every student knew his or her Lexile measure. The librarian reorganized all fiction by Lexile zone, and color-coded all nonfiction by Lexile zone. The teacher's lounge was converted into a student Lexile tracking center. After each interim assessment, students were ceremonially recognized for the growth they'd accomplished, and they were promoted on the "Lexile wall" in the teacher's lounge.
Students started setting their own reading growth goals in Lexile. Fears about students feeling self-conscious about their Lexile measures turned out to be unfounded, as students supported each other so they could get their friends into the same color Lexile zone. Young people were in a hurry to read more to try to raise their Lexile measures. Read the case study for more information.