LEXILE ® FRAMEWORK FOR

ORAL READING MAP

Inspire students to improve their oral reading skills by

50L
building confidence with leveled passages for reading aloud! SPRING MESS
This Lexile map identifies passages for oral reading practice Chapter 1
(84 words)
for those just learning to read to advanced readers.

ABOUT THE LEXILE MAP 2. Practice! Help your

FOR ORAL READING student grow by practicing
The Lexile map for oral reading reading aloud passages with
provides examples of books and similar Lexile oral readability
publicly available passages that measures, increasing the
have Lexile® oral readability difficulty of passages as your
measures. Lexile oral readability student progresses.
measures describe how difficult
If a title is underlined, it
a text is to read aloud.
is linked to the free, full-text
pdfs of the excerpt to print. 810L
TWO EASY STEPS Some titles are not linked THE ELEPHANT AND
THE CROCODILE
and contain longer text. For
1. Find the student’s starting (384 words)
those titles, the passage to
point. Find a passage excerpt
read aloud is from the first
on the map that your student
section in that book, passage
can read aloud fluently and
or chapter.
comfortably. Typical ranges for
oral reading materials by grade
are:
* The 25th to 75th percentiles, or
Passage Lexile Oral
interquartile range (IQR), represent
Grade Readability Measures
the middle of the range of passages
(IQR)*
typically used for oral reading in
K 110L to 430L 1000L
Grades K-6. The ranges do not GETTYSBURG
1 170L to 510L describe grade level performance ADDRESS
standards. Keep in mind that (268 words)
2 460L to 700L passage difficulties may be above
3 640L to 850L or below these ranges in each grade.
Data is from more than 3,000
4 790L to 1000L passages from popular oral reading
5 840L to 1130L fluency tests, leveled readers and
short passages from books and other
6 910L to 1230L materials from 20 top publishers.
 << BR100L* – 395L Oral
Readability
Title AUTHOR OR RESOURCE, Grade(s) - Word Count
LEXIL E ORAL RE A DA BI LI TY ME A S U RE S Select underlined titles for print-friendly oral reading practice passages.

BR70L Put Me in the Zoo ROBERT LOPSHIRE - 126 words BR140L Cam and Sam LAURA APPLETON-SMITH - 19
<< BR1 0 0 L – 90 L
I will go into the zoo. I want to see it. Yes, I do. BR50L Hop on Pop DR. SEUSS - 135

I would like to live this way. This is where I want BR30L Pat and Hap CHRIS MERAMEC - 70
to stay.
BR30L We Play MILLEN LEE - 77
Will you keep me in the zoo? I want to stay in
0L On A Log LAURA APPLETON-SMITH - 84
here with you.
50L Spring Mess (Ch. 1) KNEBEL, CIGDEM - 84
We do not want you in the zoo. Out you go! Out!
Out with you. 60L Go, Dog. Go! P. D. EASTMAN - 131

Why did they put me out this way? I should be in. 90L The Cat and the Fish JUST READ FLORIDA, Gr 1 - 179
I want to stay.
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Why should they put you in the zoo? What good
are you? 20L Homes ELLEN A. GOODENOW - 39

110L Fun in the Sun (Chapter 1) KNEBEL, CIGDEM 130L My Wagon is Red LAURA APPLETON-SMITH - 86
10 0 L – 290 L

97 words 150L Mitch and the Boat Race JUST READ FLORIDA, Gr 1 - 181

It is hot and still in Hill Crest. Not a bit of wind to 150L Fly High, Fly Guy TEDD ARNOLD - 251

chill Cal the Cub. Cal the Cub has swim trunks on. 160L Ann and Frank ACHIEVE THE CORE, Gr 2-3 - 177
He thinks that when it is this hot, the best thing to 180L Mittens LOLA M. SCHAEFER - 112
do is to swim in the pond. He trusts his pals will
250L Todd's Box CHRIS MERAMEC - 139
go to the pond to swim as well. He rubs sun-block
on his skin. He straps his hat on. He sticks a drink 270L Our Pond DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 1 - 169

in his bag. He picks up a mat to sit on. He grabs his 290L Jack and Jill DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 1 - 190
bag. And then, Cal the Cub is off to the pond.
INFORMATIONAL TEXT

210L I Can Go Fishing LOLA M. SCHAEFER - 115

340L The Gruffalo JULIA DONALDSON - 206 words 300L Duck Rabbit AMY KROUSE ROSENTHAL - 230
30 0 L – 3 90 L

A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. 320L T-Rex is Missing! TOMIE DEPAOLA - 204
A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good. 340L Visiting Aunt Rose DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 1 - 215
“Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Come
and have lunch in my underground house.” 350L The Frog DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 1 - 230

“It’s terribly kind of you, Fox, but no - I’m going to 350L The Yellow Snake DIBELS NEXT, Gr 1 - 213
have lunch with a gruffalo.”
360L Super Fly Guy TEDD ARNOLD - 240
“A gruffalo, Mouse? What’s a gruffalo?”
370L Time for a Bath JUST READ FLORIDA, Gr 1 - 198
“A gruffalo, Fox? I’m surprised you don’t know!”
380L Shape Art DIBELS NEXT, Gr 1 - 250
“He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and
terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.” INFORMATIONAL TEXT

“Where are you meeting him?” 380L One Plant, Many Parts PERFECTION LEARNING
“Here, by these rocks...and his favorite food is CORPORATION - 136
roasted fox.”
“Roasted what? Oh, my!” Fox said....
*BR (Beginning Reader) is a Lexile code given to texts that have measures below 0L on the
Lexile scale. The higher the number after the BR code, the less complex the text.
 400L – 695L Oral Title AUTHOR OR RESOURCE, Grade(s) - Word Count
Readability
LEXIL E ORAL RE A DA BI LI TY ME A S U RE S Select underlined titles for print-friendly oral reading practice passages.

490L Junie B. Jones has a Peep in Her Pocket 400L The Robin’s Nest DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 1 - 193
4 0 0 L – 4 90 L

(Chapter 1) BARBARA PARK - 230 words 400L Rosy’s Journey LOUISA ALCOTT, Gr 2-3 - 186

My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for 430L The Ice Cream Truck DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 1 - 229
Beatrice. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and
that’s all. I am almost six years old. Almost six is 430L Lisa's Flowers JUST READ FLORIDA, Gr 2 - 194

when you get to go to school. And so, last summer 430L Peter Possum’s Playful Trick MARGARET CHAPLIN
Mother took me to the school office. And she CAMPBELL - 235
‘rolled me in afternoon kindergarten. Rolled is the 440L Mercy Watson to the Rescue (Ch. 1) KATE DICAMILLO - 199
grown - up word for signed me up and made me
480L The Stray Dog MARC SIMONT - 205
go. Only guess what? I don’t even mind going there,
hardly. Cause I made two bestest friends at that INFORMATIONAL TEXT

place, that’s why! Their names are Lucille and that 450L Parts of a Tree DIBELS NEXT, Gr 1 - 208
Grace. We are like three peas in a row. My teacher’s
name is Mrs. She has another name, too. But I just 470L Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s
Most Famous Bear LINDSAY MATTICK - 233
like Mrs. and that’s all...

590L The Lion and the Mouse AESOP, Gr 3 - 177 words 510L Writing My Life Story DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 2 - 460
50 0 L – 590 L

Once, when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse 510L Bud, Not Buddy (Ch. 1) CHRISTOPHER PAUL CURTIS - 237
began running up and down upon him. This soon
520L The Best Seat in Second Grade KATHARINE KENAH - 212
wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon
him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. 550L Gavin’s Jump DIBELS NEXT, Gr 2 - 256

“Pardon, O King,” cried the little Mouse, “forgive 570L A Bad Case of Stripes DAVID SHANNON - 294
me this time. I shall never forget it! I may be able
to return the favor one of these days.” The Lion 580L Colors of the Rainbow DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 2 - 243

was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able 580L The House on Mango Street (Ch. 29) SANDRA
to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him CISNEROS - 196
go. Some time after, the Lion was caught in a trap, INFORMATIONAL TEXT
and the hunters, who desired to carry him alive
to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in 520L Tap Dance DIBELS NEXT, Gr 1 - 228

search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the 590L Guide Dogs NAEP, Gr 4 - 152
little Mouse happened to pass by...

640L Mr. Popper’s Penguins (Chapter 3) 600L The Fox and the Stork AESOP, Gr 2-3 - 178
60 0 L – 690 L

FLORENCE AND RICHARD ATWATER - 254 words 650L A Wrinkle in Time (Ch. 1) MADELEINE L’ENGLE - 210

What with the excitement of having the great 660L Going to Family Camp DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 3, - 259
Admiral Drake speak to him over the radio, and
his curiosity about the Admiral’s message to him, 670L Brave Irene WILLIAM STEIG - 247

Mr. Popper did not sleep very well that night. He 680L A Surprising Discovery DIBELS NEXT, Gr 3 - 299
did not see how he could possibly wait to find out
690L Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Ch. 5) MILDRED D.
what the Admiral meant. When morning came,
TAYLOR - 214
he was almost sorry that he had nowhere to go,
no houses to paint, no rooms to paper. It would 690L Living in Singapore DIBELS NEXT, Gr 3 - 262

have helped to pass the time. “Would you like the INFORMATIONAL TEXT
living room papered over?” he asked Mrs. Popper. 600L Locomotive BRIAN FLOCA - 227
“I have quite a lot of Paper Number 88, left over
from the Mayor’s house.” 660L Vacation JUST READ FLORIDA, Gr 4 - 293
 700L – 995L Oral Title AUTHOR OR RESOURCE, Grade(s) - Word Count
Readability
LEXIL E ORAL RE A DA BI LI TY ME A S U RE S Select underlined titles for print-friendly oral reading practice passages.

720L Maniac Magee (Ch. 2) JERRY SPINELLI 700L Saying Thanks to My Ghosts AMY TAN, Gr 6-8 - 252
70 0 L – 7 90 L

238 words
700L Where the Red Fern Grows (Ch. 1) WILSON RAWLS - 256
Everybody knows that Maniac Magee (then Jeffrey)
710L A Chess Tournament DIBELS NEXT, Gr 3 - 277
started out in Hollidaysburg and wound up in Two
Mills. The question is What took him so long? And 730L When You Are Old W. B. YEATS, Gr 6-8 - 100
what did he do along the way? Sure, two hundred
730L Tuck Everlasting (Ch. 1) NATALIE BABBITT - 277
miles is a long way, especially on foot, but the year
that it took him to cover it was about fifty-one 780L Kudo Kids: The Mystery in Manhattan (Ch. 1) ALEX
weeks more than he needed - figuring the way SHIBUTANI - 219

he could run, even then. The legend doesn’t have INFORMATIONAL TEXT
the answer. That’s why this period is known as The
Lost Year. And another question Why did he stay 700L My Parents DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 3 - 222
here? Why Two Mills? Of course, there’s the obvious 760L I’m an African American DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 3 - 232
answer that sitting right across the Schuylkill is
Bridgeport, where he was born. 730L No Small Potatoes TONYA BOLDEN - 209

810L The Elephant and the Crocodile 800L The Mysterious Benedict Society (Ch. 1) TRENTON
80 0 L – 890 L

LEE STEWART - 249

ACHIEVE THE CORE, Gr 6-8 - 384 words
810L Bridge to Terabithia (Ch. 3) KATHERINE PATERSON - 247
An Elephant and a Crocodile were once standing
beside a river. They were disputing as to which was 860L The Hobbit (Ch. 1) J.R.R.TOLKIEN - 252
the better animal. 870L The Phantom Tollbooth (Ch. 1) NORTON JUSTER- 254
“Look at my strength,” said the Elephant. “I can
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
tear up a tree, roots and all, with my trunk.”
800L We Celebrate Kwanzaa DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 2 - 220
“Ah! But quantity is not quality, and your skin is not
nearly so tough as mine,” replied the Crocodile, 800L The Sun DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 3 - 248
“for neither spear, arrow, nor sword can pierce it.” 830L The Sun Dance DIBELS 6TH ED., Gr 3 - 257
Just as they were coming to blows, a Lion
840L A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson
happened to pass. Helped Put America on the Moon SUZANNE SLADE - 286
“Heyday, sirs!” said His Majesty, going up to them, 850L Farewell Speech LOU GEHRIG, Gr 9-10 - 274
“let me know the cause of your quarrel.”...
870L Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall ANITA SILVEY - 285

910L The Learning Curve of Gratitude MARY C. 910L Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Ch. 1) J.K.
90 0 L – 990 L

CARPENTER, Gr 6-8 - 527 words ROWLING - 224

I believe in what I learned at the grocery store. 910L Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone TAE KELLER - 256

Eight weeks ago, I was released from the hospital 920L A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad
after suffering a pulmonary embolism. I had just Beginning (Ch. 7) LEMONY SNICKET - 273
finished a tour and a week after returning home,
930L Prize Winning Vegetables DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 7 - 369
severe chest pain and terrible breathlessness
landed me in the EF. A scan revealed blood clots 930L The Giver (Ch. 1) LOIS LOWRY - 234

in my lungs. Everyone told me how lucky I was. 980L Touching Spirit Bear (Ch. 1) BEN MIKAELSON - 221
A pulmonary embolism can take your life in an
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
instant. I was familiar enough with the medical
term, but not familiar with the pain, the fear and 920L Sloths and Monkeys DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 6 - 255
the depression that followed. Everything I had
940L A Long Way Gone ISHMAEL BEAH - 305
been looking forward to came to a screeching halt.
I had to cancel my upcoming tour... 990L I Am Still the Greatest MUHAMMAD ALI, Gr 6-8 - 504
 1000L – 1400L >> Oral
Readability
Title AUTHOR OR RESOURCE, Grade(s) - Word Count
LEXIL E ORAL RE A DA BI LI TY ME A S U RE S Select underlined titles for print-friendly oral reading practice passages.

1000L Gettysburg Address ACHIEVE THE CORE, 1070L Red Badge of Courage (Ch. 1) STEPHEN CRANE - 226
1 0 0 0 L – 1 0 90 L

Gr 9-10 - 268 words 1070L The Fellowship of the Ring (Prologue) J.R.R.TOLKIEN - 228
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived
in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that
1010L The Story of Tea DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 5 - 332
all men are created equal Now we are engaged
in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or 1010L Friday Night Lights (Ch. 1) H. G. BISSINGER - 216
any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can 1030L Print Your Own Medicine LEE CRONIN, Gr 6-8 - 474
long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of
that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of 1040L Zombees DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 7 - 372

that field, as a final resting place for those who 1050L Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine
here gave their lives that nation might live. It is LAURIE WALLMARK - 222
altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 1080L Coming of Age DIBELS 8 TH ED., Gr 6 - 270
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can
not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. 1080L The Emperors of Chocolate JOEL GLENN BRENNER - 246

1150L Don Quixote Ch. 1, MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, 1120L Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the
110 0 L – 1190 L

G9-10 - 247 words

Transcontinental Railroad (Ch. 1) MARY ANN FRASER - 280

In short, his wits being quite gone, he hit upon the 1140L The Jungle (Ch. 1) UPTON SINCLAIR - 235

strangest notion that ever madman in this world 1150L The Middle Passage (Ch. 1) CHARLES R. JOHNSON - 254
hit upon, and that was that he fancied it was right
and requisite, as well for the support of his own 1160L The Hundred-Foot Journey (Ch. 1) RICHARD C. MORIAS - 249

honor as for the service of his country, that he INFORMATIONAL TEXT

should make a knight-errant of himself, roaming
1110L Digital Music Recording (DIBELS 8th Ed., G8) - 370
the world over in full armor and on horseback
in quest of adventures, and putting in practice 1110L The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming (Ch. 1)
himself all that he had read of as being the usual DAVID WALLACE-WELLS - 283

practices of knights- errant; righting ever kind of 1140L A Public Man HARRY TRUMAN, Gr 9-10 - 305
wrong, and exposing himself to peril and danger
1160L 1776 (Ch. 1) DAVID MCCULLOUGH - 253
from which, in the issue, he was to reap eternal
renown and fame. 1160L The Pleasure of Books WILLIAN LYON PHELPS, Gr 9-10 - 601

1220L The Modern Hippocratic Oath 1280L The Scarlet Letter (Ch. 1) NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE - 268
>>
1 2 00 L – 1 40 0 L

LOUIS LASAGNA, G9-10 - 342 words 1410L Ivanhoe (Ch. 1) SIR WALTER SCOTT - 271

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and 1440L My Robots JOHAN OLANDER - 211
judgment, this covenant: I will respect the hard-
won scientific gains of those physicians in whose INFORMATIONAL TEXT

steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge 1210L Crows (DIBELS 8th Ed., G8) - 353
as is mine with those who are to follow. I will
apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures 1260L The Disappearing Spoon (Ch. 1) SAM KEAN - 243

[that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of 1290L The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Ch. 1)
over treatment and therapeutic nihilism. I will BENJAMIN FRANKLIN - 253
remember that there is art to medicine as well 1340L Government (DIBELS 8th Ed., G8) - 366
as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and
understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife 1360L In Defense of Food (Ch. 1) MICHAEL POLLAN - 205

or the chemist’s drug. 1590L The Preamble to the Declaration of

Independence THOMAS JEFFERSON, Gr 9-10 - 274
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT FEATURES
DETERMINE THE LEXILE
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEXILE ORAL ORAL READABILITY
READABILITY MEASURE AND THE LEXILE TEXT MEASURE FOR TEXT? MEASURE FOR A
Although these two measures use many of the same features to determine a PASSAGE?
text’s Lexile measure and are highly correlated, they were developed with different Six different features
measurement goals so they sometimes produce different Lexile measures for the same determine a passage’s Lexile
text. The Lexile text measure addresses the comprehension challenge a student is likely oral readability measure.
to face when reading a text regardless of how efficiently the student reads. The Lexile They include within-word-
oral readability measure addresses the challenge a reader will face in accurately and level, word-level and
efficiently identifying words and reading sentences aloud. sentence-level features to
capture the overall challenge
Similar text features are examined when determining the oral reading or reading
of reading a text aloud.
comprehension challenge of a text. However, there are specific text features that are
better at predicting oral reading challenge so those are given more weight or importance The within-word features
in the calculation of a text’s Lexile oral readability measure than they are for the text’s include:
Lexile text measure. For example, the number of syllables in a word is one of the word
1. Word decoding
features used to determine both the Lexile text and oral readability measures. However,
demand.
our research showed that the number of syllables affected oral reading challenge more
than reading comprehension challenge, so this variable is given more weight in the 2. Syllable count.
calculation of a text’s Lexile oral readability measure than it is for its Lexile text measure.
3. Predictability of
HOW IS THE ORAL READING SCALE RELATED TO THE READING the sound-symbol
COMPREHENSION SCALE? relationship of the words
Both the Lexile measures for oral reading and the Lexile measures for reading in the passage (e.g. loop
comprehension are reported on the same scale — the Lexile scale. The Lexile scale is is more predictable than
a developmental scale, so student growth can be monitored across years. In addition, teach, which is more
because both measures are reported on the Lexile scale, they can be compared. For predictable than true).
example, if a student has a higher measure in oral reading than reading comprehension,
Word-level features include
it means that their oral reading skills are more advanced than their silent reading skills.
two features that measure
HOW DO I GET LEXILE ® ORAL READING MEASURES FOR MY how likely a reader is to know
STUDENTS? the meaning of a word:
Educators can get a Lexile oral reading measure for their student by having them take an 4. Age of acquisition.
oral reading assessment (e.g. NWEA® Map® Reading Fluency™, Readable English) that
reports Lexile oral reading measures. The Lexile oral reading measure is an indication of 5. Word rareness.
a student’s ability to read passages aloud fluently and accurately. The measure evaluates
The sixth feature is:
how well a student is able to decode and identify words by sight to read passages
fluently. The readability of the passage read aloud is also factored into the Lexile oral 6. Log mean sentence
reading measure. length. Longer sentences
are often more complex
WHY ARE THE ORAL READABILITY AND TEXT MEASURES OF SOME and challenging for
PASSAGES SO DIFFERENT? students to read aloud.
Sometimes the Lexile oral readability measure of a passage and Lexile text measure
for the same passage or the complete book are quite different. This difference reflects When evaluated during the
the variation in the features that produce the two measures. In the case of a passage development of the Lexile
measure compared to a book measure, the specific text being measured is also an oral readability measure,
important factor. For example, the passage from the beginning of Chapter 1 of Bud, Not these six features were the
Buddy (237 words) has a Lexile oral readability measure of 510L. The Lexile text measure most effective in predicting
of the whole book is 950L. The oral reading passage includes many decodable and high- how well students could read
frequency words which makes it relatively easy to read aloud. However, the passage a passage aloud.
(and complete book) contains long sentences and phrasing that are more complex and
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