Q: Are there plans to add books to the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System?
A: There are no plans to add books to the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. We feel that the two books at each level (one fiction, one nonfiction) are all that is needed. If you use a book for an assessment conference at the beginning of the year, the child will likely be reading at a different level by the next conference interval. If for some reason this is not the case, use the alternate book at that level. Furthermore, if a book is too hard for a child, you should discontinue the reading. You can use this book again if the child read very little of it months before.
If you are finding that a student is not progressing, take a look at The Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Continuum for that level to see in what behaviors the student may be lacking. Then, try and focus your teaching around cultivating those behaviors.
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