Preventing Misguided Reading —
Abstract of

Chapter 2
Revisiting Instructional Reading Level

Jan Miller Burkins

Melody M. Croft

In Chapter 2 authors Burkins and Croft take a look at instructional reading level, which they define differently from the way most teachers utilize it in guided reading today. They propose using instructional level text during guided reading, which allows students, who already have a repertoire of strategies strong enough to support them, opportunities to attend to dimensions of the text that may be new to them (i.e., instructing themselves), whether in terms of print, story, integration, or simply content. Approaching instructional reading levels differently allows guided reading to be about learning the orchestration of behaviors rather than the behaviors themselves. The authors suggest several strategies that encourage teachers to reflect on students' reading abilities, knowing that the text, rather than the teacher, supports students as they develop a self-extending system.

Burkins, J., & Croft, M.M. (2010). Revisiting Instructional Reading Level. In Preventing Misguided Reading (pp. 30-51). Newark, DE; Thousand Oaks, CA: International Reading Association; Corwin Press.