Reading Level Colour Bands:
Level 1: Pink
Level 2: Red
Level 3: Yellow
Level 4: Blue
Level: 5: Green
Level 6: Orange
Level 7: Turquoise
Level 8: Purple
Level 9: Gold
Level 10: White
Level 11: Lime
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
How our book banding system works:
Our new book banding system takes into account the many different books we have in school and categorizes them under 10 coloured levels.
This system has been developed by the British Literacy Strategy and is directly transferable to other book levelling systems such as the American programmes Fountas and Pinnel and National Reading Recovery.
There are many advantages of this system such as:
Students are able to read a variety of books and not just from one scheme.
The levels are categorized into colours and not hierarchical numbers.
By using this format, teachers are able to monitor progress across grade levels carefully as everybody has the same criteria for success.
It also enables group guided reading, as multiple copies of books have been grouped together and are stored centrally. Guided reading scaffolds or supports readers as they negotiate texts and develop independent reading strategies.
Below the objectives for each colour level are stated:
Pink
Learning objectives:
• Locate title
• Open front cover
• Turn pages appropriately
• Understand that left page comes before right
• Understand that we read print from left to right
• Match spoken word to printed word (one to one corresponding)
• Locate familiar words and use them to check own reading
• Use the meaning of the text
• Use language patterns (syntax)
• Predict story line and some vocabulary
Red
Learning objectives:
• Locate and recall title
• Have secure control of one-to-one matching
• Use known words to check and confirm reading
• Solve simple (CVC) words by blending phonemes from left to right and check for meaning, and correct syntax – does it make sense and sounds right?
• Start to read more rhythmically or use phrasing while maintaining track of print
• Repeat words, phrases or sentences to check, confirm or modify own reading
• Predict from meaning, syntax and print to solve new words
Yellow
Learning objectives:
• Follow print with eyes only, finger pointing at points of difficulty
• Take more note of punctuation to support the use of grammar and oral language rhythms
• Cross-check all sources of information more quickly while reading
• Note familiar words and letter clusters and use these to get to unknown words e.g. look-took
• Search for information in print to predict, confirm or attempt new words while reading
• Notice relationships between one text and another
• Predict in more detail
Blue
Learning objectives:
• Move through text attending to meaning, print and sentence structure flexibly
• Self-correct more rapidly on the run
• Re-read to enhance phrasing and clarify precise meaning
• Solve new words using print information along with attention to meaning
• Use analogy with known vocabulary to solve new words
• Manage a greater variety of genre
• Discuss content of the text in a manner which indicates precise understanding
• Identify constituent parts of unfamiliar two-syllable words to read correctly
Green
Learning objectives:
• Read fluently with attention to punctuation
• Solve new words using print detail while attending to meaning and syntax
• Track visually additional lines of print without difficulty
• Manage effectively a growing variety of texts
• Discuss and interpret character and plot more fully
• Use contents and glossary in non-fiction books, and locate information
Orange
Learning objectives:
• Get started without relying on illustrations
• Read longer phrases and more complex sentences
• Examine non – fiction layout and use the contents to select which sections of a book to read
• Blend phonemes in unfamiliar words more fluently, cross checking with meaning and syntax
• Attend to a range of punctuation
• Cross-check information from meaning, syntax and print on the run
• Search for and use familiar syllables within words to read longer words
• Infer meaning from the text.
• Begin to use appropriate terminology when discussing different types of text
Turquoise
Learning objectives:
• Extract meaning from the text while reading with less dependence on illustrations
• Approach different genres with increasing flexibility
• Use punctuation and text layout to read with a greater range of expression
• Sustain reading through longer sentence structures and paragraphs
• Tackle a higher ratio of more complex word
• Find a way around alphabetically ordered texts such as indexes, glossaries and dictionaries
Purple
Learning objectives:
• Look through a variety of texts with growing independence to predict content, layout and story development
• Read silently or quietly at a more rapid pace, taking note of punctuation and using it to keep track of longer sentences
• Solve most unfamiliar words on the run
• Adapt to fiction, non-fiction or poetic language with growing flexibility
• Take more conscious account of literacy effects used by writers
• Begin to make more conscious use of reading to extend speaking and writing vocabulary and syntax
Gold
Learning objectives:
• Look through a variety of texts with growing independence to predict content. Layout and story development
• Read silently or quietly at a more rapid pace, taking note of punctuation and using it to keep track of longer sentences
• Solve most unfamiliar words on the run by blending longer vowel phonemes, recognising and using them in longer and more complex words
• Adapt to fiction, non fiction or poetic language with growing flexibility
• Take a more conscious account of literacy effects used by writers
• Locate and interpret information in non-fiction
White
Learning objectives:
• Read silently most of the time
• Sustain interest in longer text, returning to it easily after a break
• Use text more fully as a reference and as a model
• Search for and find information in texts more flexibly
• Notice the spelling of unfamiliar words and relate to known words
• Show increased awareness of vocabulary and precise meaning
• Express reasoned opinions about what is read and compare texts
• Offer and discuss interpretations of text
Lime
Use experience of reading a variety of material to recognise text types and predict layout and general content
Read silently most of the time, adjusting speed of reading to suit material and monitoring the precise meaning
Rerun to make different interpretations of dialogue, more complex sentences, unfamiliar language, etc
Sustain interest in longer texts, returning easily to them after a break
Make use of blurbs, chapter headings, glossaries, indexes and procedural texts to search for and locate information quickly and accurately
Take notes and devise ways to remember the meaning and spelling of unfamiliar words
Express reasoned opinions about what is read, and compare texts
Investigate and identify the styles and voice of a range of different text types including plays, poetry, narrative, procedural and explanatory texts
I hope this goes someway towards answering your questions about book banding, If you have any more questions I suggest you contact Nicky Shamash as she put this system into place at Ambrit. She can be contacted at nicky.shamash@ambrit-rome.com
Thank you
