Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice Teach and Support – Level A (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Recognize most
words quickly with the support of
meaning and language structure
Remember information to help in
understanding the end of a story
Say a word and predict its first letter
before locating it
Remember important information about
the topic
Say a word slowly to hear and identify
the first sound and connect to a letter
Maintaining Fluency – Point crisply
and read at a steady rate slow enough
to match voice print but without long
pauses
Recognize a few easy high-frequency
words such as
the, to my, is are
Notice and use end punctuation and
reflect it in voice
Locate easy high-frequency words in a
text
Adjusting – Slow down to problem
solve words and resume reading with
momentum
Locate familiar, easy high-frequency
words by noticing anything about the
word
Thinking Beyond the Text
Slow down speech to assist in voice-
print match
Predicting – Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate the
text
Monitoring and Correcting –
Reread the sentence to problem solve,
self-correct, or confirm
Make predictions based on information
in the pictures
Reread to search for/use information
from language or meaning
Predict the ending of a story based on
reading the beginning and middle
Self-monitor and self-correct using
language structure
Make predictions based on personal
experiences and knowledge
Use voice-print match to self-monitor
and self-correct
Making Connections – Talk about
own experiences and knowledge in
relation to the text
Show evidence of close attention to
print
Make connections between texts on the
same topic or with the same content
Use known words to self-monitor and
self-correct
Identify recurring characters or settings
when applicable
Searching for and Using
Information – Read left to right
across one line of print
Synthesizing – Talk about what the
reader already knows relative to text
information
Match one spoken word with one
printed word (1:1)
Identify new information in text or
pictures
Use oral language in combination with
pointing, matching voice with words
on the page (indicated by crisp
pointing)
Inferring - Talk about characters’
feelings
Search for information in the print and
pictures or photographs
Talk about the pictures, revealing
interpretations of a problem or of
characters’ feelings
Reread to search for information
Thinking About the Text
Use language structure and meaning
to learn about print
Analyzing – Understand how the ideas
in a book are related to each other
Summarizing – Remember what the
story is about during reading
Understand how the ideas in a text are
related to the title
Critiquing – Share opinions about a
text and illustrations
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice Teach and Support – Level B (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Recognize most
words quickly with the support of
meaning and language structure
Search for and use information in print
(letters and sounds, known words)
Use the first letter of a word in
connection with meaning or language
syntax to solve it
Ask questions to clarify meaning or get
information
Say a word slowly to hear and identify
the first sound and connect to a letter
Search for and use information in
pictures and language
Recognize a few easy high-frequency
words such as
the, to my, is are, me,
in, it, here, look, and
Reread to search for and use
information from pictures or language
Locate high-frequency words in a text
Remember and use language patterns
to help in reading a text
Locate familiar, easy high-frequency
words by noticing anything about the
word
Summarizing – Remember what the
story is about during reading
Slow down speech to assist in voice-
print match
Remember information to help in
understanding the end of a story
Use knowledge of syllables to help in
voice-print match
Discuss the text after reading,
remembering important information or
details of a story
Monitoring and Correcting –
Reread the sentence to problem solve,
self-correct, or confirm
Remember details while reading
Use the first letters of words (and
elated sounds) to monitor and self-
correct
Maintaining Fluency – Point and
read at a steady rate slow enough to
match but without long pauses
Use prior knowledge to monitor and
self-correct
Notice and use ending punctuation and
reflect it in the voice
Self-monitor and self-correct using
language structure
Adjusting – Slow down too problem
solve words and resume reading with
momentum
Begin to cross-check one kind of
information against another to
monitor and self-correct reading (for
example, meaning with visual
information)
Self-monitor and self-correct using
meaning in text and pictures
Thinking Beyond the Text
Use voice-print match to self-correct
and self-monitor
Predicting - Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate the
text
Show evidence of close attention to
print
Make predictions based on information
in the pictures
Use known words to self-correct and
self-monitor
Predict the ending of a story based on
reading the beginning and middle
Searching for and Using
Information – Read left to right
across more than one line of print
Make predictions using language
structure
Return to the left to read the next line
of print
Make predictions based on personal
experiences and knowledge
Match one spoken word with one
printed word
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Making Connections – Discuss
personal experiences and knowledge
in relation to the text
Analyzing – Understand how the ideas
in a book are related to each other
Make connections between texts on
the same topic or with the same
content
Realize stories have a beginning and
end
Identify recurring characters or setting
when applicable
Understand how the ideas in a book are
related to each other
Synthesizing – Identify what the
reader already knows relative to
information in the text, prior to
reading
Understand how the ideas in a text are
related to the title
Identify new information in text or
pictures or photographs
Critiquing – Share opinions about
books
Inferring – Understand characters’
feelings and reveal through talk or
drawing
Share opinions about illustrations
Understand the pictures reveal
interpretation of a problem or of
characters’ feelings
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level C (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Recognize easy
high-frequency words and simple
regular words easily with support of
meaning and language structure
Summarizing -Remember
information to help understand the
end of the story
Locate the first and last letters of
words in continuous text
Understand and talk about a simple
sequence or events in the story
Notice the beginning letter of a
word, connect to a sound, and say
the first sound of a word
Remember and use details when
discussing a story after reading
Use letter-sound information in
coordination with meaning and
language structure to solve words
Remember important information
about a topic
Say words slowly to identify first
sound, connect to letter, and locate
the word in a text
Maintaining Fluency- Reflect
language syntax by putting words
together in phrases
Recognize 10 or more high
frequency words within continuous
text
Notice and use ending punctuation
and reflect it in the voice
Make connections between words
by letters, sounds, or spelling
patterns
Reflect understanding of words in
bold by saying the word louder (in
fiction texts)
Use known words to make
connections and solve words
Notice and use quotation marks and
reflect dialogue with the voice
Searching for and Using
Information - Reads left to right
across more than one line of print
and return to the left to read the
next line of print
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words in a sentence
Integrate sources of information:
making sure it makes sense, sounds
right and looks right
Adjusting – Slow down to problem
solve words and resume reading with
momentum
Processes texts with simple
dialogue, all assigned to speakers
Thinking Beyond the Text
Remembers and uses language
patterns to help in reading text
Predicting - Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate text
Monitoring and Correcting -
Re-read to self-correct, problem-
solve or confirm meaning
Make predictions using information
from pictures or photographs
Self-monitor and self-correct using
meaning in text and pictures
Predict the ending of a story based on
reading the beginning and the middle
Self-monitor and self-correct using
initial letters and connections to
sounds
Make predictions based on personal
experience and knowledge
Use known words to self-monitor
and self-correct
Make predictions based on
information gained through reading
Self-monitor and self-correct using
language structure
Making Connections- Make and
discuss connections between texts
and reader’s personal experiences or
knowledge
Make connections between texts that
are alike in some way (topic, ending,
characters)
Thinking Beyond the Text
Synthesizing- Identify what the
reader already knows relative to
information in the text
Analyzing – Notice and point out
connections between text and
pictures or photographs
Identify new information in text or
pictures or photographs
Realize stories have a beginning and
an end
Remember new information for
discussion
Understand how the ideas in a text
are related to the title
Talk about what the reader already
knows about a topic or character
prior to and after reading
Critiquing – Share opinions about
the text as a whole (beginning,
characters, ending)
Critiquing – Share opinions about
the text as a whole (beginning,
characters, ending)
Share opinions about illustrations or
photographs
Share opinions about illustrations or
photographs
Analyzing – Notice and point out
connections between text and
pictures or photographs
Realize stories have a beginning
and an end
Understand how the ideas in a text
are related to the title
Critiquing – Share opinions about
the text as a whole (beginning,
characters, ending)
Share opinions about illustrations or
photographs
Inferring- Talk about characters’
against another
Show evidence in the print or
pictures to support inference
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level D (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Recognize a
large number of regular words and
easy high-frequency words quickly
with the support of the meaning
and language structure
Understand and talk about a simple
sequence of events or steps
Locate the first and last letters of
words in continuous text
Maintaining Fluency- Identify and
read phrases as word groups
Say words slowly to identify first
sound, connect to letter, and locate
the word in a text
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words in a sentence
Take words apart by using the
sounds of individual letters in words
with CVC patterns
Notice and use ending punctuation
and reflect it in the voice
Recognize 20 or more high-
frequency words within continuous
text quickly
Reflect words in bold with the voice
Make connections between words
by letters, sounds, or spelling
patterns
Notice and use quotation marks and
reflect dialogue with the voice
Searching for and Using
Information – Notice details in
pictures or photographs and use
information to understand the text
Adjusting – Slow down to problem
solve words and resume good reading
rate
Use text meaning and language
structure to solve new words
Anticipate and use language patterns
when available but do not depend on
them
Process text with simple dialogue
and some pronouns, all assigned to
speakers
Thinking Beyond Text
Reread to search for and use
information
Predicting - Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate text
Notice, search for, remember, and
discuss information that is
important to understanding
Make predictions using picture
information
Monitoring and Correcting
Re-read to self-correct, problem-
solve or confirm meaning
Predict the ending of a story based on
reading the beginning and the middle
Self-monitor accuracy and self-
correct using known words, letter-
sound info, and word parts
Make predictions based on personal
experience and knowledge
Cross checks one source of
information against another
Makes predictions based on
information gained through reading
Uses two or more sources of
information (meaning, structure,
visual) to self-monitor and self-
correct
Making Connections- Make and
discuss connections between texts
and reader’s personal experiences or
knowledge
Use known words to problem solve
Make connections between texts that
are alike in some way (topic, ending,
characters)
Summarizing -Remember
information to help understand the
end of the story
Recognize and apply attributes of
recurring characters where relevant
Recall and retell the important
information in or events
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Synthesizing- Identify what the
reader already knows relative to
information in the text
Analyzing – Notice how the writer
has made a story funny or surprising
Identify new information in text or
pictures
Identify and appreciate humor in a
text
Acquire and report new information
from text
Notice and comment on the
connections between the print and
the pictures
Talk about what the reader already
knows about a topic or character
prior to reading
Understand that a story has a
beginning, a series of events, and an
end
Show evidence in the text of new
ideas or information
Understand and discuss how writers
use interesting characters and
situations
Inferring- Infer and talk about the
characters’ feelings, motives and
attributes
Critiquing – Share opinions about
the text as a whole (beginning,
characters, ending)
Show evidence in the print or
pictures to support inference
Share opinions about illustrations or
photographs
Identify the text type as fiction or
informational
Understand and discuss how writers
use interesting characters and
situations
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level E (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words- Recognize many
regular words and high frequency
words quickly and easily
Summarizing – Remember
information to help in understanding
the end of a story or topic
Use beginning and ending parts of
words to solve them
Recall important details while reading
a text
Use sounds related to vowels to
solve words
Notice a series of events in order to
link them
Use sounds related to consonants
and consonant clusters to solve
words
Understand a simple sequence of
events or steps
Recognize and use word parts
(onsets and rimes) to solve words
while reading
Remember new and important
information about a topic
Make connections between words
by letters, sounds or spelling
patterns
Maintaining Fluency –Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Use what is known about a word to
solve an unknown word while
reading
Reflect language syntax and meaning
through phrasing and expression
Take apart many new words ‘on the
run’
Reflect punctuation through
appropriate pausing and intonation
while reading orally
Take apart compound words to
solve them
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words in a sentence
Monitoring and Correcting
Re-reads the sentence or phrase to
problem-solve, self-correct or
confirm
Adjusting – Slow down to problem
solve and resume good rate of
reading
Use M, S, V to monitor and self-
correct reading
Have expectations for reading fiction
and nonfiction texts
Use sounds related to consonants to
monitor and self-correct reading
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas and resume good rate of
reading
Uses known words to monitor and
self-correct
Thinking Beyond Text
Searching for and Using
Information – Notice details in
pictures and use information to
understand the text
Predicting – Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate the
text
Process texts with simple dialogue
and some pronouns, all assigned to
speakers
Predict the ending of a story based on
reading the beginning and middle
Reread to search for and use
information from language structure
or meaning
Make predictions based on personal
experiences and knowledge
Use all sources of information
together to solve new words
Make predictions based on
information gained through reading
Notice, search for, remember, and
discuss information that is
important to understanding
Make predictions based on
information gained through reading
Thinking Beyond Text
Thinking About the Text
Making Connections – Make and
discuss connections between texts
and reader’s personal experiences
Analyzing – Recognize how the
author or illustrator has created
humor
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read
or heard
Recognize whether a text is fiction or
nonfiction
Recognize and apply attributes of
recurring characters where relevant
Discuss the difference between
photographs and drawings
Synthesizing – Identify what the
reader already knows relative to
information in the text
Recognize and discuss how print
layout or features are used to reflect
meaning (such as large or bold
words)
Identify new information in text or
pictures
Understand that a story has a
beginning, a series of events, and an
end
Acquire new information while
reading a text
Recognize when the writer is
presenting a sequence of events, a
set of directions, or simple factual
information
Talk about what the reader already
knows about a topic or character
prior to reading
Understand how writers use
interesting characters and situations
Show evidence in the text of new
ideas or information
Identify who is telling the story
Understand the central message in
a story
Critiquing – Share opinions about
the text as a whole
Inferring – Infer and talk about
characters’ feelings, motives and
attributes
Express opinions about the quality of
the illustrations or photographs
Infer and talk about causes for
feelings, motives or actions
Express opinions about the
information in a text
See changes in characters across
time and articulate possible reasons
for development and show evidence
Make judgments about characters or
events in a text
Infer causes and effects as implied
in the text and show evidence
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level F (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words
Recognize most words quickly
Notice a series of events in order to link
Remove the endings from base
words to solve new words
Understand a simple sequence of events
or steps
Use letter-sound analysis from left to
right to read new word
Provide an oral summary with
appropriate details in sequence
Recognize and uses word parts –
onset and rimes, consonant clusters
to solve words while reading
Identify and talk about important
information about a topic or story
Make connections between words by
letters, sounds or spelling patterns
Maintaining Fluency – Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Take apart many new words such as
compound words, to solve them
Adjusting – Slow down or repeat to
think about the meaning of the text and
resume normal speed
Recognize 50 or more high
frequency words
Reflect language syntax and meaning
through phrasing and expression
Use M, S, V information in a
coordinated way to solve words
Reflect punctuation through appropriate
pausing and intonation while reading
orally
Monitoring and Correcting – Self-
correct closer to the point of error
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words in a sentence
Reread a phrase to problem solve,
self-correct or confirm
Adjusting – Slow down or repeat to
think about the meaning of the text and
resume normal speed
Use letter-sound relationships and
word parts to monitor and self-
correct reading
Have expectations for reading realistic
fiction, simple animal fantasy, simple
traditional tales, and informational texts
Use M, S, V information to self-
monitor and self-correct
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas and resume good rate of reading
Use known words to self-monitor and
self-correct
Thinking Beyond the Text
Searching for and Using
Information – Reread to search for
and use information or confirm
reading
Predicting – Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate text
Use all sources of information
together to solve words while
reading
Makes predictions based on knowledge
gained through reading
Use simple organizational features
(titles and headings)
Predicts the ending of a story based on
reading the beginning and the middle
Notice and use readers’ tools, such
as table of contents, where
applicable
Makes predictions based on prior
knowledge
Process texts with simple dialogue
and some pronouns
Makes predictions based on knowledge
of characters or type of story
Search for specific facts in
informational texts
Making Connections – Make and
discuss connections between texts and
reader’s personal experiences
Notice, search for, remember, and
discuss information that is important
Recognize and apply attributes of
recurring characters where relevant
Summarizing – Remember
information to help in understanding
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or
heard
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Use specific examples to support
thinking
Analyzing – Understand what the
writer has done to make a text
surprising, funny or interesting
Synthesizing – Discuss prior
knowledge of content before reading
Recognize whether a text is fiction or
nonfiction
Identify new information in text or
pictures
Recognize whether a text is realistic
fiction or fantasy
Notice and acquire new information
while reading a text
Recognize an informational text by its
features
Show evidence from the text to
indicate new ideas or information
Recognize and discuss how print layout
or features are used to reflect meaning
Inferring – Infer and discuss
characters’ feelings, motives and
attributes
Understand that a story has a
beginning, a series of events, and an
end
Interpret causes for feelings,
motives, actions
Identify chronological sequence where
applicable
Show empathy for characters and
infer their feelings and motivations
Notice how the writer has selected
interesting information for factual texts
Show evidence in the print or
pictures to support inferences
Critiquing – Share opinions about the
text as a whole
Infer causes and effects as implied in
the text
Express opinions about a text and state
reasons
Express opinions about the quality of
the illustrations
Express opinions about the information
in a text
Make judgments about characters or
events in a text
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level G (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words - Recognize most
words quickly and easily
Understand and talks about a simple
sequence or events in the story
Remove the endings from base
words to solve new words
Provide an oral summary of a text with
appropriate details in sequence
Use letter clusters (blends and
diagraphs) to solve words
Follow and reflect in discussion,
multiple events in a story
Use left-to-right letter/sound
analysis to read a word
Maintaining Fluency - Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Use sounds related to vowels and
consonants to solve words
Reflect language syntax and meaning
through phrasing and expression
Take apart many new words such as
compound words, to solve them
Reflect punctuation through
appropriate pausing and intonation
while reading orally
Quickly and automatically recognizes
75 or more high frequency words
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words in a sentence
Connect words that mean the same
or almost the same, to derive
meaning from the text
Adjusting – Slow down or repeat to
think about the meaning of the text
and resume normal speed
Use content and pictures to derive
meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary
Have expectations for reading realistic
fiction, simple animal fantasy, simple
traditional tales, and informational texts
Searching for and Using
Information -Notice and uses
labels for pictures
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas and resume good rate of reading
Process texts with split dialogue and
some pronouns
Thinking Beyond the Text
Use all sources of information to
solve new words
Predicting – Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate text
Use simple organizational features
(titles and headings)
Predict the ending based on reading
the beginning and middle
Notice and use readers’ tools such
as table of contents where
applicable
Make predictions based on personal
experiences and knowledge
Searches for specific facts in
informational texts
Make predictions based on information
gained through reading
Monitoring and Correcting - Self-
correct close to the point of error
Make predictions based on knowledge
of characters or type of text
Re-read to problem solve, self-
correct or confirm M, S, V
Support predictions with evidence from
the text or prior knowledge
Use relationships between sounds
and letters, and letter clusters to
monitor accuracy
Making Connections - Make
connections between similar
texts/topics
Use known words to monitor and
self-correct
Make and discuss connections between
texts and reader’s experiences
Realize when more information is
needed to understand text
Recognize and apply attributes of
recurring characters where applicable
Summarizing - Remember
information to help understand the
end of the story
Synthesizing -Relates content of the
text to what is already known
Identify and remember the
important information from a factual
text
Identify new information from simple
informational texts and incorporate into
personal knowledge
Identify new information from
simple informational texts and
incorporate into personal knowledge
Thinking About the Text
Inferring – Infer and interpret
characters’ feelings, motives, and
attributes
Analyzing – Identify what the writer
has done to make a text surprising,
funny, or interesting
Infer causes for feelings, motives, or
actions
Recognize whether a text is fiction or
nonfiction
Show empathy for characters
Identify characteristics of genres
Use and interpret information from
pictures or photographs without
depending on them to construct
meaning
Notice how writers or illustrators use
layout and print features for emphasis
Infer causes and effects as implied
in the text
Identify parts of a text
Justify inferences with evidence
from the text
Notice writer’s use of specific words to
convey meaning
Identifies a point in the story where the
problem is resolved
Discuss whether a story (fiction) could
be true and tell why
Critiquing – Share opinions about the
text as a whole
Express opinions about the quality of a
text
Express opinions about the quality of
illustrations or photographs
Agree or disagree with the ideas in a
text
Make judgments about characters or
events in a text
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level H (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words - Use letter-sound
relationships to solve more complex
words
Summarizing - Remember
information to help understand the
end of the story
Demonstrate flexible ways to solve words
– taking it apart, using meaning
Demonstrate understanding of
sequence when summarizing a text
Demonstrate competent active word-
solving while reading at a good pace
Identify and understand a set of
related ideas in a text
Use sounds related to vowels and
consonants to solve words
Summarize narratives with multiple
episodes as part of the same plot
Recognize and uses word parts – onset
and rimes, consonant clusters to solve
words while reading
Provide an oral summary with
appropriate details in sequence after
reading
Make connections between words by
letter sounds or spelling patterns
Recount the most important
information from a text
Take apart many new words such as
compound words, to solve them
Maintaining Fluency -
Demonstrate phrased, fluent oral
reading
Quickly and automatically recognizes 100
or more high frequency words within
continuous text
Reflect language syntax and
meaning through phrasing and
expression (including dialogue)
Connect words that mean the same or
almost the same, to derive meaning from
the text
Demonstrate awareness of the
function of the full range of
punctuation
Use context and pictures to derive
meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words to reflect meaning
Searching for and Using Information
– Use multiple sources of information
together to solve words
Use multiple sources of information
(language structure, meaning) to
support fluency and phrasing
Use some simple graphics, labeled
pictures, that add information to the text
Adjusting – Slow down or repeat to
think about the meaning of the text
Process texts with split dialogue, all
assigned to speakers
Have expectations for reading
various types of text
Use a table of contents to locate
information in the text
Reread to solve and think
Notice, search for and discuss information
that is important to understanding
Thinking Beyond the Text
Use a table of contents to locate
information in a text
Predicting – Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate text
Monitoring and Correcting -
Self-corrects close to the point of error
Use understanding of text structure
to make predictions
Re-read (at the phrase or word) to
problem solve, self-correct or confirm
when needed but less frequently than in
previous levels
Make predictions based on prior
knowledge and information gained
through reading
Use multiple sources of information to
monitor and self-correct using language
structure and letter-sound information
Make predictions based on
knowledge of characters or type of
story
Use known words to monitor and self-
correct
Support predictions with evidence
from the text or prior knowledge
Realize when more information is needed
to understand text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Making Connections – Bring
knowledge from personal experiences to
the interpretation of characters or events
Analyzing – Understand what the
writer has done to make a text
surprising, funny or interesting
Bring prior knowledge to the
understanding of a text before, during
and after reading
Discuss characteristics of genres
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or heard
Differentiate between informational
and fiction texts
Recognize and apply attributes of
recurring characters or settings where
relevant
Understand, talk about, write, or
draw when a writer has used
description or compare and contrast
Synthesizing - Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Notice and discuss how writers or
illustrators use layout and print
features for emphasis
Identify new information and incorporate
it into present understandings
Identify parts of a text
Demonstrate learning new content from
reading
Notice writer’s use of specific words
to convey meaning
Inferring - Show empathy for characters
and infer their feelings or motivations
Identify a point in the story when
the problem is resolved
Interpret and talk about causes for
feelings, motives or actions
Discuss whether a story could be
true and tell why
Use and interpret information from
pictures without depending on them to
construct meaning derived from reading
words
Justify inferences with evidence from the
text
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support – Level I (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words - Use letter-sound
relationships to solve complex words
Summarizing – Follow and
remember a series of events over
longer text in order to understand
the ending
Demonstrate flexible ways to solve words
(taking it apart, using meaning)
Report episodes in a text in the order
they happened
Demonstrate competent active word-
solving while reading at a good pace
Identify and understand a set of
related ideas in a text
Use sounds related to vowels and
consonants to solve words
Summarize a longer narrative text
with multiple episodes
Recognize and use word parts – onset
and rimes, consonant clusters to solve
words while reading
Identify important ideas in a text and
report them in an organized way,
either orally or in writing
Make connections between words by
letters, sounds or spelling patterns
Understand the problem of a story
and its solution
Take apart many new words such as
compound words, to solve them
Maintaining Fluency-Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Quickly and automatically recognizes 150
or more high frequency words within
continuous text
Demonstrate awareness of the
function of the full range of
punctuation
Connect words that mean the same or
almost the same, to derive meaning from
the text
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words to reflect meaning
Use context and pictures to derive
meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary
Use multiple sources of information
(language structure, meaning) to
support fluency and phrasing
Searching for and Using Information
Use multiple sources of information
together to solve words
Quickly and automatically solves
most words in the text
Notice and use graphics such as labels
and captions for pictures and diagrams
Adjusting – Slow down to search
Process texts with split dialogue assigned
to speakers
Demonstrate different ways of
reading a variety of text
Use a table of contents, index, glossary
to locate information in the text
Reread to solve words and think
about ideas
Notice, search for and discuss
information that is important to
understanding
Thinking Beyond the Text
Ask and answer questions about key
details in a text
Predicting – Use knowledge of
language structure to anticipate the
text
Monitoring and Correcting – Self-
correct at point of error
Use text structure to predict outcome
of a narrative
Use multiple sources of information to
monitor and self-correct using M, S, V
Make predictions based on
knowledge of characters or genre
Use known words to monitor and self-
correct
Make predictions about the solution
to the problem of a story
Realize when more information is needed
to understand text
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Reread to confirm word solving by
Justify predictions using evidence
checking other sources of information
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Synthesizing - Differentiates between
what is known and new information
Analyzing– Notice some
characteristics of genre (for example,
traditional language, literary
language, descriptive language)
Express changes in ideas after reading a
text
Understand and talk about when a
writer has used underlying structures
(description, compare and contrast,
temporal sequence, problem and
solution)
Demonstrate learning new content from
reading
Identify and differentiate between
informational and fiction texts
Identify the message or moral of the
story
Notice the relationship between
illustrations and text
Inferring – Infer and discuss characters’
feelings and motivations through reading
their dialogue
Notice how writers or illustrators use
layout and print features for
emphasis
Demonstrate understandings of
characters, using evidence from text to
support statements
Notice and speculates why the writer
has selected information to present
in particular ways (photograph,
caption, boxes, pictures)
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying motives
Identifies a point in the story where a
problem is resolved
Discuss whether a story could be true
and tell why
Critiquing – Express opinions about
the quality of a text or illustration
Notice how the illustrations are
consistent (or inconsistent) with
meaning and extend the meaning
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Judge the text as to whether it is
interesting, humorous, or exciting
and specify why
Agree or disagree with the ideas in a
text and give reasons
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level J (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words- Uses multiple sources of
information to solve new words
Use multiple sources of information to
support fluency
Uses multiple strategies to figure out new
words while focusing on meaning
Quickly and automatically solves most
words in the text
Analyzes words from left to right, using
knowledge of sound/letter relationships
Reads silently at a good rate
Uses known words and word parts to
figure out new words
Adjusting – Slow down to search for
information and resume normal pace of
reading again
Reads fluently, slowing down to figure out
new words and then resuming fluency
Demonstrate different ways of reading
fiction and nonfiction texts
Flexibly uses meaning, syntax and visual
information to monitor reading
Demonstrate adjustment of reading for
simple biographies
Searching for and Uses Information-
Processes text with varied dialogue
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas and resume good rate of reading
Notices and uses graphics such as labels,
simple diagrams and captions
Thinking Beyond the Text
Uses readers tools such as table of
contents, index and glossary to locate
information
Predicting – Use text structure to
predict the outcome of a narrative
Processes long sentences with 10 or more
words
Make predictions about the solution to
the problem of a story
Uses chapter titles to predict content
Make predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Monitoring and Correcting - Self-
correct errors that cause loss of meaning
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Re-read when necessary to search for
meaning and self-corrects
Justify predictions using specific
evidence
Use multiple sources of information to
monitor and self-correct
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer
Summarizing - Reports episodes in the
text in sequence
Making Connections - Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events
Identify important ideas in a text and
reports them in an organized way
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding of a text before, during
and after reading
Follow and remember events in the story
to understand the ending
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or
heard
Understands the problem of a story and
it’s solution
Specify the nature of connections
(topic, content, type of story, writer)
Maintaining Fluency - Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading with
appropriate stress on words
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Demonstrate awareness of the function of
punctuation
Demonstrate learning new content from
reading
Express changes in ideas after reading
text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Inferring – Demonstrate understandings
of characters, using evidence from text to
support statements
Analyzing – Notice aspects of genres
Infer characters’ feelings and motivations
through reading their dialogue
Understand when a writer has used
underlying structures (description,
compare/contrast, temporal sequence,
problem/solution)
Infer and discuss understanding of
characters’ feelings and motivations
Notice how pictures are used to
communicate meaning in illustrated
texts
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying motives
Notice the way a writer assigns
dialogue
Infer and discuss what characters are like
from what they say and do
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the author
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Notice specific writing techniques (for
example, question and answer format)
Notice descriptive language and discuss
how it adds enjoyment or
understanding
Identify a point in the story when the
problem is resolved
Notice and discuss how the writer of a
graphic novel has communicated
meaning through illustrations and print
Critiquing – Express opinions about
the quality of a text or illustrations
Notice how the illustrations are
consistent (or inconsistent) with
meaning and extend the meaning
Notice the quality of illustrations or
graphics
Agree or disagree with the information
or ideas in a text
Hypothesize how characters could have
behaved differently
Judge the text as to whether it is
interesting, humorous, or exciting, and
specify why
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level K (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words- Consistent use of
multiple sources of information in
solving new words
Realize when more information is
needed to understand a text
Connect words that mean the same or
almost the same to help in
understanding a text and acquiring new
vocabulary
Summarizing- Follow and
remember a series of events over a
longer text in order to understand the
ending
Demonstrate flexible ways to solve
words – word parts, endings, prefixes
Report episodes in a text in the order
they happened
Break down a longer word into syllables
in order to decode manageable units
Summarize ideas from a text and tell
how they are related
Solve words of 2 or 3 syllables, many
words with inflectional endings and
complex letter-sound relationships
Summarize a longer narrative text
with multiple episodes
Solve content specific words using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text
Identify important ideas in a text and
report them in an organized way,
either orally or in writing
Use context to derive meaning of new
words
Understand the problem of a story
and its solution
Understand longer descriptive words
Understand how to use pictures to
construct meaning in graphic texts
Demonstrate competent, active word
solving while reading at a good pace-
less overt problem solving
Identify the main topic of a multi-
paragraph text as well as the focus of
an individual paragraph
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for information in
illustrations to support text
interpretation
Maintaining Fluency- Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading with
appropriate stress on words
Search for information in graphics
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects
understanding of characters and
events
Use chapter titles as to foreshadow
content
Demonstrate awareness of the
function of the full range of
punctuation
Use readers’ tools (table of contents,
headings, captions, glossary, sidebars,
electronic menus, and author’s notes)
Use multiple sources of information
(language structure, meaning, fast
word recognition) to support fluency
and phrasing
Process long sentences (15 or more
words) with embedded clauses
Reads silently at a good rate
Process a wide range of dialogue, some
unassigned
Solve most words in the text quickly
and automatically to support fluency
Monitoring and Correcting- Self-
correct at point of error (or before overt
error)
Adjusting – Slow down to search for
information and resume normal pace
of reading
Self-correct when errors detract from
the meaning of the text
Demonstrate different ways of
reading fiction and nonfiction
Self-correct information when it does
not reflect the meaning
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas and resume good rate of
reading
Use multiple sources of information to
monitor and self-correct
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Predicting – Understand and use text
structure to predict the outcome of a
narrative
Analyzing – Notice and discuss
aspects of genres
Make predictions about the solution to
the problem of the story
Understand and identify when a
writer has used underlying
organizational structures
Make predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Compare and contrast 2 or more
versions of the same story by
different authors or from different
cultures
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Notice variety in layout
Justify predictions using evidence
Notice how pictures are used to
communicate meaning in illustrated
texts
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer
Notice and discuss that way an
author assigns dialogue
Making Connections – Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the author
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding of a text before, during
and after reading
Notice specific writing techniques
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or
heard
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discuss how it adds to
the meaning or enjoyment of a text
Specify the nature of connections
(topic, content, type of story, writer)
Notice descriptive language and
discuss how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Understand the relationship between
the setting and the plot of a story
Demonstrate learning new content from
reading
Identify a point in the story when the
problem is resolved
Express changes in ideas after reading
a text
Notice and discuss how the writer of
a graphic novel has communicated
meaning through illustrations and
print
Inferring –Demonstrate through talk
or writing understandings of characters,
using evidence from text to support
statements
Critiquing – Express opinions about
the quality of a text
Infer and discuss characters’ feelings
and motivations through reading their
dialogue
Discuss the quality of illustrations or
graphics
Infer and discuss what characters are
like from what they say or do
Agree or disagree with the ideas in a
text
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying
motives
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Infer the big ideas or message (theme)
of a text
Judge the text as to whether it is
interesting, humorous or exciting and
specify why
Infer causes of problems or of
outcomes in fiction and nonfiction texts
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level L (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words - Notice new and
interesting words, and actively adds
them in oral or written work
Monitoring and Correcting - Self-
correct when errors detract from the
meaning of the text
Connect words that mean the same or
almost the same to help understand
text and acquire new vocabulary
Realize when more information is
needed to understand a text
Demonstrate flexible ways to solve
words – word parts, endings, prefixes
Self-correct intonation when it does
not reflect the meaning when reading
aloud
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text
Use multiple sources of information to
monitor and self-correct
Solve words with 2 or 3 syllables,
many words with inflectional endings
and complex letter-sound relationships
Summarizing- Follow and remember
a series of events over a longer text
in order to understand the ending
Recognize multiple meanings of words
Summarize ideas from a text and tell
how they are related
Use context to derive meaning of new
words
Summarize a longer narrative text
with multiple episodes, reporting
events in the order they happened
Understand longer descriptive words
Identify important ideas in a text and
report them in an organized way,
either orally or in writing
Demonstrate competent, active word
solving while reading at a good pace
Understand the problem and solution
of a story
Derive meaning of words from
graphics
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Searching for and Using
Information- Use multiple sources of
information to solve new words
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding
of characters and events
Search for information in illustrations
to support text interpretation
Demonstrate awareness of the
function of the full range of
punctuation
Search for information in graphics
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
Use chapter titles and section
headings as to foreshadow context
Use multiple sources of information to
support fluency and phrasing
Uses readers’ tools to gather
information
Quickly and automatically solve most
words in the text in a way that
supports fluency
Processes longer sentences (over 15
words) with embedded clauses
Read silently and orally at an
appropriate rate
Processes sentences with a series of
nouns, verbs or adverbs
Adjusting – Slow down to search for
information or think about ideas
Process a wide range of dialogue,
some unassigned
Demonstrate different ways of
reading fiction and nonfiction
Follow a sequence of actions from
graphics
Reread to solve words and resume
normal reading rate
Search for and talk about important
Realize that illustrations carry a great
information in pictures and graphics
deal of meaning in a graphic text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Predicting –Use text structure to
predict the outcome of a narrative
Analyzing – Notice and discuss
aspects of genres
Make predictions about the solution to
the problem in a story
Understand a writer’s use of
underlying organizational structures
Make a wide range of predictions
based on personal experiences,
content knowledge, and knowledge of
similar texts
Demonstrate the ability to identify
how a text is organized (diagram or
talk)
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Identify important aspects of
illustrations (design related to the
meaning of the text)
Justify predictions using evidence
Notice variety in layout
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer
Notice how characters respond to
important events and challenges and
explain why
Making Connections – Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events
Notice the way a writer assigns
dialogue
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding of a text before, during
and after reading
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the same
author
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard
Notice specific writing techniques
Specify the nature of connections
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discuss how it adds to
the meaning or enjoyment of text
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Notice descriptive language and
discuss how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Understand the relationship between
the setting and the plot of a story
Express changes in ideas after reading
a text
Identify a point in the story when the
problem is resolved
Inferring – Demonstrate understandings
of characters, using evidence from text
Identify the author’s explicitly stated
purpose
Infer characters’ feelings and motivations
through reading their dialogue
Notice and discuss how the writer of a
graphic text has communicated
meaning through illustrations and
print
Show understanding of characters and
their traits
Critiquing –State opinions about a
text and provide evidence to support
them
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying motives
Discuss the quality of illustrations or
graphics
Infer the big ideas or message (theme) of
a text
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes in
fiction and nonfiction texts
Judge the text as to whether it is
interesting, humorous, or exciting,
and specify why
Infer setting, character’s traits and feelings,
and plot from illustrations in graphic texts
Use evidence from the text to support
thinking
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level M (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Begin to notice
new and interesting words, record
them, and actively add them to
speaking or writing vocabulary
Monitoring and Correcting - Self-
correct when errors detract from the
meaning of the text
Connect words that mean the same or
almost the same to help understand
text and acquire new vocabulary
When reading aloud, self-correct
intonation when it does not reflect the
meaning
Demonstrate flexible ways to solve
words – word parts, endings, prefixes
Consistently check on understanding
and search for information when
meaning breaks down
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text
Uses multiple sources of information
to monitor and self-correct
Solve words with 2 or 3 syllables,
many words with inflectional endings
and complex letter-sound relationships
Summarizing- Follow and remember
a series of events over a longer text
in order to understand the ending
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Summarize ideas from a text and tell
how they are related
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Summarize a longer narrative text
with multiple episodes, reporting
events in the order they happened
Understand longer descriptive words
Identify important ideas in a text and
report them in an organized way,
either orally or in writing
Demonstrate competent, active word
solving while reading at a good pace
Understand the problem and solution
of a story
Derive meaning of words from
graphics
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Searching for and Using
Information- Use multiple sources of
information to solve new words
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding
of characters and events
Search for information in illustrations
to support text interpretation
Demonstrate awareness of the
function of the full range of
punctuation
Search for information in graphics
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
Use chapter titles and section
headings as to foreshadow context
Use multiple sources of information to
support fluency and phrasing
Uses readers’ tools to gather
information
Quickly and automatically solve most
words in the text in a way that
supports fluency
Process longer sentences (over 15
words) with embedded clauses
Read silently and orally at an
appropriate rate
Process sentences with a series of
nouns, verbs or adverbs
Adjusting – Slow down to search for
information or think about ideas
Process a wide range of dialogue,
some unassigned
Demonstrate different ways of
reading fiction and nonfiction
Understand how to use pictures to
construct meaning in graphic text
Reread to solve words and resume
normal reading rate
Search for and talk about important
information in pictures and graphics
Realize that meaning must be derived
from illustrations in graphic texts
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Predicting –Use text structure to
predict the outcome of a narrative
Analyzing – Notice aspects of genres
Make predictions about the solution to
the problem in a story
Understand when a writer has used
underlying organizational structures
Make a wide range of predictions
based on personal experiences,
content knowledge, and knowledge of
similar texts
Demonstrate the ability to identify
how a text is organized (diagram or
talk)
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Identify important aspects of
illustrations (design related to the
meaning of the text)
Justify predictions using evidence
Notice variety in layout
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer
Describe the problem of a story
Making Connections – Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events
Notice the way a writer assigns
dialogue
Bring background content knowledge
to the understanding of a text before,
during and after reading
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the same
author
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard
Notice specific writing techniques
Specify the nature of connections
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discuss how it adds to
the meaning or enjoyment of text
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Notice descriptive language and
discuss how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Understand the relationship between
the setting and the plot of a story
Expresses changes in ideas after
reading a text
Identify a point in the story when the
problem is resolved
Inferring – Demonstrate understandings
of characters, using evidence from text to
support statements
Identify the author’s explicitly stated
purpose
Infer characters’ feelings and motivations
through reading their dialogue
Notice and discuss how the writer of a
graphic text has communicated
meaning through illustrations and
print
Generate or react to alternative
understandings of text
Critiquing –State opinions about a
text and provide evidence to support
them
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying motives
Discuss the quality of illustrations or
graphics
Infer the big ideas or message (theme) of
a text
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes in
fiction and nonfiction texts
Judge the text as to whether it is
interesting, humorous, or exciting,
and specify why
Infer setting, character’s traits and feelings,
and plot from illustrations in graphic texts
Identify significant events and tell how they
are related to the problem of the story or
the solution
Support all thinking with evidence from the
text
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level N (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Begin to notice
new and interesting words, record
them, and actively add them to
speaking or writing vocabulary
Monitoring and Correcting - Self-
correct when errors detract from the
meaning of the text
Connect words that mean the same or
almost the same to help understand
text and acquire new vocabulary
When reading aloud, self-correct
intonation when it does not reflect the
meaning
Demonstrate flexible ways to solve
words – word parts, endings, prefixes
Consistently check on understanding
and search for information when
meaning breaks down
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text
Use multiple sources of information to
monitor and self-correct
Solve words with 2 or 3 syllables,
many words with inflectional endings
and complex letter-sound relationships
Summarizing- Follow and remember
a series of events over a longer text
in order to understand the ending
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Summarize ideas from a text and tell
how they are related
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Summarize a longer narrative text
with multiple episodes, reporting
events in the order they happened
Understand longer descriptive words
Identify important ideas in a text and
report them in an organized way,
either orally or in writing
Demonstrate competent, active word
solving while reading at a good pace
Understand the problem and solution
of a story
Derive meaning of words from
graphics
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Searching for and Using
Information- Use multiple sources of
information to solve new words
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding
of characters and events
Search for information in illustrations
to support text interpretation
Demonstrate awareness of the
function of the full range of
punctuation
Search for information in graphics
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
Use chapter titles and section
headings as to foreshadow context
Use multiple sources of information to
support fluency and phrasing
Use readers’ tools to gather
information
Quickly and automatically solve most
words in the text in a way that
supports fluency
Process longer sentences (over 15
words) with embedded clauses
Read silently and orally at an
appropriate rate
Process sentences with a series of
nouns, verbs or adverbs
Adjusting – Slow down to search for
information or think about ideas
Process a wide range of dialogue,
some unassigned
Demonstrate different ways of
reading fiction and nonfiction
Understand how to use pictures to
construct meaning in graphic text
Reread to solve words and resume
normal reading rate
Search for and talk about important
information in pictures and graphics
Realize that meaning must be derived
from illustrations in graphic texts
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
Predicting –Use text structure to
predict the outcome of a narrative
Analyzing – Notice aspects of genres
Make predictions about the solution to
the problem in a story
Understand when a writer has used
underlying organizational structures
Make a wide range of predictions
based on personal experiences,
content knowledge, and knowledge of
similar texts
Demonstrate the ability to identify
how a text is organized (diagram or
talk)
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Identify important aspects of
illustrations (design related to the
meaning of the text)
Justify predictions using evidence
Notice variety in layout
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer
Describe the problem of a story
Making Connections – Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events
Notice the way a writer assigns
dialogue
Bring background content knowledge
to the understanding of a text before,
during and after reading
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the same
author
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard
Notice specific writing techniques
Specify the nature of connections
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discuss how it adds to
the meaning or enjoyment of text
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Notice descriptive language and
discuss how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Understand the relationship between
the setting and the plot of a story
Expresses changes in ideas after
reading a text
Identify a point in the story when the
problem is resolved
Inferring – Demonstrate
understandings of characters, using
evidence from text to support
statements
Identify the author’s explicitly stated
purpose
Infer characters’ feelings and
motivations through reading their
dialogue
Notice and discuss how the writer of a
graphic text has communicated
meaning through illustrations and
print
Generate or react to alternative
understandings of text
Critiquing –State opinions about a
text and provide evidence to support
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying
motives
Discuss the quality of illustrations or
graphics
Infer the big ideas or message
(theme) of a text
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Infer causes of problems or of
outcomes in fiction and nonfiction
texts
Judge the text as to whether it is
interesting, humorous, or exciting,
and specify why
Infer setting, character’s traits and
feelings, and plot from illustrations in
graphic texts
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the problem of the
story or the solution
Support all thinking with evidence
from the text
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level O (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Understand
connotative meaning of words
Process many long sentences (over 15
words) with embedded clauses
(parenthetical material, prepositional
phrases, introductory clauses, series of
nouns, verbs or adverbs)
Understand words when used
figuratively
Process a wide range of dialogue, some
unassigned
Notice new and interesting words, and
add them to speaking and writing
vocabulary
Process texts that have many lines of
print on a page
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text
Form implicit questions and search for
answers while reading
Solve words with 2 or 3 syllables,
many words with inflectional endings
and complex letter-sound relationships
Respond to plot tension or suspense by
reading on to seek resolutions to
problems
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Sustain attention to a text read over
several days, remembering details and
revising interpretations as new events
are encountered
Identify words with multiple
meanings, discuss alternative
meanings, and select the precise
meaning within a text
Search for and use information in a
sequence of illustrations in graphic texts
Understand longer descriptive words
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor accuracy and
understanding, self-correcting when
errors detract from meaning
Demonstrate knowledge of flexible
ways to solve words
Summarizing- Follow and remember a
series of events and the story problem
and solution over a longer text in order
to understand the ending
Solve some undefined words from
background knowledge
Identify and understand sets of related
ideas organized into categories
Apply problem solving strategies to
technical words or proper nouns that
are challenging
Summarize longer narrative texts with
multiple episodes either orally or in
writing
Notice unusual use of words in
graphic text (onomatopoetic words)
Identify important ideas in a text and
report them in an organized way, either
orally or in writing
Realize that words in print are partially
defined by illustrations in graphic text
Summarize a text at intervals during the
reading of a longer text
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Understand words that stand for
abstract ideas
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding of
characters and events
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for information
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing, phrasing and intonation,
in graphics
using size of font, bold, and italics as
appropriate
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Use multiple sources of information to
support fluency and phrasing
Thinking Within Text
Inferring – Follow multiple characters
in different episodes, inferring their
feelings about each other
Adjusting –Demonstrate different
ways of reading related to genre,
including simple biographies, fantasy,
and historical fiction
Demonstrate understandings of
characters (their traits, how and why
they change) using evidence to support
statements
Adjust reading to process texts with
difficult and complex layout
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
and discuss how they are applicable to
people’s lives today
Slow down or reread to solve words or
think about ideas and resume good
rate of reading
Generate or react to alternative
understandings of a text
Realize that meaning must be derived
from illustrations in graphic texts
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Thinking Beyond the Text
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the problem of the
story or the solution
Predicting – Make a wide range of
predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Infer setting, character’s traits and
feelings, and plot from illustrations in
graphic texts
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Justify predictions using evidence
Thinking About the Text
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer as
well as inferred characteristics
Analyzing – Notice aspects of genres
Make predictions based on illustrations
in graphic texts
Understand when a writer has used
underlying organizational structures
Draw conclusions from information
Demonstrate the ability to identify how a
text is organized (diagram or talk)
Making Connections – Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events that are not within the reader’s
experience
Notice how the author or illustrator has
used illustrations and other graphics to
convey meaning
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding of a text before, during
and after reading
Notice variety in layout
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read
or heard and demonstrate in writing
Notice the way a writer assigns dialogue
Use knowledge from one text to help
in understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the same author
Specify the nature of connections
Notice specific writing techniques
Synthesizing – Differentiate
between what is known and new
information
Notice and interpret figurative language
and discuss how it adds to the meaning
or enjoyment of text
Mentally form categories of related
information and revise them as new
information is acquired across the text
Notice descriptive language and discuss
how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Notice how the setting is important in
the story
Express changes in ideas or
knowledge after reading a text
Describe the story problem and
resolution
Demonstrate changing perspective as
events in a story unfold
Identify the author’s explicitly stated
purpose
Synthesize information across a longer
text
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Thinking About the Text
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Critiquing –State opinions about a
text and provide evidence to support
them
Evaluate the quality of illustrations or
graphics
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Evaluate aspects of a text that add
enjoyment
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge (for example, historical
fiction)
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level P (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Understand
connotative meaning of words
Process a wide range of complex
dialogue, some unassigned
Understand words when used
figuratively
Process texts that have many lines of
print on a page
Notice new and interesting words, and
add them to speaking and writing
vocabulary
Form implicit questions and search for
answers while reading
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text
Respond to plot tension or suspense by
reading on to seek resolutions to
problems
Solve words with 2 or 3 syllables, many
words with inflectional endings and
complex letter-sound relationships
Sustain attention to a text read over
several days, remembering details and
revising interpretations as new events
are encountered
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Summarizing- Follow and remember a
series of events and the story problem
and solution over a longer text in order
to understand the ending
Identify words with multiple meanings,
discuss alternative meanings, and
select the precise meaning within a
text
Summarize a text at intervals during the
reading of a longer text
Understand longer descriptive words
Identify and understand sets of related
ideas organized into categories
Demonstrate knowledge of flexible
ways to solve words
Identify important ideas and report
them in an organized way
Solve some undefined words from
background knowledge
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Apply problem solving strategies to
technical words or proper nouns that
are challenging
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding
of characters and events
Notice unusual use of words in graphic
text (onomatopoetic words)
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words using size of font, bold, and
italics as appropriate
Realize that words in print are partially
defined by illustrations in graphic text
Use multiple sources of information to
support fluency and phrasing
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Adjusting –Demonstrate different
ways of reading related to genre
Understand words that stand for
abstract ideas
Sometimes adjust reading to process
texts with difficult and complex layout
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor accuracy and
understanding
Slow down or reread to solve words or
think about ideas
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for information
in graphics
Realize that meaning must be derived
from illustrations in graphic texts
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Sometimes adjust reading within texts
to accommodate hybrid texts that
combine genres
Thinking Beyond the Text
Inferring – Follow multiple characters in
different episodes, inferring their feelings
about each other
Predicting – Make a wide range of
predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Demonstrate understandings of characters
(their traits, how and why they change)
using evidence to support statements
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text and
discuss how they are applicable to people’s
lives today
Justify predictions using evidence
Generate or react to alternative
understandings of a text
Predict what characters will do based
on the traits revealed by the writer as
well as inferred characteristics
Infer characters’ feelings and
motivations through reading their
dialogue and what other characters say
Make predictions based on illustrations
in graphic texts
Identify significant events and tell how they
are related to the problem of the story or the
solution
Making Connections – Bring
background knowledge to the
understanding of a text before, during
and after reading
Infer setting, character’s traits and feelings,
and plot from illustrations in graphic texts
Make connections between the reader’s
real life experiences or feelings and
people who live in diverse cultures,
distant places, and different times
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying motives
Interpret characters and events that
are not within the reader’s experience
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes in
fiction and nonfiction texts
Use knowledge from one text to help in
understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Thinking About the Text
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard
Analyzing- Notice combined genres in
hybrid texts
Specify the nature of connections
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Identify author’s explicitly stated
purpose
Mentally form categories of related
information and revise them as new
information is acquired across the text
Identify elements such as setting,
problem, resolution, and conflict
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Understand when a writer has used
underlying organizational structures
Express changes in ideas or knowledge
after reading a text and say why
Demonstrate the ability to identify how
a text is organized
Demonstrate changing perspective as
events in a story unfold particularly
applied to people and cultures different
from the reader’s own
Notice how the author or illustrator has
used pictures and other graphics to
convey meaning
Synthesizing – Differentiate between
what is known and new information
Notice variety in layout
Mentally form categories of related
information and revise them as new
information is acquired across the text
Notice aspects of a writer’s style after
reading several texts by the author
Demonstrate learning new content
Notice specific writing techniques
from reading
Express changes in ideas or knowledge
after reading a text and say why
Notice the way a writer assigns dialogue
Demonstrate changing perspective as
events in a story unfold particularly
applied to people and cultures different
from the reader’s own
Notice descriptive language and
discusses how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Thinking About the Text
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discusses how it adds to
the meaning or enjoyment of text
Notice how the setting is important in
the story
Understand how the writer built
interest and suspense across a story
Notice elements of fantasy (motifs,
symbolism, magic)
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Compare and contrast the points of
view from which different stories are
narrated including the difference
between first and third person
narration
Critiquing – State opinions about a
text and show evidence to support
them
Evaluate the quality of illustrations and
graphics
Assess how graphics add to the quality
of the text or provide additional
information
Notice the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Hypothesize how characters could have
behaved differently
Evaluate aspect of a text that add
enjoyment (for example, a humorous
character) or interest (plot or
information)
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level Q (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and
interesting words, and actively add
them to speaking or writing vocabulary
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for information in
graphics
Demonstrate knowledge of flexible
ways to solve words
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Solve multisyllabic words using vowel
patterns, phonogram patterns, affixes
and other word parts
Process sentences with embedded
clauses (parenthetical information,
prepositional phrases, introductory
clauses, series of nouns, verbs or
adverbs)
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text as well as background
knowledge
Process a wide range of complex
dialogue, some unassigned
Solve some undefined words from
background knowledge
Process some texts with dense print
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts
Identify words with multiple meanings,
discuss alternative meanings, and
select the precise meaning within a
text
Respond to plot tension or suspense by
reading on to seek resolutions to
problems
Apply problem solving strategies to
technical words or proper nouns that
are challenging
Sustain attention to a text read over
several days, remembering details and
revising interpretations as new events
are encountered
Notice unusual use of words in graphic
text (onomatopoetic words)
Form implicit questions and search for
answers while reading
Use readers’ tools to solve words
Understand words with multiple
meanings and
Understand connotative meaning of
words
Understand words that stand for
abstract ideas
Understand figurative use of words
Summarizing- Summarize longer
narrative texts with multiple episodes
either orally or in writing
Develop deeper understanding of
words that have been encountered
before, but are not familiar
Identify important ideas and report
them in an organized way
Identify words with multiple meanings,
discuss alternative meanings, and
select the precise meaning within text
Summarize a text at intervals during the
reading of a longer text
Use illustrations to derive meanings of
Remember the story problem or plot, as
words
well as important information, over a
longer text in order to continue to
construct meaning
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor accuracy and
understanding
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific or
technical text (including what happened
and why) based on specific information
in the text
Thinking Within Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse cultures,
times, and places, acquire new content
and perspectives
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding
of characters and events
Draw conclusions from information
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
while reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Inferring – Follow multiple characters in
different episodes, inferring their feelings
about each other
Adjusting –Change style and pace of
reading to reflect purpose
Demonstrate understandings of characters
(their traits, how and why they change)
using evidence to support statements
Adjust reading to process texts with
difficult and complex layout
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text and
discuss how they are applicable to people’s
lives today
Slow down or reread to solve words or
think about ideas
Speculate on alternative meanings that the
text may have
Realize that meaning must be derived
from illustrations in graphic texts
Infer characters’ feelings and
motivations through reading their
dialogue and what other characters say
Thinking Beyond the Text
Identify significant events and tell how they
are related to the problem of the story or the
solution
Predicting – Make a wide range of
predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Take perspectives that may be unfamiliar in
interpreting characters’ motives, causes for
action, or themes
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Infer cause and effect in influencing
characters’ feelings or underlying motives
Justify predictions using evidence
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes in
fiction and nonfiction texts
Make predictions based on graphic
texts
Thinking About the Text
Making Connections – Make
connections between the reader’s real
life experiences or feelings and people
who live in diverse cultures, distant
places, and different times
Analyzing- Notice combined genres in
hybrid texts
Bring background (content) knowledge
to understanding a wide variety of
fiction and nonfiction texts
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard
Identify author’s implicitly stated
purpose
Use knowledge from one text to help in
understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Identify elements such as setting,
problem, resolution, and conflict
Specify the nature of connections
Demonstrate the ability to identify how
a text is organized
Synthesizing – Mentally form
Notice how the author or illustrator has
categories of related information and
revise them as new information is
acquired across the text
used pictures and other graphics to
convey meaning or create mood
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Demonstrate changing perspective as
events in a story unfold particularly
applied to people and cultures different
from the reader’s own
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft (style,
language, perspective, themes) after
reading several texts by the author
Thinking About the Text
Notice descriptive language and
discusses how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Critiquing – State opinions about a
text and show evidence to support
them
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discusses how it adds to
the meaning or enjoyment of text
Evaluate the quality of illustrations and
graphics
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language (or special types
of language such as irony) and talk
about how it adds to the quality of a
text
Assess how graphics add to the quality
of the text or provide additional
information
Talk about how the writer built interest
and suspense across a story
Notice and talk about the author’s
qualifications to write an informational
text
Compare and contrast the points of
view from which different stories are
narrated including the difference
between first and third person
narration
Hypothesize how characters could have
behaved differently
Notice aspects of genres (realistic and
historical fiction, fantasy, biography,
autobiography, memoir and diaries,
and other nonfiction)
Evaluate aspect of a text that add
enjoyment (for example, a humorous
character) or interest (plot or
information)
Understand and talk about the overall
text structure and underlying
organizational structures
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge
Identify and evaluate arguments and
conclusions in persuasive text
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Understand and talk about the role of
the setting in realistic and historical
fiction as well as fantasy
Identify similarities and differences
across texts
Identify point of view
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level R (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and
interesting words, and actively add
them to speaking or writing vocabulary
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for information in
graphics
Demonstrate knowledge of flexible
ways to solve words
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Solve multisyllabic words using vowel
patterns, phonogram patterns, affixes
and other word parts
Process sentences with embedded
clauses (parenthetical information,
adverbs, prepositional phrases, verbs
introductory clauses, series of nouns,
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text as well as prior knowledge
Process a wide range of complex
dialogue, some unassigned
Solve some undefined words from
background knowledge
Remember the details of complex plots
with many episodes
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and some dense print
Identify words with multiple meanings,
discuss alternative meanings, and
select the precise meaning within a text
Respond to plot tension or suspense by
reading on to seek resolutions to
problems
Apply problem solving strategies to
technical words or proper nouns that
are challenging
Sustain attention to a text read over
several days, remembering details and
revising interpretations as new events
are encountered
Notice unusual use of words in graphic
text (onomatopoetic words)
Form implicit questions and search for
answers while reading
Use readers’ tools to solve words
Search for information in a sequence of
illustrations in a graphic text
Understand connotative meaning and
figurative use of words
Process long stretches of descriptive
language and remember pertinent
information
Problem-solve technical words or
challenging proper nouns
Summarizing- Summarize longer
narrative texts with multiple episodes
Develop deeper understanding of
words that have been encountered
before, but are not familiar
Identify important ideas and report
them in an organized way
Identify words with multiple meanings,
discuss alternative meanings, and
select the precise meaning within text
Summarize a text at intervals during the
reading of a longer text
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Remember the story problem and
significant details over a longer text in
order to continue to construct meaning
Understand words that stand for
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or
abstract ideas
concepts in a historical, scientific or
technical text based on specific
information in the text
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor accuracy and
understanding
Thinking Within Text
Remember information in summary
form over chapters, a series of short
stories, or sequels in order to
understand larger themes
Thinking Beyond the Text
Explain how an author supports
particular points in a text
Synthesizing – Mentally form
categories of related information and
revise them as new information is
acquired across the text
Maintaining Fluency Demonstrate
phrased, fluent oral reading
Demonstrate learning new content from
reading
Read dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects understanding
of characters and events
Demonstrate changing perspective as
events in a story unfold particularly
applied to people and cultures different
from the reader’s own
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
while reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Acquire new content and diverse
perspectives through reading both
fiction and nonfiction texts
Adjusting –Change style and pace of
reading to reflect purpose
When reading chapters, connected short
stories, or sequels, incorporate new
knowledge to better understand
charcters and plots from material
previously read
Adjust reading to process texts with
difficult and complex layout
Integrate information from two texts on the
same topic in order to discuss or write about
it
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas
Inferring -Speculate on alternative
meanings that the text may have
Simultaneously follow illustrations and
print in an orchestrated way when
reading graphic texts
Demonstrate understandings of
characters using evidence to support
statements
Thinking Beyond the Text
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
and discuss how they are applicable to
people’s lives today
Predicting – Make a wide range of
predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Infer characters’ feelings and
motivations through reading their
dialogue and what other characters say
about them
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Apply inferring to multiple characters
and complex plots, with some subplots
Justify predictions using evidence
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the plot
Make predictions based on graphic
texts
Take perspectives that may be
unfamiliar in interpreting characters’
motives, causes for action, or themes
Change predictions as new information
is gathered from a text
Infer setting, characters’ traits and
feelings, and plot from illustrations in
graphic texts
Making Connections – Make
connections between the reader’s real
life experiences or feelings and people
who live in diverse cultures, distant
places, and different times
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Bring background (content) knowledge
Thinking About the Text
to understanding a wide variety of
fiction and nonfiction texts
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or
heard
Analyzing- Notice combined genres in
hybrid texts
Use knowledge from one text to help in
understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Understand and talk about the overall
text structure and underlying
organizational structures
Make connections between characters
in different texts
Notice aspects of genre
Thinking About the Text
Demonstrate the ability to identify the
plot or how a text is organized
Critiquing – State opinions about a
text and show evidence to support them
Compare and contrast a firsthand and
secondhand account of the same event
or topic including the focus and
information included
Evaluate the quality of illustrations and
graphics
Identify and evaluate arguments and
conclusions in persuasive text
Assess how graphics add to the quality
of the text or provide additional
information
Notice and discuss how the author or
illustrator has used illustrations and
other graphics to convey meaning or
create mood
Notice the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Understand and talk about the role of
the setting in realistic and historical
fiction as well as fantasy
Hypothesize how characters could have
behaved differently
Talk about how the writer built interest
and suspense across a story
Evaluate aspect of a text that add
enjoyment (for example, a humorous
character) or interest (plot or
information)
Notice and interpret figurative language
and discusses how it adds to the
meaning or enjoyment of text
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language (or special types
of language such as irony) and talk
about how it adds to the quality of a
text
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft (style,
language, perspective, themes) after
reading several texts by the author
Identify similarities and differences
across texts
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Identify author’s implicitly stated
purpose
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Identify elements such as setting, plot,
resolution, conflict, point of view
Compare and contrast the points of
view from which different stories are
narrated including the difference
between first and third person
narration
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level S (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and
interesting words, and actively add
them to speaking or writing
vocabulary
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for
information in graphics
Demonstrate knowledge of flexible
ways to solve words
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Solve multisyllabic words using vowel
patterns, phonogram patterns, affixes
and other word parts
Process sentences with embedded
clauses (parenthetical information,
adverbs, prepositional phrases,
verbs introductory clauses, series of
nouns)
Solve content specific words, using
graphics and definitions embedded in
the text as well as prior knowledge
Process a wide range of complex
dialogue, some unassigned
Solve some undefined words from
background knowledge
Remember the details of complex
plots with many episodes
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Process texts with a variety of
complex layouts and some dense
print
Identify words with multiple
meanings, discuss alternative
meanings, and select the precise
meaning within a text
Respond to plot tension or suspense
by reading on to seek resolutions to
problems
Apply problem solving strategies to
technical words or proper nouns
Sustain attention to a text read over
several days, remembering details
and revising interpretations as new
events are encountered
Notice unusual use of words in
graphic text (onomatopoetic words)
Form implicit questions and search
for answers while reading
Use readers’ tools to solve words
Notice details in illustrations that
provide insight into characters’
feelings or motives
Understand connotative meaning and
figurative use of words
Process long stretches of descriptive
language and remember pertinent
information
Problem-solve technical words or
challenging proper nouns
Summarizing- Summarize a text at
intervals during the reading of a
longer text
Develop deeper understanding of
words that have been encountered
before, but are not fully known
Identify important ideas and report
them in an organized way
Identify words with multiple
meanings, discuss alternative
meanings, and select the precise
meaning within text
Follow and remember a series of
events and the story problem and
solution over a longer text in order
to understand the ending
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Remember information in summery
form over chapters, series of short
stories or sequels in order to
understand larger themes
Understand words that stand for
abstract ideas
Explain events, procedures, ideas,
or concepts in a historical, scientific
or technical text based on specific
information in the text
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Make connections between
characters in different texts
Maintaining Fluency – Read
dialogue with phrasing and expression
that reflects understanding of
characters and events
Use knowledge from one text to
help in understanding diverse
cultures and settings encountered in
new texts
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
while reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read
or heard and demonstrate in writing
Adjusting – Change style and pace
of reading to reflect purpose
Synthesizing – Mentally form
categories of related information
and revise them as new information
is acquired across the text
In graphic texts, simultaneously follow
illustrations and print
Demonstrate learning new content
from reading
Adjust reading to process texts with
difficult and complex layout
Express changes in ideas or
perspective across the reading (as
events unfold) after reading a text
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas
Acquire new content and diverse
perspectives through reading both
fiction and nonfiction texts
Change purpose and aspects of
processing to reflect understanding of
genre
Incorporate new knowledge to
better understand characters and
plots from material previously read
Thinking Beyond the Text
Integrate information from two texts on
the same topic in order to discuss or
write about it
Draw conclusions from information
Predicting – Make a wide range of
predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Inferring - Infer characters’
feelings and motivations through
reading their dialogue and what
other characters say about them
Search for and use information to
confirm or disconfirm predictions
Infer cause and effect influencing
characters’ feelings or emotions
Justify predictions using evidence
Infer the big ideas or themes of a
text and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Make predictions based on illustrations
in graphic texts
Follow multiple characters in
different episodes, inferring their
feelings about and influence on each
other
Change predictions as new
information is gathered from a text
Demonstrate understanding of
characters using evidence to support
statements
Making Connections - Specify the
Identify significant events and tell
nature of connections
how they are related to the plot
Make connections between the
reader’s real life experiences or
feelings and people who live in diverse
cultures, distant places, and different
times
Take perspectives that may be
unfamiliar in interpreting characters’
motives, causes for action, or
themes
Bring background (content)
knowledge to understanding a wide
variety of fiction and nonfiction texts
Infer setting, characters’ traits and
feelings, and plot from illustrations
in graphic texts
Infer causes of problems or of
outcomes in fiction and nonfiction
texts
Notice descriptive language and how
it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Apply inferring to multiple characters
and complex plots, with some
subplots
Notice the writer’s use of symbolism
Speculate on alternative meanings
that the text may have
Identify multiple points of view
Infer the meaning of symbols that the
writer is using
Notice aspects of the writer or
illustrator’s style in graphic texts
Thinking About the Text
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in
terms of readers’ own experience as
preadolescents
Analyzing- Notice combined genres
in hybrid texts
Assess how graphics add to the
quality of the text or provide
additional information
Demonstrate the ability to identify
how an informational text is organized
(categories, sequence, etc.)
Notice and talk about the author’s
qualifications to write nonfiction
Understand and talk about the overall
text structure and underlying
organizational structures
Hypothesize how characters could
have behaved differently
Identify and evaluate arguments and
conclusions in persuasive text
Assess whether a text is authentic
and consistent with life experience
or prior knowledge
Notice and discuss how the author or
illustrator has used graphics to convey
meaning or create mood
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Understand the role of setting in
realistic and historical fiction as well as
fantasy
Notice how the writer built interest
and suspense across a story
Notice and discuss aspects of genres
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language (or special types
of language such as irony) and talk
about how it adds to the quality of a
text
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft
(style, language, perspective, themes)
after reading several texts by him/her
Identify similarities and differences
across texts
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Identify author’s implicitly stated
purpose
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level T (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach
and Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and
interesting words, intentionally record
and remember them to expand oral
and written vocabulary
Gain important information from
longer texts with complex plots,
multiple characters and episodes,
and long stretches of descriptive
language and dialogue
Demonstrate ability to use
automatically and flexibly a wide range
of word solving strategies
Process long sentences with
embedded clauses Process long
sentences with embedded clauses
Use readers’ tools to solve words such
as glossaries, dictionaries, and
pronunciation guides to solve words,
including difficult proper nouns and
technical words
Process texts with a variety of
complex layouts and some dense
print
Understand words with multiple
meanings
Notice details in illustrations that
provide insight into characters’
feelings or motives
Solve some undefined words using
background knowledge
Notice detail in illustrations that
convey action in graphic texts
Use the context of a sentence,
paragraph, or whole text to determine
the meaning of a word
Form implicit questions and search
for answers while reading
Develop deeper understanding of
words that have been encountered
before, but are not fully known
Summarizing- Identify important
ideas and information
Derive the meaning of words that
reflect regional or historical dialects as
well as words from languages other
than English
Explain events, procedures, ideas,
or concepts in a historical, scientific
or technical text based on specific
information in the text
Understand words that stand for
abstract ideas
Organize important information in
summary form in order to
remember and use them as
background knowledge in reading or
for discussion and writing
Understand connotative meaning and
figurative use of words
Maintaining Fluency – Read
dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects
understanding of characters and
events
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Identify elements such as setting,
plot, resolution, conflict, point of view
Compare and contrast the points of
view from which different stories are
narrated including the difference
between first and third person
narration
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discuss how it changes
a text
while reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
information in a wide range of
graphics and integrate with
information from print (pictures,
captions, diagrams, labels, maps,
charts)
Adjusting – Change style and pace
of reading to reflect purpose
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Slow down or reread to solve words
or think about ideas
Thinking Within the Text
Find evidence in support of an
argument
Simultaneously follow illustrations and
print in an orchestrated way when
reading graphic texts
Build meaning across several texts
(fiction and nonfiction)
Change purpose and aspects of
processing to reflect understanding of
genre
Integrate information from two
texts on the same topic in order to
discuss or write about it
Thinking Beyond the Text
Acquire new content and diverse
perspectives through reading both
fiction and nonfiction texts about
diverse cultures, times, and places
Predicting – Make a wide range of
predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Incorporate new knowledge to
better understand the characters
and plots from material previously
read
Support predictions with evidence
from the text or from knowledge of
genre
Use situations that focus on the
problems of preadolescents to
develop new perspectives on
readers’ own lives
Make predictions based on illustrations
in graphic texts
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say
and think, and what the other
characters say about them
Change predictions as new information
is gathered from a text
Infer characters’ or subjects’
thinking processes and struggles at
key decision points in their lives in
fiction or biography
Making Connections - Specify the
nature of connections
Infer the big ideas or themes of a
text and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Make connections between characters
in different texts (similar setting, type
of problem, type of person)
Identify significant events and tell
how they are related to problem
and solution
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding a text before, during
and after reading
Infer setting, characters’ traits and
feelings, and plot from illustrations
in graphic texts
Bring knowledge from personal
experiences to the interpretation of
characters and events, particularly
content and situations related to
preadolescents
Infer the meaning of symbols that
the writer uses to convey and
enhance meaning
Use knowledge from one text to help
in understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Infer themes and ideas from
illustrations in graphic texts
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
Infer causes of problems or of
outcomes in fiction and nonfiction
heard and demonstrate in writing
texts
Synthesizing – Mentally form
categories of related information and
revise them as new information is
acquired across the text
Thinking About the Text
Draw conclusions from information
Analyzing – Notice aspects of genres
Express changes in ideas or
perspective across the reading (as
events unfold) after reading a text
Notice combined genres in hybrid
texts
Understand when a writer has used
underlying organizational structures
Thinking About the Text
Notice how the author or illustrator
has used illustrations and other
graphics to convey meaning or create
mood
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in
terms of readers’ own experience as
preadolescents
Notice descriptive language and
discuss how it adds to enjoyment or
understanding
Critique a text as an example of a
genre
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language and talk about
how it adds to the quality of a text
Evaluate author’s qualifications to
write and informational text
Understand the role of the setting in
realistic and historical fiction and
fantasy
Evaluate author’s use of
characterization, plot (e.g.,
believability or depth)
Understand and discuss how the writer
built interest and suspense across a
story
Assess whether a text is authentic
and consistent with life experience
or prior knowledge
Understand the structure of complex
plots in fiction and the organization of
the text in nonfiction
Evaluate aspects of a text that add
to enjoyment or interest
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft after
reading several texts by the same
author
Use other sources of information to
check the authenticity of a text
when questions arise
Notice as well as discuss a writer’s use
of symbolism
Assess whether social issues and
different cultural groups are
accurately represented in a fiction
or nonfiction text
Understand and discuss alternative
interpretations of symbolism
Support choices with specific
descriptions of text features
Understand the meaning of symbolism
when used by a writer to create texts,
including complex fantasy where the
writer is representing good and evil
Evaluate the quality of illustrations
and text in graphic texts
Notice the author’s choice of words
that are not English and reflect on the
reasons for these choices and how
those words add to the meaning
Notice the way writers use regional
dialect and discuss how it adds to the
authenticity of the text or characters
Identify similarities across texts
Find the topic sentence or main idea
of a paragraph
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Locate textually explicit information
such as setting plot, resolution, and
character development
Identify multiple points of view
Derive author’s implicitly stated
purpose
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in a graphic text
Notice aspects of the
writer/illustrator’s style in graphic texts
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level U (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and
useful words, intentionally record and
remember them to expand oral and
written vocabulary
Form implicit questions and search
for answers while reading
Demonstrate ability to use
automatically and flexibly a wide range
of word solving strategies
Search for and use information from
texts that have many new and
unfamiliar concepts within a single
chapter or section
Using word-solving strategies,
background knowledge, graphics, text
content, and readers’ tools to solve
words, including content-specific and
technical words
Summarizing- Identify important
ideas and information and organize
them in summary form in order to
remember and use them as
background knowledge
Understand multiple meanings of
words
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific or
technical text based on specific
information in the text
Derive the meaning of words that
reflect regional or historical dialects as
well as words from languages other
than English
Exercise selectivity in summarizing
the information in a text (most
important information or ideas and
facts focused the reader’s purpose)
Understand words that stand for
abstract ideas
Construct summaries that are concise
and reflect the important and
overarching ideas and information in
texts
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Maintaining Fluency – Read
dialogue with phrasing and
expression that reflects thinking
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
information in a wide range of graphics
and integrate with information from
print (pictures, captions, diagrams,
labels, maps, charts)
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
while reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information and construct
meaning
Adjusting – Change style and pace
of reading to reflect purpose
Gain important information from longer
texts with complex plots, multiple
characters and episodes, and long
stretches of descriptive language and
dialogue
Slow down or reread to solve words
or think about ideas
Process long sentences with embedded
clauses Process long sentences with
embedded clauses
Simultaneously follow illustrations
and print in an orchestrated way
when reading graphic texts
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and some dense print
Change purpose and aspects of
processing to reflect understanding of
genre
Follow complex plots, including texts
with literary devices (ex., flashbacks
and stories within stories)
Thinking Beyond the Text
Notice detail in illustrations that
provide important information
Thinking Beyond the Text
Integrate existing content knowledge
with new information from a text to
consciously create new
understandings
Predicting – Make and continually
revise a wide range of predictions
based on personal experiences, content
knowledge, and knowledge of similar
texts
Acquire new perspectives and content
through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse culture,
times, and places
Support predictions with evidence from
the text or from knowledge of genre
Use situations that focus on the
problems of preadolescents to
develop new perspectives on readers’
own lives
Use characteristics such as genre as a
source of information to make
predictions before and during reading
Incorporate new knowledge to better
understand the characters and plots
from material previously read
Change predictions as new information
is gathered from a text
Integrate information from two texts
on the same topic in order to discuss
or write about it
Confirm or disconfirm predictions using
the illustrations in graphic texts
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say
and think, and what the other
characters say about them
Making Connections - Specify the
nature of connections
Infer characters’ or subjects’ thinking
processes and struggles at key
decision points in their lives in fiction
or biography
Connect characters across texts by
circumstances, traits, or actions
Infer the big ideas or themes of a
text and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding a text
Identify significant events and tell
how they are related to problem and
solution
Bring knowledge from personal
experiences to the interpretation of
characters and events, particularly
content and situations related to
preadolescents or adolescents
Understand figurative language
Use knowledge from one text to help in
understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Infer the meaning of symbols that
the writer uses to convey and
enhance meaning
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard and demonstrate in writing
Infer themes and ideas from
illustrations in graphic texts
Connect and compare texts within
genres and across genres
Infer causes of problems or of
outcomes in fiction and nonfiction
texts
Build meaning across several texts
Infer characters’ traits and feelings,
and plot from illustrations in graphic
texts
Synthesizing – Mentally form
categories of related information and
revise them as new information is
acquired across the text
Distinguish between information that
is stated explicitly in a text and when
inferences are drawn
Draw conclusions and find evidence to
support ideas
Thinking About the Text
Express changes in ideas or
perspective across the reading after
reading a text
Thinking About the Text
Analyzing – Notice aspects of genres
(realistic and historical fiction, fantasy,
myths and legends, biography,
autobiography, memoir, diaries, and
hybrid texts)
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in
terms of readers’ own experience as
preadolescents
Identify the selection of genre in
relation to inferred writer’s purpose
Critique a text as an exemplar of a
genre
Understand when a writer has
combined underlying organizational
structures
Assess the author’s qualifications to write
an informational text
Notice and discuss how the author or
illustrator has used illustrations and
other graphics to convey meaning or
create mood
Evaluate the author’s use of
characterization and plot
Notice and interpret figurative
language and discuss how it adds to
enjoyment or understanding
Evaluate aspects of a text that add to
enjoyment or interest
Notice how an author uses words in a
connotative way (to imply something
beyond the literal meaning)
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge, including how the text reflects
the lives of preadolescents or adolescents
Notice descriptive language and discuss
how it adds enjoyment or
understanding
Use other sources of information to check
the authenticity of a text when questions
arise
Understand and talk about the role of
setting in realistic and historical fiction
and fantasy
For historical fiction, evaluate the
authenticity of the details of the setting
and reporting of events against knowledge
from other sources
Understand how the writer built
interest and suspense across a story,
providing examples
Discuss whether social issues and different
cultural groups are accurately represented
in a fiction or nonfiction text
Notice the structure of complex plots in
fiction and the organization of the text
in nonfiction
Support choices with specific descriptions
of text features (plots, use of language,
kinds of characters, genres)
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft across
texts
Evaluate the quality of illustrations and
text in graphic texts
Notice and understand the meaning of
symbolism when used by a writer to
create texts
Evaluate how the writer has used
illustrations and print to convey big ideas
Notice the writers choice of words that
are not English and reflect on the
reasons for these choices and how
those words add to the meaning of a
text
Notice the way writers use regional
dialect
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level V (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and
useful words, intentionally record and
remember them to expand oral and
written vocabulary
Form implicit questions and search for
answers while reading
Demonstrate ability to use
automatically and flexibly a wide range
of word solving strategies
Search for and use information from
texts that have many new and
unfamiliar concepts and ideas within a
single chapter or section
Using word-solving strategies,
background knowledge, graphics, text
content, and readers’ tools to solve
words, including content specific and
technical words
Summarizing- Identify important
ideas and information and organize
them in summary form in order to
remember and use them as
background knowledge in reading.
Understand words with multiple
meanings.
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific or
technical text based on specific
information in the text
Derive the meaning of words that
reflect regional or historical dialects as
well as words from languages other
than English
Exercise selectivity in summarizing the
information in a text (most important
information or ideas and facts focused
the reader’s purpose)
Understand words representing
abstract concepts.
Construct summaries that are concise
and reflect the important and
overarching ideas and information in
texts
Monitoring and Correcting –
Continue to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Maintaining Fluency – Read
dialogue with phrasing and expression
that reflects understanding of
characters and events
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
information in a wide range of graphics
and integrate with information from
print.
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation
while reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Use a full range of readers’ tools to
search for information.
Practice some texts in order to read
them aloud with expression or
dramatic performance
Gain important information from longer
texts with complex plots, multiple
characters and episodes, and long
Adjusting – Change style and pace of
reading to reflect purpose
stretches of descriptive language and
dialogue
Process long sentences with embedded
clauses
Reread to solve words or think about
ideas
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and dense print
Simultaneously follow illustrations and
print in an orchestrated way when
reading graphic texts
Follow complex plots, including texts
with literary devices (ex. flashbacks
and stories within stories)
Adjust the reader’s stance to better
understand genres (complex fantasy,
and special forms such as satire)
Notice detail in illustrations that
provide important information
Gain important information from much
longer texts.
Thinking Beyond the Text
Integrate existing content knowledge
with new information from a text to
consciously create new understandings
Predicting – Make and continually
revise a wide range of predictions
based on personal experiences,
content knowledge, and knowledge of
similar texts
Acquire new perspectives and content
through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse culture,
times, and places
Support predictions with evidence from
the text or from knowledge of genre
Use situations that focus on the
problems of preadolescents to and
adolescents to develop new
perspectives on readers’ own lives
Use characteristics of genre as a
source of information to make
predictions
Incorporate new knowledge to better
understand the characters and plots
from material previously read
Change predictions as new information
is gathered from a text
Integrate information from two texts
on the same topic in order to discuss
or write about it
Making Connections - Bring
knowledge from personal experiences
to the interpretation of characters and
events, particularly content and
situations related to preadolescents
and adolescents
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say
and think, and what the other
characters say about them
Connect characters across texts by
circumstances, traits, or actions
In fiction or biography, infer
characters’ or subjects’ thinking
processes and struggles at key
decision points in their lives
Bring background knowledge to the
understanding a text
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
some texts with mature themes and
issues) and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Specify the nature of connections
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to problem and
solution
Use knowledge from one text to help
in understanding diverse cultures and
settings encountered in new texts
Infer setting, themes, plots, and
characters’ traits from illustrations in
graphic texts
Make connections between the text
and other texts that have been read or
heard and demonstrate in writing
Infer the meaning of symbols that the
writer uses to convey and enhance
meaning
Connect and compare texts within
genres and across genres
Distinguish between information that
is stated explicitly in a text and when
inferences are drawn
Build meaning across several texts
Infer causes of problems or of
outcomes in fiction and nonfiction
texts
Synthesizing – Mentally form
categories of related information and
revise them as new information is
acquired across the text
Thinking About the Text
Draw conclusions and find evidence to
support ideas
Analyzing – Begin to recognize satire
and its purposes and characteristics
Express changes in ideas or
perspective across the reading after
reading a text
Discuss the selection of genre in
relation to inferred writer’s purpose
When reading chapters, connected
short stories or sequels, incorporate
new knowledge to better understand
texts previously read
Understand when a writer has
combined underlying organizational
structures
Thinking About the Text
Derive author’s implicitly stated
purpose
Analyze multiple accounts of the same
event or topic noting important
similarities and differences in the
points of view they represent
Identify the mood of a piece of writing
Notice how the author or illustrator has
used illustrations and other graphics to
convey meaning or create mood
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Notice and understand figurative and
descriptive language and the role it
plays in enhancing a text (providing
examples)
Notice aspects of the
writer/illustrator’s style in graphic texts
Notice how an author uses words in a
connotative way (to imply something
beyond the literal meaning)
Identify multiple points of view and
cite specific evidence
Notice and reflect on an author’s use
of idiom
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in
terms of readers’ own experience as
preadolescents
Notice and understand a writer’s use of
language to convey irony or to satirize
a person or event (providing examples)
Critique a text as an example of a
genre
Understand and talk about the role of
setting in realistic and historical fiction
as well as fantasy
Assess the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Talk about how the writer built interest
and suspense across a story
Evaluate the author’s use of
characterization and plot
Understand the structure of complex
plots in fiction and the organization of
the text in nonfiction
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with reality
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft across
texts
Use other sources of information to
check the authenticity of a text when
questions arise
Notice and discuss the meaning of
symbolism when used by a writer to
create texts, including complex fantasy
with good and evil
For historical fiction, evaluate the
authenticity of the details of the
setting and reporting of events against
knowledge from other sources
Notice the writers choice of words that
are not English and reflect on the
reasons for these choices and how
those words add to the meaning of a
text
Discuss whether social issues and
different cultural groups are accurately
represented in a fiction or nonfiction
text
Notice the way writers use regional
dialect and discuss how it adds to the
authenticity of the text or characters
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Examine character traits in a complex
Derive the author’s purpose even
way, recognizing that they are
multidimensional and change over time
when not explicitly stated
Identify similarities and differences
across texts
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Find the topic sentence or main idea of
a paragraph and explain how the
sentences relate to it
Identify contradiction
Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Critique the integration of illustrations
and print in graphic texts
Locate textually explicit information
such as setting, plot, resolution, and
character development
Evaluate how the writer has used
illustrations and print to convey big
ideas
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level W (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and useful
words, intentionally record and remember
them to expand oral and written
vocabulary
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and with some pages of dense
print and some printed in columns
Demonstrate ability to use automatically
and flexibly a wide range of word solving
strategies
Search for and use information from
texts that have many new and
unfamiliar concepts and ideas within a
single chapter or section
Using word-solving strategies, background
knowledge, graphics, text content, and
readers’ tools to solve words, including
content specific and technical words
Follow complex plots, including texts
with literary devices (ex. flashbacks and
stories within stories)
Understand words with multiple
meanings.
Notice detail in illustrations that provide
important information
Derive the meaning of words that reflect
regional or historical dialects as well as
words from languages other than English
Gain important information from much
longer texts most with no illustrations
Understand words representing abstract
concepts.
Process sentences with the syntax of
archaic or regional dialects
Begin to use word roots and origins to
understand meaning of words
Summarizing- Identify important ideas
and information and organize them in
summary form in order to remember
and use them as background knowledge
in reading or for discussion and writing
Understand the meaning of words when
an author uses satire
Exercise selectivity in summarizing the
information in a text (most important
information or ideas and facts focused
the reader’s purpose)
Monitoring and Correcting – Continue
to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Construct summaries that are concise
and reflect the important and
overarching ideas and information in
texts
Monitor understanding closely, searching
for information within and outside text
when needed
Maintaining Fluency – Read dialogue
with phrasing and expression that
reflects understanding of characters and
events
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
information in a wide range of graphics
and integrate with information from print.
intonation, and use of punctuation while
reading in a way that reflects
understanding
Use a full range of readers’ tools to search
for information.
With rehearsal, read texts orally with
dramatic expression that reflects
interpretation of the deeper meaning of
text
Gain important information from longer
texts with complex plots, multiple
characters and episodes, and long
stretches of descriptive language and
dialogue
Adjusting – Change style and pace of
reading to reflect purpose
Process long sentences with embedded
clauses
Change style, pace and processing to
reflect understanding of genre
Thinking Within the Text
Integrate existing content knowledge
with new information from a text to
consciously create new understandings
Simultaneously follow illustrations and
print in an orchestrated way when reading
graphic texts
Use situations that focus on the
problems of adolescents to develop new
perspectives on readers’ own lives
Adjust the reader’s stance to better
understand genres such as complex
fantasy, and special forms such as satire
Acquire new perspectives and content
through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse cultures,
times, and places
Thinking Beyond the Text
Find evidence to support an argument
Predicting – Make and continually revise
a wide range of predictions based on
personal experiences, content knowledge,
and knowledge of similar texts
When reading chapters, connected
short stories or sequels, incorporate
new knowledge to better understand
characters and plots from texts
previously read
Support predictions with evidence from
the text or from knowledge of genre
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say and
think, and what the other characters say
about them
Use characteristics of genre as a source of
information to make predictions
In fiction or biography, infer characters’
or subjects’ thinking processes and
struggles at key decision points in their
lives
Change predictions as new information is
gathered from a text
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
some texts with mature themes and
issues) and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Making Connections - Bring knowledge
from personal experiences to the
interpretation of characters and events,
particularly content and situations related
to adolescents
Infer setting, characters’ traits and
feelings, and plot from illustrations in
graphic texts
Make connections between the social and
moral issues of today and those presented
in realistic and historical fiction, in
biography, and in the imaginary worlds of
high fantasy
Infer the meaning of symbols that the
writer uses to convey and enhance
meaning
Make connections between satirical
literature and the social issues they
represent
Distinguish between information that is
stated explicitly in a text and when
inferences are drawn
Specify the nature of connections
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Connect characters across texts by
circumstances, traits, or actions
Infer themes and ideas from
illustrations in graphic texts
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or heard
and demonstrate in writing
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the problem of the
story or the solution
Build meaning across several texts
Thinking About the Text
Synthesizing – Mentally form categories
of related information and revise them as
new information is acquired across the
text
Analyzing – Begin to recognize and
understand satire and its purposes and
characteristics
Draw conclusions from information
Identify the selection of genre in
relation to inferred writer’s purpose for
a range of texts
Thinking About the Text
Locate textually explicit information
such as setting, plot, resolution, and
character development
Notice and understand aspects of genres
Identify multiple points of view
Understand when a writer has combined
underlying organizational structures and
be able to represent in diagrams or
graphic organizers
Derive author’s implicitly stated purpose
Notice how the illustrator has used
illustrations and other graphics to convey
meaning or create mood
Distinguish between fact and fiction
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language and talk about how it
adds to the quality of a ext
Identify the mood of a piece of writing
Notice how the author uses words in a
connotative way
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Understand the role of setting in realistic
and historical fiction as well as fantasy
Notice aspects of the writer/illustrator’s
style in graphic texts
Explain how an author develops the point
of view of the narrator or speaker in a
text
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in terms
of readers’ own experience as
adolescents
Determine the author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is
conveyed
Critique the text as an example of genre
Cite textual evidence to support what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text
Assess the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Represent the structure of complex plots
in fiction and the organization of the text
in nonfiction in diagrams or graphic
organizers
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge, including how the text
reflects the lives of preadolescents or
adolescents
Analyze works of fantasy to notice
classical motifs such as “the quest”, “the
hero”, and symbolism representing good
and evil
Use other sources of information to
check the authenticity of a text when
questions arise
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft after
reading several texts by the same author
Evaluate the authenticity of the details
of the setting and reporting of events
against knowledge from other sources
for historical fiction
Notice and discuss the meaning of
symbolism when used by a writer to
create texts, including complex fantasy
representing good and evil
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Notice the writer’s choice of words that
are not English and reflect on the reasons
Become critical of the subjects of
biography (decisions, motivations,
for these choices and how those words
add to the meaning of a text
accomplishments)
Notice the way writers use regional dialect
and discuss how it adds to the
authenticity of the text or characters
Critique the biographers presentation of
a subject, noticing bias
Examine character traits in a complex
way, recognizing that they are
multidimensional and change over time
Critique the integration of illustrations
and print in graphic texts
Identify similarities across texts (concepts,
theme, style)
Evaluate how the writer has used
illustrations and print to convey big
ideas
Find the topic sentence or main idea of a
paragraph
Identify main ideas and supporting details
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level X (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and useful
words, intentionally record and remember
them to expand oral and written
vocabulary
Process long sentences with embedded
phrases and clauses
Demonstrate ability to use automatically
and flexibly a wide range of word solving
strategies
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and with some pages of dense
print and some printed in columns
Using word-solving strategies, background
knowledge, graphics, text content, and
readers’ tools to solve words, including
content specific and technical words
Search for and use information from
texts that have many new and
unfamiliar concepts and ideas within a
single chapter or section (dense
concepts)
Understand a variety of words that
represent big ideas and abstract concepts
Gain important information from much
longer texts, most with no illustrations
(fiction)
Derive the meaning of words that reflect
regional or historical dialects as well as
words from languages other than English
Notice detail in illustrations that provide
important information comprehending
text
Understand when a writer uses words in a
satirical or symbolic way that changes the
surface meaning
Process sentences with the syntax of
archaic or regional dialects
Use word roots and origins to understand
meaning of words
Summarizing- Identify important ideas
and information (longer texts with
chapters and sometimes multiple texts)
and organize them in summary form in
order to remember and use them as
background knowledge in reading or for
discussion and writing
Monitoring and Correcting – Continue
to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Exercise selectivity in summarizing the
information in a text (most important
information or ideas and facts focused
the reader’s purpose)
Monitor understanding closely, searching
for information within and outside text
when needed
Construct summaries that are concise
and reflect the important and
overarching ideas and information in
texts
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
Maintaining Fluency – Demonstrate
all aspects of phrased, fluent, and
information in a wide range of graphics
and integrate with information from print.
expressive reading
Use a full range of readers’ tools to search
for information.
Demonstrate appropriate stress on
words, pausing and phrasing,
intonation, and use of punctuation while
reading to reflect meaning
Gain important information from texts
with complex plots, multiple characters
and episodes, and long stretches of
descriptive language and dialogue
After rehearsal, present expressive oral
reading that reflects interpretation of
the theme, characters, or message of
the text
Follow complex plots, including texts with
literary devices (ex. flashbacks and stories
within stories)
Adjusting – Change style and pace of
reading to reflect purpose
Thinking Within the Text
Adjust the reader’s stance to better
understand genres such as complex
fantasy, and special forms such as satire,
parody or allegory
Use situations that focus on the
problems of adolescents to develop new
perspectives on readers’ own lives
Automatically adjust to process
illustrations and print in an orchestrated
way when reading graphic texts
Acquire new perspectives and content
through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse cultures,
times, and places
Thinking Beyond the Text
Find evidence to support an argument
Predicting – Make and continually revise
a wide range of predictions based on
personal experiences, content knowledge,
and knowledge of similar texts
When reading chapters, connected
short stories or sequels, incorporate
new knowledge to better understand
characters and plots from texts
previously read
Support predictions with evidence from
the text or from knowledge of genre
Express changes in ideas or perspective
across the reading after reading a text
Use characteristics of genre as a source of
information to make predictions before,
during and after reading
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say and
think, and what the other characters say
about them
Making Connections - Bring knowledge
from personal experiences to the
interpretation of characters and events,
particularly content and situations related
to adolescents
In fiction or biography, infer characters’
or subjects’ thinking processes and
struggles at key decision points in their
lives
Make connections between the social and
moral issues of today and those presented
in realistic and historical fiction, in
biography, and in the imaginary worlds of
high fantasy
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
some texts with mature themes and
issues) and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Make connections between satirical
literature and the social issues they
represent
Infer the meaning of symbols that the
writer uses to convey and enhance
meaning
Specify the nature of connections
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Connect characters within and across
texts and genres by circumstances, traits,
or actions
Infer themes and ideas from
illustrations in graphic texts
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or heard
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the problem of the
and demonstrate in writing
story or the solution
Build meaning across a larger number of
texts
Thinking About the Text
Synthesizing – Mentally form categories
of related information and revise them as
new information is acquired across the
text
Analyzing – Recognize and understand
satire, parody, and allegory and
purposes and characteristics
Integrate existing content knowledge with
new information from a text to
consciously create new understandings
Analyze the selection of genre in
relation to inferred writer’s purpose for
a range of texts
Draw conclusions from information
Notice and understand aspects of
genres
Locate textually explicit information
such as setting, plot, resolution, and
character development
Understand when a writer has combined
underlying organizational structures and
be able to represent in diagrams or
graphic organizers
Analyze texts to determine the writer’s
point of view or bias, identifying specific
language that reveals bias or qualifies
as propaganda
Analyze how language, illustrations, and
layout work together as a unified whole to
set mood and convey meaning
Derive author’s implicitly stated purpose
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language and talk about how it
adds to the quality of a text
Identify author’s use of literary devices
such as exaggeration, imagery, and
personification
Notice how the author uses words in a
connotative way
Identify the mood of a piece of writing
Understand and talk about the role of
setting in realistic and historical fiction as
well as fantasy
Notice and compare the traits and
development of characters within and
across genres
Explain how an author develops the point
of view of the narrator or speaker in a
text
Notice aspects of the writer/illustrator’s
style in graphic texts
Determine the author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is
conveyed
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in terms
of readers’ own experience as
adolescents
Cite textual evidence to support what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text
Critique the text as an example of genre
Understand the structure of complex plots
in fiction and the organization of the text
in nonfiction in diagrams or graphic
organizers
Assess the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Analyze works of fantasy to notice
classical motifs such as “the quest”, “the
hero”, and symbolism representing good
and evil
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge, including how the text
reflects the lives of preadolescents or
adolescents
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft after
reading several texts by the same author
Use other sources of information to
check the authenticity of a text when
questions arise
Notice and discuss the meaning of
symbolism when used by a writer to
create texts, including complex fantasy
representing good and evil
Evaluate the authenticity of the details
of the setting and reporting of events
against knowledge from other sources
for historical fiction
Notice the writer’s choice of words that
are not English and reflect on the reasons
for these choices and how those words
add to the meaning of a text
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Notice the way writers use regional dialect
and discuss how it adds to the
authenticity of the text or characters
Become critical of the subjects of
biography (decisions, motivations,
accomplishments)
Discuss alternative interpretations of
symbolism
Critique the biographers presentation of
a subject, noticing bias
Identify multiple points of view
Critique the integration of illustrations
and print in graphic texts
Identify similarities across texts (concepts,
theme, style, organization)
Evaluate how the writer has used
illustrations and print to convey big
ideas
Find the topic sentence or main idea of a
paragraph
Evaluate the author’s use of
characterization and plot (believability
or depth)
Identify main ideas and supporting details
Identify contradiction
Discuss whether social issues and
different cultural groups are accurately
represented in fiction or nonfiction text
Critique texts in terms of the writer’s bias
or the use of exaggeration and subtle
misinformation (as in propaganda)
Derive the author’s purpose even when
not explicitly stated
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level Y (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and useful
words, intentionally record and remember
to expand oral and written vocabulary
Gain important information from much
longer texts, most with no illustrations
(fiction)
Demonstrate ability to use automatically
and flexibly a wide range of word solving
strategies
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and with some pages of dense
print and some printed in columns
Using word-solving strategies, background
knowledge, graphics, text content, and
readers’ tools to solve words, including
content specific and technical words
Search for and use information from
texts that have many new and
unfamiliar concepts and ideas within a
single chapter or section (dense
concepts)
Understand a variety of words that
represent big ideas and abstract concepts
Process sentences with the syntax of
archaic or regional dialects
Derive the meaning of words that reflect
regional or historical dialects as well as
words from languages other than English
Summarizing- Identify important ideas
and information (longer texts with
chapters and sometimes multiple texts)
and organize them in summary form in
order to remember and use them as
background knowledge in reading or for
discussion and writing
Understand when a writer uses words in a
satirical or symbolic way that changes the
surface meaning
Exercise selectivity in summarizing the
information in a text (most important
information or ideas and facts focused
the reader’s purpose)
Use word roots and origins to understand
meaning of words
Construct summaries that are concise
and reflect the important and
overarching ideas and information in
texts
Monitoring and Correcting – Continue
to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Maintaining Fluency – Demonstrate
appropriate stress on words, pausing
and phrasing, intonation, and use of
punctuation while reading to reflect
meaning
Monitor understanding closely, searching
for information within and outside text
After rehearsal, perform interpretive
oral reading in an expressive way
when needed
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
information in a wide range of graphics
and integrate with information from print.
Adjusting -Adjust the reader’s stance
to better understand genres such as
complex fantasy, and special forms such
as satire, parody, allegory or monologue
Use a full range of readers’ tools to search
for information.
Automatically adjust to process
illustrations and print in an orchestrated
way when reading graphic texts
Gain important information from texts
with complex plots, multiple characters
and episodes, and long stretches of
descriptive language and dialogue
Change style and pace to reflect
purpose
Follow complex plots, including texts with
literary devices (ex. flashbacks and stories
within stories)
Thinking Beyond the Text
Process long very complex sentences
Predicting - Support predictions with
evidence from the text or from
knowledge of genre
Make and continually revise a wide range
of predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say and
think, and what the other characters say
about them
Use characteristics of genre as a source of
information to make predictions before,
during and after reading
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
some texts with mature themes and
issues) and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Making Connections - Bring knowledge
from personal experiences to the
interpretation of characters and events,
particularly of interest to adolescents
Infer the meaning of symbols (objects,
events, motifs, characters) that the
writer uses to convey and enhance
meaning
Make connections between the social and
moral issues of today and those presented
in realistic and historical fiction, in
biography, and in the imaginary worlds of
high fantasy
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Make connections between satirical
literature and the social issues they
represent
Infer themes and ideas from
illustrations in graphic texts
Specify the nature of connections (topic,
content, type of story, writer)
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the problem of the
story or the solution
Connect characters within and across
texts and genres by circumstances, traits,
or actions
Infer characters’ or subjects’ thinking
processes and struggles at key decision
points in their lives
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or heard
and demonstrate in writing
Thinking About the Text
Build meaning across a larger number of
varied texts
Analyzing – Recognize and understand
satire, parody, allegory and monologue,
and their purposes and characteristics
Synthesizing – Mentally form categories
of related information and revise them as
new information is acquired across the
text
Analyze the selection of genre in
relation to inferred writer’s purpose for
a range of texts
Draw conclusions from information
Understand when a writer has combined
underlying organizational structures
Integrate existing content knowledge with
new information from a text to
consciously create new understandings
Analyze how language, illustrations, and
layout work together as a unified whole
to set mood and convey meaning
Use situations that focus on the problems
of adolescents to develop new
perspectives on readers’ own lives
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language and talk about how
it adds to the quality of a text
Acquire new perspectives and content
through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse cultures,
times, and places
Understand and talk about the role of
setting in realistic, historical fiction and
fantasy
Find evidence to support an argument
Identify the mood of a piece of writing
When reading chapters, connected short
stories or sequels, incorporate new
knowledge to better understand
characters and plots from previous texts
Explain how an author develops the
point of view of the narrator or speaker
in a text
Express changes in ideas or perspective
across the reading after reading a text
Determine the author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is
conveyed
Notice how the author uses words in a
connotative way
Differentiate between internal and
external conflict
Determine the author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is
conveyed
Notice aspects of the writer/illustrator’s
style in graphic texts
Cite textual evidence to support what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text
Notice aspects of the writer/illustrator’s
style in graphic texts
Understand the structure of complex plots
in fiction and the organization of the text
in nonfiction and represent in a diagram
or graphic organizer
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in terms
of readers’ own experience as
adolescents
Analyze works of fantasy to notice
classical motifs such as “the quest”, “the
hero”, and symbolism representing good
and evil
Critique the text as an example of genre
Notice aspects of a writer’s craft after
reading several texts by the same author
Assess the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Understand the meaning of symbolism
when used by a writer to create texts,
including complex fantasy representing
good and evil
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge, including how the text
reflects the lives of preadolescents or
adolescents
Notice the writer’s choice of words that
are not English and reflect on the reasons
for these choices and how those words
add to the meaning of a text
Use other sources of information to
check the authenticity of a text when
questions arise
Notice the way writers use regional dialect
and discuss how it adds to the
authenticity of the text or characters
Evaluate the authenticity of the details
of the setting and reporting of events
against knowledge from other sources
for historical fiction
Compare and contrast multiple points of
view
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Analyze texts to determine the writer’s
point of view or bias, identifying specific
language that reveals bias or qualifies as
propaganda
Become critical of the subjects of
biography (decisions, motivations,
accomplishments)
Identify similarities across texts (concepts,
theme, style, organization)
Critique the biographers presentation of
a subject, noticing bias
Engage in critical thinking across a writer’s
body of work or across works on the same
content and discuss findings or produce a
literary essay
Critique the integration of illustrations
and print in graphic texts
Locate textually explicit information such
as setting, plot, resolution, and character
development
Evaluate how the writer has used
illustrations and print to convey big
ideas
Identify author’s use of literary devices
such as exaggeration, imagery, and
personification
Evaluate the author’s use of
characterization and plot (believability
or depth)
Notice and compare the traits and
development of characters within and
across genres
Become critical of the subjects of
biography (decisions, motivations,
accomplishments)
Recognize differentiation of plot and
structures for different purposes and
audiences
Evaluate whether social issues and
different cultural groups are accurately
represented in fiction or nonfiction text
Analyze how 2 or more authors writing
about the same topic shape the
presentations of key information by
emphasizing different evidence or
advancing different interpretations of facts
Critique texts in terms of the writer’s
bias or the use of exaggeration and
subtle misinformation (as in
propaganda)
Derive the author’s purpose and beliefs
even when not explicitly stated
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Identify contradiction
Evaluate the effectiveness of the author’s
use of literary devices such as
exaggeration, imagery, and
personification
Reading Assessment Checklist – Behaviors to Notice, Teach and Support
Reading Assessment – Level Z (Fountas and Pinnell)
Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades K-8 Fountas and Pinnell
Behaviors to Notice, Teach and
Support
Name:
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Thinking Within the Text
Date
Date
Date
Date
Solving Words – Notice new and useful
words, intentionally record and remember
to expand oral and written vocabulary
Gain important information from much
longer texts, most with no illustrations
(fiction)
Demonstrate ability to use automatically
and flexibly a wide range of word solving
strategies
Process texts with a variety of complex
layouts and with some pages of dense
print and some printed in columns
Using word-solving strategies, background
knowledge, graphics, text content, and
readers’ tools to solve words, including
content specific and technical words
Search for and use information from
texts that have many new and
unfamiliar concepts and ideas within a
single chapter or section
Understand a variety of words that
represent big ideas and abstract concepts
Process sentences with the syntax of
archaic or regional dialects
Derive the meaning of words that reflect
regional or historical dialects as well as
words from languages other than English
Summarizing- Identify important ideas
and information (longer texts with
chapters and sometimes multiple texts)
and organize them in summary form in
order to remember and use them as
background knowledge in reading or for
discussion and writing
Understand meaning changes when words
are used satirically, ironically, or
symbolically
Exercise selectivity in summarizing the
information in a text (most important
information or ideas and facts focused
the reader’s purpose)
Use word roots and origins to understand
meaning of words
Construct summaries that are concise
and reflect the important and
overarching ideas and information in
texts
Monitoring and Correcting – Continue
to monitor for accuracy and
understanding.
Maintaining Fluency – Demonstrate
appropriate stress on words, pausing
and phrasing, intonation, and use of
punctuation while reading to reflect
meaning
Monitor understanding closely, searching
for information within and outside text
when needed
After rehearsal, perform interpretive
oral reading in an expressive way
Searching for and Using
Information- Search for and use
information in a wide range of graphics
and integrate with information from print.
Adjusting -Adjust the reader’s stance
to better understand genres such as
complex fantasy, and special forms such
as satire, parody, allegory or monologue
Use a full range of readers’ tools to search
for information.
Automatically adjust to process
illustrations and print in an orchestrated
way when reading graphic texts
Gain important information from texts
with complex plots, multiple characters
and episodes, and long stretches of
descriptive language and dialogue
Change style and pace to reflect
purpose
Follow complex plots, including texts with
literary devices (ex. flashbacks and stories
within stories)
Thinking Beyond the Text
Process long very complex sentences
Predicting - Support predictions with
evidence from the text or from
knowledge of genre
Make and continually revise a wide range
of predictions based on personal
experiences, content knowledge, and
knowledge of similar texts
Inferring – In texts with multiple
complex characters, infer traits,
motivations, and changes through
examining how the writer describes
them, what they do, what they say and
think, and what the other characters say
about them
Use characteristics of genre as a source of
information to make predictions before,
during and after reading
Infer the big ideas or themes of a text
some texts with mature themes and
issues) and discuss how they are
applicable to people’s lives today
Making Connections - Bring knowledge
from personal experiences to the
interpretation of characters and events,
particularly of interest to adolescents
Infer the meaning of symbols (objects,
events, motifs, characters) that the
writer uses to convey and enhance
meaning
Make connections between the social and
moral issues of today and those presented
in realistic and historical fiction, in
biography, and in the imaginary worlds of
high fantasy
Infer causes of problems or of outcomes
in fiction and nonfiction texts
Make connections between satirical
literature and the social issues they
represent
Infer themes and ideas from
illustrations in graphic texts
Specify the nature of connections (topic,
content, type of story, writer)
Identify significant events and tell how
they are related to the problem of the
story or the solution
Connect and compare all aspects of texts
within and across genres
Infer characters’ or subjects’ thinking
processes and struggles at key decision
points in their lives
Make connections between the text and
other texts that have been read or heard
and demonstrate in writing
Infer the feelings of characters who
have severe problems, with some texts
explicitly presenting mature issues
Build meaning and develop abstract
concepts across a large number of varied
texts (genres
Thinking About the Text
Synthesizing – Mentally form categories
of related information and revise them as
new information is acquired across the
Analyzing – Recognize and understand
satire, parody, allegory and monologue,
and their purposes and characteristics
text
Draw conclusions from information
Analyze the selection of genre in
relation to inferred writer’s purpose for
a range of texts
Integrate existing content knowledge with
new information from a text to
consciously create new understandings
Understand when a writer has combined
underlying organizational structures
Use situations that focus on the problems
of adolescents to develop new
perspectives on readers’ own lives
Analyze how language, illustrations, and
layout work together as a unified whole
to set mood and convey meaning
Acquire new perspectives and content
through reading both fiction and
nonfiction texts about diverse cultures,
times, and places
Recognize the use of figurative or
descriptive language and talk about how
it adds to the quality of a text
Find evidence to support an argument
Analyze the role of setting in realistic,
historical fiction and fantasy
When reading chapters, connected short
stories or sequels, incorporate new
knowledge to better understand
characters and plots from previous texts
Recognize and interpret a writer’s use of
language to convey irony
Express changes in ideas or perspective
across the reading after reading a text
Identify the mood of a piece of writing
Notice how the author uses words in a
connotative way
Differentiate between internal and
external conflict
Notice aspects of genres
Notice aspects of the writer/illustrator’s
style in graphic texts
Cite textual evidence to support what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text
Notice aspects of the writer/illustrator’s
style in graphic texts
Analyze the structure of complex plots in
fiction and the organization of the text in
nonfiction
Notice how the author or illustrator has
used illustrations and other graphics to
convey meaning or create mood
Analyze works of fantasy to notice
classical motifs such as “the quest”, “the
hero”, and symbolism representing good
and evil
Notice how illustrations and text work
together in graphic texts
Analyze aspects of a writer’s craft (style,
language, perspective, themes) after
reading several texts by the same author
Critiquing – Evaluate the text in terms
of readers’ own experience as
adolescents
Notice and discuss the meaning of
symbolism when used by a writer to
create texts, including complex fantasy
representing good and evil
Critique the text as an example of genre
Notice the writer’s choice of words that
are not English and reflect on the reasons
for these choices and how those words
add to the meaning of a text
Assess the author’s qualifications to
write an informational text
Notice the way writers use regional dialect
and discuss how it adds to the
authenticity of the text or characters
Assess whether a text is authentic and
consistent with life experience or prior
knowledge, including how the text
reflects the lives of preadolescents or
adolescents
Compare and contrast multiple points of
view
Use other sources of information to
check the authenticity of a text when
questions arise
Analyze texts to determine the writer’s
point of view or bias, identifying specific
language that reveals bias or qualifies as
propaganda
Evaluate the authenticity of the details
of the setting and reporting of events
against knowledge from other sources
for historical fiction
Identify similarities across texts (concepts,
theme, style, organization)
Express tastes and preferences in
reading and support choices with
specific descriptions of text features
Engage in critical thinking across a writer’s
body of work or across works on the same
content and discuss findings or produce a
literary essay
Become critical of the subjects of
biography (decisions, motivations,
accomplishments)
Locate textually explicit information such
as setting, plot, resolution, and character
development
Critique the biographers presentation of
a subject, noticing bias
Identify author’s use of literary devices
such as exaggeration, imagery, and
personification
Critique the integration of illustrations
and print in graphic texts
Notice and compare the traits and
development of characters within and
across genres
Evaluate how the writer has used
illustrations and print to convey big
ideas
Recognize differentiation of plot and
structures for different purposes and
audiences
Evaluate the author’s use of
characterization and plot (believability
or depth)
Analyze how 2 or more authors writing
about the same topic shape the
presentations of key information by
emphasizing different evidence or
advancing different interpretations of facts
Become critical of the subjects of
biography (decisions, motivations,
accomplishments)
Evaluate whether social issues and
different cultural groups are accurately
represented in fiction or nonfiction text
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Identify contradiction
Evaluate the effectiveness of the author’s
use of literary devices such as
exaggeration, imagery, and
personification
Critique texts in terms of the writer’s bias
or the use of exaggeration and subtle
misinformation (as in propaganda)
