(Note: to see a connection to FP levels and lexile, click here.)
Note: books are ranked from K-8, Z= 7-8th grades, Z+=high school.
I wonder if maybe it's purpose is better to get a feel for low end books and to make sure the books we are using aren't too low.
Below is a list (copied from the site) of the characteristics used to create the ranking:
Understanding Book Characteristics
Leveling is a complex process involving the examination of text features and the unique blend of these features in any one book. All features are important at all levels.
Genre: The "genre" is the type of text and refers to a system by which fiction and nonfiction texts are classified. Each genre has characteristic features.
Text Structure: The "structure" is the way the text is organized and presented. It may be narrative, as in most fiction and biographical texts. Factual texts are organized categorically or topically and may have sections with headings. Writers of factual texts use several underlying structural patterns to provide information to readers: enumeration, chronological sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, andproblem/solution. The presence of these structures, especially in combination, can increase the challenge for readers.
Content: The "content" refers to the subject matter of the text—the concepts that are important to understand. In fiction, content may be related to the setting or to the kinds of problems characters have. In factual texts, content refers to the topic of focus. Content is considered in relation to the prior experience of readers.
Themes and Ideas: The "themes and ideas" are the big ideas that are communicated by the text. A text may have multiple themes or a main theme and several supporting themes or ideas.
Sentence Complexity: Written language is qualitatively different from spoken language. Fiction writers use dialogue, figurative language, and other kinds of literary structures. Factual writers use description and technical language. In hybrid texts you may find a wide range of literary language.
Vocabulary: "Vocabulary" refers to the meaning of the words and is part of our oral language. The more the words are accessible to readers in terms of meaning, the easier a text will be. The individuals, reading and writing vocabularies refer to words that they understand and can also read or write.
Words: "Words" refer to recognizing and solving the printed words in the text. The challenge in a text partly depends on the number and the difficulty of the words that the reader must solve by recognizing them or decoding them. Having a great many of the same high frequency words makes a text more accessible to readers.
Illustrations: The "illustrations" include drawings, paintings, or photographs that accompany the text and add meaning and enjoyment. In factual texts, illustrations also include graphics that provide a great deal of information that readers must integrate with the text. Illustrations are an integral part of a high quality text. Increasingly, fiction texts are including a range of graphics.
Book and Print Features: The "book and print features" are the physical aspects of the text—what readers cope with in terms of length, size, and layout. Book and print features also include tools like the table of contents, glossary, pronunciation guides, indices, and sidebars.
Reference: I.C. Fountas and G.S. Pinnell. 2005. Leveled Books, K-8: Matching Texts to Readers for Effective Teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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