Got levels? For those of us who level books in our classrooms to best meet the needs of our readers at their independent and instructional levels, we tend to rely on a few sources to help us level the trade books found in our classrooms and school libraries. As a fourth grade teacher, I was constantly running to www.lexile.com in order to find Lexile levels for the chapter books that I was using in my book clubs and guided reading groups.
Lucky for me (and for those of you who level), the Level It app has made a solid and very useful appearance! This app was designed for the iPhone and iPod touch devices, but it also works pretty well on my iPad.
Not only am I able to find Lexile levels for a book, but a simple scan of the barcode also allows me to get Guided Reading levels (GR), DRA, and Grade Level Equivalency (GLE) levels.
I can also maintain my classroom library collection digitally and also check books out to students.
There is a teacher feature that also allows me to recommend books to my students and their parents. Again...very cool!
The app retails at the App Store for $3.99. More information can be found at http://levelitbooks.com
So what are you waiting for? Try Level It for yourself today!
Nikki
I was very excited when I first heard about this app because, like you, I have spent countless hours looking up levels or leveling books myself. I found that when I scanned most of the books that I wanted leveled I got a message that the book wasn't in their data base. These included many that I would have expected to find there (eg Arthur, berenstein Bears). I teach primary, so maybe they have more books for higher reading levels than early chapter books and picture books.
ReplyDeleteI recently downloaded Library Leveler and have had better success with it, but it doesn't scan.
Have you had similar problems? I love the scanner. It's so easy to use, but so sad to get so few results.
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie! Thanks for checking this entry out and sharing your experience! I agree...the database is still limited, but they claim that they are adding more entries every day, so I am hoping that they continue to build it up! I haven't tried Library Leveler yet, but I may take a peek (thanks for sharing that!). I'm still playing with the app and hoping that they continue to tweak and add features that make it more versatile.
DeleteNikki :)