Lexile Levels, Freshmen Fun, and Independent novels!

My school recently invested in a reading program to pilot to a few classes.  I was lucky enough to be chosen to try the new program with two of my 10th grade classes and one 9th grade class.  Achieve 3000 tailors specific articles (chosen by the teacher from an AMAZING list) to every individual student.  The program starts by testing the students' lexile levels, and we receive a score report in less than 24 hours.  After the initial test, Achieve 3000 automatically sets each student's log in to their own individual lexile level.  Every student reads the same article, but every student will read a different level article.  Yes, the program actually changes each article to fit every student's learning style!  The students then have to answer multiple choice questions, thought questions, and complete graphic organizers.  They gain points for right answers and are even offered cool prizes if they are a top scorer. It's a great program that REALLY helps some of my struggling readers and pushes my veteran readers past their comfort zones.  You can learn more about the program here: Click!

I was also lucky enough to be chosen to teach a large class of 9th graders that contains honors, regular, and ESL children ALL IN THE SAME CLASS.  I've never faced a bigger challenge, but the students are GREAT and I really enjoy being their teacher.  I found that choosing novels and short stories is THE GREATEST CHALLENGE OF THEM ALL. When one group is confused, the other group is bored to tears.  Everyone is on a different level which makes it so much harder!  After I received my Achieve 3000 lexile level scores, I gained SO MUCH INSIGHT as to why certain children were struggling.  


This week, my fabulous media specialist, AMAZING assistant principal, and I, put together a game plan to really target specific learning goals and individual needs in this class.  I decided to survey my children and find out their reading interests, preferences, and history.  I used this form: 

Then, I took this information + my lexile scores and headed to our school library!  The media specialist helped me pull books that were appropriate for each child's reading level.  We chose books that would be high interest - we even found some graphic novels!  I put together a "book tasting" with silver trays from the dollar store and handmade genre signs. 

I placed one tray on each table.  The following day, I gave students a blank "menu" and explained the rules.  They were to get in groups of 5. I sent one group to each table and gave the class 5 minutes to look at books from that genre.  They could read the back, flip through the pages, check out the cover, and get a general "taste" for what the book was about.  I also had them to fill in their "menus" with their top favorites!  After 5 minutes, every group switched and went to a different genre.  The process repeated.  We talked about choosing a "good fit" book, so they also had to rank each one of their choices on how difficult they thought it would be for them to read.  Here's a sample of their menu: 

I was blown away by how much my class enjoyed this!  Here they are, enjoying their book tasting :) -

Everyone took it seriously and had a great time!  After we left the library, I sat down with all of their surveys and made individual colored coded cards.  Each color represents a different genre group (so we can have small group discussions).  

They checked out their books the following day and I was pleased to see that almost all of my students dove head first into their books! YAY!  We're currently creating individualized lap books from file folders.  I'll post more as we progress.

I now begin my class by teaching a reading strategy + a literary device.  They take notes and create foldables for their interactive notebooks.  Then, I give them 20-25 minutes to read their chosen books silently.  During this time I conference with small groups.  I use a specific form that I created that is GREAT for monitoring growth, and even for parent conferences!  The form looks like this: 

I'm anxious to continue with this process and see how my children grow.  I'll keep you posted and check back in shortly.  So far, my students like the individual conferencing because of the extra attention :).  It also holds them accountable!  They don't want to be the one who can't talk to me because they haven't read. Yikes!  

Have any of you tried an individual novel concept before? How did it go? Do you have any magic secrets that I need to know about?