Literacy in Color: A Science of Reading Aligned Podcast for Educators 69: What Are Kindergarten Reading Levels? The Hidden Problems Behind Levels A–D
In this solo episode, we take an honest, unflinching look at what are traditionally called Kindergarten Reading Levels: Guided Reading Levels A, B, C, and D — and why these levels do not reflect how children actually learn to read.
If you’re a kindergarten teacher, literacy coach, interventionist, or a parent of a beginning reader, this episode will give you the clarity you’ve been craving.
Key Takeaways:
- Where these levels came from and what they were actually designed to measure
- Why predictable texts are more about the “illusion of reading” than actual reading
- Why picture-cueing, pattern memorization, and MSV underlie these early levels
- Why a student can “read” a Level D text but not decode a CVC word
- What proponents of Guided Reading say about finger-pointing
- Why these texts are fundamentally misaligned with the reading brain
- What to do instead to support true early reading development
And yes — we can absolutely preserve the joy of reading without predictable pattern books.
If your school or district is beginning to shift away from Balanced Literacy, Kindergarten is a wonderful place to start. When we remove the pressure of arbitrary, misaligned “levels” and instead equip kids with the code of our language, we give them true access to reading — not the performance of it.
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