LibGuides: Mentor Texts illustrating Common Core Literacy Standards: Level of Text Complexity

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Kindergarten Lexile Band BR-190L

Bears on Wheels by Stan Berenstain; Jan Berenstain
Call Number: PZ1000.B4483 Bc 1969
ISBN: 9780394809670
Publication Date: 1969-09-12
As the gradually increasing number of bears on wheels adds up through all kinds of combinations and permutations, beginning readers are offered a unique counting book, courtesy of the Berenstains.
Inside, Outside, Upside Down by Stan Berenstain; Jan Berenstain
Call Number: PZ900.B4483 In 1996 Level E
ISBN: 9780394811420
Publication Date: 1968-10-12
A bear explores a carton on a truck and gets carried away. By the time he has returned, the reader will be exposed to the concepts of "inside, outside, upside down."
Great Day for Up! by Dr. Seuss; Quentin Blake (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ900.G276 Go 1974 Level J
ISBN: 9780394829135
Publication Date: 1974-08-12
The meanings of "up" are conveyed with merry verse and illustrations in a happy book that celebrates the joy of life.
Manners by Aliki
Call Number: BJ1857.C5 A39 1990
ISBN: 9780688091989
Publication Date: 1990-10-17
Aliki makes manners accessible to children through colorful cartoon-style illustrations designed to teach some of the basics.

What is text complexity?

Here are some links to help you understand text complexity and evaluate the level of text complexity you are looking for:

From the Common Core State Standards Initiative:

Measuring Text Complexity: Three Factors

Range of Text Types for Grades K-5

Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Range of Student Reading Grades K-5

Staying on Topic Within a Grade & Across Grades

From the Teaching Channel

Simplifying Text Complexity video - High school teacher Sarah Brown Wessling unpacks the idea of text complexity and discusses how teachers can design tasks with text complexity in mind. (19 minutes)

Reading Level Correlation Chart

1st Grade Lexile Band 190L-420L

Tough Boris by Mem Fox; Kathryn Brown (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.F8373 To 1994
ISBN: 9780152896126
Publication Date: 1994-04-29
Boris von der Borch is a mean, greedy old pirate--tough as nails, through and through, like all pirates. Or is he? When a young boy sneaks onto Boris's ship, he discovers that even pirates cry.
The Bremen-Town Musicians by Ilse Plume
Call Number: PZ400.P727 Br 1980
ISBN: 9780440414568
Publication Date: 1998-02-09
A retelling of the Grimm tale in which an old donkey, dog, cat, and rooster, no longer wanted by their masters, set out for Bremen to become musicians.
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson; Axel Scheffler (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.D66 Gr 1999
ISBN: 9780803723863
Publication Date: 1999-06-01
A clever mouse uses the threat of a terrifying creature to keep from being eaten by a fox, an owl, and a snake--only to have to outwit that creature as well.
Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges; Anna Vojtech (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.S9227 Te 1995
ISBN: 9781558584204
Publication Date: 1995-04-01
Luminous pictures and a buoyant, chant-aloud text combine to make this two-way counting book as joyous and magical as catching fireflies on a summer night.

2nd Grade Stretch Band 420L-650L

A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry; Marc Simont (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.U27 Tr 1956
ISBN: 9780064431477
Publication Date: 1987-06-26
Trees are beautiful. They fill up the sky. If you have a tree, you can climb up its trunk, roll in its leaves, or hang a swing from one of its limbs. A tree is good to have around. A tree is nice.
Hurricane! by Corinne Demas; Lenice U. Strohmeier (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.D39145 Hu 2000
ISBN: 9780761450528
Publication Date: 2000-03-01
Margo and her family prepare for and experience Hurricane Bob, which makes the electricity go out for five days but leaves their house intact.
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! by Marilyn Burns; Debbie Tilley (Illustrator); Gordon Silveria (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.B9373 Sp 1997
ISBN: 9780590944595
Publication Date: 1997-09-01
When Mrs. Comfort's guests rearrange all of her carefully placed tables and chairs, dinnertime at the family reunion becomes a complete mess, in a playful introduction to the concepts of area and perimeter.
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Call Number: PZ1000.M51273 Mar 1992
ISBN: 9780395633137
Publication Date: 1992-09-28
When Helen Finney feeds alphabet soup to her dog Martha, Martha begins to speak. But having a talking dog is not as fun as it seems.
Under the Lemon Moon by Edith Hope Fine; Rene King Moreno (Illustrator)
Call Number: PZ1000.F495674 Un 1999
ISBN: 9781880000694
Publication Date: 1999-04-01
The theft of all the lemons from her lemon tree leads Rosalinda to an encounter with la Anciana, the Old One, who walks the Mexican countryside helping things grow, and to an understanding of generosity and forgiveness.