Reading Levels

On the Find page, you can filter texts by their reading grade levels: the levels students need to be at in order to access the texts. For example, a tenth grader may be reading at an eighth grade level.

Since all the literature featured on this site has multiple levels of meaning, we recommend searching for all the reading levels your students are able to access (e.g., for students at a fifth-grade level, search for grades 1-5.)

For teachers using lexiles, the chart below outlines approximate conversions.

Reading grade-levels don't always correspond to maturity levels: the Japanese comic "Tetsu of the Yamanote Line" is at a second and third grade reading level, but includes scenes of violence and is much better-suited to young adults than to elementary students. (In fact, this story is an excellent "hi-lo" text, likely to engage older students who are reading below grade-level.)

Other texts on this site are both written in simple language and appropriate for children, such as the inspiring Mexican poem "Nothing Remains Empty," by Juan Gregorio Regino. We recommend fully reading any text before using it in the classroom.