A Need to Read: The Importance of Equitable Reading Opportunities for all Students

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When students are in the primary, and sometimes even the junior grades they are often expected to write in a reading log so they, as well as their teacher and guardian(s) can keep track of how much reading the student is doing. Like any skill, reading requires practice, and lots of it! Its importance stretches far beyond a student’s education in language and into nearly every subject they study in school. Students will start with letters, words and small stories and gradually increase the difficulty of the texts as they get older and become more comfortable with reading comprehension. However, what happens when students in the same grade are reading at different levels? How can teachers accommodate this?

Creating an Equitable Classroom through Multilevel Texts

One way for teachers to accommodate different reading levels and ensure the classroom is inclusive of all individuals is through multilevel texts. According to the Overall Reading Expectations in the Ontario Curriculum students are expected to be able to ‘use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently’ and ‘reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.’ Multilevel texts encourage students to observe the above expectations.

Multilevel texts are more commonly found in junior classrooms but are beneficial at all levels. Sometimes, an issue arises for intermediate grades because it can be more difficult to find suitable multilevel texts. However, as Catherine Cornford explains in her article, ‘Using Multilevel Texts: Supporting Literacy in the Inclusive Classroom’, multilevel texts can be a very favorable resource for teaching reading and are worth the search for all grade levels. Not only do they promote equity by ensuring all students are reading at a level suited to their needs and abilities but it also helps to create an inclusive classroom. Multilevel texts allow all students in the class to contribute to classroom discussions without having to single anyone out for being unable to read the common text. Cornford also demonstrates the importance of multilevel texts to student engagement. Studies have shown students to be more motivated when they are interested or engaged in the text, and one of the main reasons for lower engagement is if the texts are either too easy or too difficult for them.

There's Always Time to Practice Reading Comprehension

          Multilevel texts are not just for teaching reading in language class, they can be used for other subjects as well. Currently, I am doing my first practicum in a grade 7 science classroom. In all four classes I will be working with there are individuals with IEP’s and/or who are ESL. Science can be an exceptionally hard subject to accommodate for because it requires the knowledge of such specific terminology. National Geographic has created leveled readings for all elementary grades. They have books devoted to many different subjects including social science, science, language and many more. Each topic they offer has three levels of text: lower then the grade level, equivalent to the grade level and higher than the grade level. All the books look exactly the same, differentiated only by the colour of the back cover. By using National Geographic’s leveled texts, my associate teacher has found a way to ensure the required terminology is included in the lessons but is presented in a way that is appropriate and understandable for all individuals while creating a sense of equality in the classroom.