Our Freckle Text Levels are a new and improved way for teachers to see the reading level of Freckle texts.
The Freckle Text Level system contains a number and a letter. The number is an approximate correlation to a grade level band. The letter tells you if the text belongs to the low, middle, or high part of that grade-level band. For example, a Freckle text leveled at 3B is appropriate for a student who is reading at a "middle of 3rd grade" level.
You can preview each level of each article in your teacher home before assigning it, and use your best consideration and judgement for what will match your students' needs.
How are Freckle Text Levels determined?
When deciding the appropriate Freckle Text Level, the Freckle team looks at many aspects of a text.
We established quantitative standard measures that align with each particular level. For example:
- Total word count
- Sentence length and complexity
- Vocabulary words and syllables per word
We also established qualitative standard measures of the text to consider the additional demands within a text. For example:
- How much background knowledge do students need to access the text?
- Is the subject matter mature or thematically complex?
- How is the text organized and scaffolded?
- Is the text language conventional and clear?
How can I use Freckle Text Levels in my classroom?
As many teachers know, there is often a wide range of reading levels represented in one classroom. Here's how you can use Freckle Text Levels to reach every student:
- Enter your students' reading level data in your Freckle teacher home, and let Freckle automatically determine the best level for your students. You can check out our text correlation chart to learn how Freckle Text Levels relate to other reading level systems.
- Alternatively, you can use our pretest to determine a starting point for your students. Freckle will calculate the students' Freckle Text Levels and then adapt as students practice.
Either way, assignments will default to the students tested or assigned Freckle Text Level when receiving assignments or choosing articles and stories in our ELA Library.