In this solo episode, we take an honest, unflinching look at what are traditionally called Kindergarten Reading Levels: Guided Reading Levels A, B, C, and D — and why these levels do not reflect how children actually learn to read.

If you’re a kindergarten teacher, literacy coach, interventionist, or a parent of a beginning reader, this episode will give you the clarity you’ve been craving.

Key Takeaways: 

• Where these levels came from and what they were actually designed to measure
• Why predictable texts are more about the “illusion of reading” than actual reading
• Why picture-cueing, pattern memorization, and MSV underlie these early levels
• Why a student can “read” a Level D text but not decode a CVC word
• What proponents of Guided Reading say about finger-pointing
• Why these texts are fundamentally misaligned with the reading brain
• What to do instead to support true early reading development

And yes — we can absolutely preserve the joy of reading without predictable pattern books.

If your school or district is beginning to shift away from Balanced Literacy, Kindergarten is a wonderful place to start. When we remove the pressure of arbitrary, misaligned “levels” and instead equip kids with the code of our language, we give them true access to reading — not the performance of it.

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