Reading Ladders: Leading Students from Where They Are to Where We'd Like Them to Be

by Teri S. Lesesne

Many of us are searching continually for that just-right book for each and every one of our students. It is my hope to help you find those books. More importantly, I hope to help you guide students to the next great book and the one after that. That is the purpose of Reading Ladders. Because it is not sufficient to find just one book for each reader. - Teri Lesesne "I finished the Twilight Series-now what?" With Reading Ladders, the answer to a question like this can become the first rung on a student's climb to greater engagement with books, to full independence, and beyond to a lifetime of passionate reading. "The goal of reading ladders," writes Teri Lesesne, "is to slowly move students from where they are to where we would like them to be." With reading ladders you start with the authors, genres, or subjects your readers like then connect them to book after book-each a little more complex or challenging than the last. Teri not only shares ready-to-go ladders, but her suggestions will help "If we are about creating lifetime readers and not just readers who can utilize phonological awareness and context clues to bubble in answers on a state test," writes Teri Lesesne, "then we need to help our students form lasting relationships with books and authors and genres and formats." Use Reading Ladders, help your students start their climb, and guide them to new heights in reading.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Adult, Books About Books, School

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 2010, this one was a walk down memory lane of all the great young adult books from the early 2000s. Author Teri S. Lesesne groups book by both genres and themes to inspire her students to find and read books that they will enjoy. Like Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers, it would be interesting to see an update. How would Lesesne address racial and gender identity? Would she include new genres and themes or integrate new titles within her current ladders? What new titles would she include? What would she omit any of her older titles?

[Jennifer Brinkmeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's my version of the table of contents:

Ch 1: I like that she brings up how response is neglected. I've been thinking about the books students read in my classes and it makes me wonder why I don't make more space to respond. How can they possibly get passed their feelings about a book when their feelings aren't acknowledged?

Ch 2: An affirmation of all that I already believe: read-alouds, access, models, and time are all necessary for building lifelong readers.

Ch 3: Discussing what motivates readers was interesting. She emphasized title, cover, and opening paragraph as book variables of motivation one should consider in book talking. This will help me decide how to go about sharing a book. Her student variable was gender. I can admit certain students gravitate toward certain books based on title, genre, etc. and that one should be aware of if they are only sharing a certain type of book with students, but it stalled me out in the book because I'm not sure it needed to be addressed this way. Discussing the importance of students to see themselves in the book options would have been more meaningful to me.

Ch 4: Or, ch 2 in detail.

Ch 5 and most of the rest: Examples of ladders. A reading ladder is when you construct a series of books so that when a student finishes one they have something to read NEXT. This is huge. Good readers have plans about what they want to read next. This idea is not something I have to think about. When a student asks me for a recommendation, I have their recent book history flipping through my mind. I scan the booksplosion that is my room and have a stack of 3-5 for them to choose from within moments. Book talks are also my ladders. I'll share books that springboard from class texts or trends. I do not need to fill out a little ladder picture to do this. Here's what I appreciate:
-Ladders do not just have to be built through genre or same/similar authors. It can be character-driven, style-driven, plot-driven, etc. I do this some, but it's good to be reminded of a wider vision.
-Often we expect middle-school-turned-ninth-graders to be ready for The Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet. This book asks how we scaffold for these experiences, or scaffold students to adult-level reading. Also, not a new concept, but it's a question worth asking.


In reflecting back on the content and organization of this book, I'm seeing that this was predominantly old learning. I feel like I fell for the teacher trap of a book about a great idea. This is a book of self-congratulation for teachers already in the process. It's affirming, yes, but progressive? Nope.

It is rare that I am this negative and cranky about a book, but I paid $15 for Teri to tell me things she already knew and I already knew. It feels like teacher branding, where she took her book reputation, re-organized and revised some pre-existing notions, and cashed in.

I guess I just need a reading ladder of my own away from books like this.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scaffolding reading. There are ways to get readers reading and ways to get non-readers reading and then there's the next step. Keeping them reading.

This professional text is short, sweet, and focused. Essentially sharing with teachers and librarians the ways in which we can get smarter about recommending books, not to get a Diary of a Wimpy Kid reader to be reading Tolkien but instead, thinking about similarities, themes, and text in a way that continues to support the reader. It's a way to refresh what librarians already do in being strategic with a reiteration that the best kind of reading is the reading itself. It starts with reading aloud and ends with empowered readers who want more.

[Stacey Bradley]

I re-read this after Game Changer and I really liked the way it made me think about the specifics of how I would move kids along a continuum of reading development. Of course we always think about how we can hook kids to books by genre, character and form but seeing some of the ways she linked books through student success and interest and then moved them into new genres or series by blending genres, forms, format, and techniques made me think about how I could be more intentional when I create my book stacks. With this intention then I can think more about how we can move readers along the path to more complex and challenging text, while still honouring the joy of reading or rereading what we love.

[Mary Alexandre · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We need to be able to communicate to the naysayers in our communities and even in our schools that literature for teens is not some sort of dumbed-down version of real literature” (p.1). And so begins Lesesne’s in depth explanation of the important role young adult literature should play as part of today’s middle school curriculum. She begins by explaining the factors that make YA literature relevant then goes on to explain the foundational pieces used to build lifelong readers. Lesesne transitions from these explanations to teaching the reader how to construct and use reading ladders to move students forward in a subtle yet effective manner. A great read for anyone looking for that "next step" to becoming a lifelong reader.

[Holly Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for all reading teachers. Lesesne talks about the merits of using contemporary literature in the classroom and building literacy ladders. I have lots of post-it-note flags sticking out of the pages marking great ideas. She's a high school expert, but there is a lot here for elementary teachers, too. One of the ways I'd like to use reading ladders is to build background knowledge using picture books for historical fiction books like A Long Way from Chicago, Wednesday Wars, Countdown, Moon Over Manifest, etc. These are some of the best books for kids, but if they don't know enough about the time period, they get lost. Building their historical knowledge could go a long way in helping them appreciate these brilliant books. I think with practice, laddering books can become second nature.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of great ideas for helping kids move from one book to the next and keeping the sustained reading going, this is a must-read for teachers who care about helping kids to become lifelong readers. This one deserves a place next to Atwell's THE READING ZONE and Donalyn Miller's THE BOOK WHISPERER. Highly, highly recommended.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesesne's book captures what I always felt in my gut but wasn't sure how to put it into words. Scaffolding books to keep moving readers along the continuum. Now the challenge - implementing it and providing reading ladders for teachers to help them catch the vision.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great resource for teachers, especially when we know we must differentiate instruction for our students and get them to read increasingly complex literature. The stories, strategies, and book lists were excellent. Excited to share this with colleagues!

[Colby Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is is just me or does the state of Texas have a stronghold on rockin' author teachers: Jeff Anderson, Terry Thompson, Donalyn Miller, and Teri Lesesne?

[Declan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept but there is not enough classroom tested how to here.

[Ashley Guilbault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Ladders by Terri S. Lesesne discussed the importance of developing motivation amongst students to build them into lifelong readers. She revealed three variables that produce the strongest effect on students to spark that motivation within them; these include book variables, student variables, and school variables. These three essential factors all play a significant role in how students perceive books, and affects how students select books as well.

Reading Ladders also provided many examples on how we can help students grow into lifelong readers. Building a classroom library, reading aloud, book talking, and being the go-to-person when it comes to books in your school can do this. Terri then explains the process of building reading ladders for your own students. She explains reading ladders as, “A series or set of books that are related in some way (e.g., thematically) and that demonstrate a slow, gradual development from simple to more complex.” This process can help students climb up to more sophisticated and challenging texts one step at a time through scaffolding. She even provided helpful tips on how to move forward with the basics of a reading ladder as well.

I would use the strategies I have learned about from this book with any grade level. The book provides guidance and tips for not just beginning readers, but for any reading level students progress to. An example from the book that I would love to implement into my own teaching practices includes an activity that has my students create their own reading ladders. I would first prepare my students for such a task by modeling the process of how to create reading ladders. I would also provide resources and activities to help them through this process, as well as reading aloud short stories as a class. While we do these activities, I would have them use sticky notes, highlighters, and annotations to make connections with the text. This allows students to compare and contrast the short stories we have read, and analyze certain themes, issues, and characters. They will then be able to start the process of scaffolding their own reading ladders with these short stories.

[Richard Stange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perpetuating literacy growth is to "scaffold readers up through a variety of connectors: books written by all the same author, books written by similar authors, [or] books from a single genre that grow more difficult..." (Lesesne VIII). Engaging in reading ladders is riding a skateboard. It is the experience of first finding balance. Second, one must learn to move. Finally, new and advanced tricks can be learned through experience.

This work of pedagogical literature provides educators with professional development that aims to strengthen the relationship between the teacher, the students, and books.

"Young adult literature provides opportunities for readers to develop relationships with books and to respond to books in ways that are often impossible when they read canonical literature" (Lesesne IX). Becoming an educator is a new lens in which the world is seen through.

The Western canon is a literary Caterpillar, forcing students to inhale its aroma of colonization. But no more! Hans Christian Anderson's glass shard has been yanked from the eye! The authors discussed within my community of learners are all alive and well. My motto is: "If you can't Tweet them, why teach them?"

Books are portals to other worlds. What was once Carroll's rabbit hole, now exists as a painting in Cashore's Tu Reviens. Opening up a book to the first page is to dive in, head first. Lesesne guides teachers on our journey of influencing lifelong readers.

Enchanting and daunting is a responsibility such as this. However, "...the possibilities are, indeed, limitless. Any subject, topic, theme, concept, or idea can morph into the beginning of a reading ladder. And the more we read, the more possibilities are open to us" (Lesesne 116).

[Vanessa Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Penny Kittle (Book Love) suggested on Twitter that I read Lesesne so I picked up Reading Ladders. I had read Donalyn Miller's Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild, and Kittle's Book Love - and this was the perfect companion. These authors advocate becoming a better reader by reading - a logical yet typically disregarded approach in public schools.

In my quest to rewrite my ELA curriculum, I found Lesesne tips and explanations spot on and in line with what I believe to be best practice in literacy instruction. I love the idea of students constructing their own reading ladders.... I did have a hard time with this part of the book only because I simply have not read enough tween lit lately to put ladders together in my own mind. I do see great benefit in having students build reading ladders as a way to differentiate ELA for them.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was nothing really new here for me. The central point is to make connections between books. This is a good book to get for a new 6th-12th grade English teacher or librarian because it references many young adult books for that age range that could help an early-career educatir connect with kids. She did point to many resources to use for booktalks, book trailers, and unique books (such as picture books). As always, my mantra for teaching-related books is take what you like and leave the rest.

[Pernia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The analogy of helping students climb up a reading ladder is very good as are the examples of reading ladders in the book, the other information was less compelling.

The lack of nuance in terms of gender is also another component that shows very old fashioned thinking.

[Brandi Andrews Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book through Penny Kittle. I thought it was informative and interesting, but I preferred the way Kittle presents the information. It was a short read and a great intro of you have not been introduced to the idea before.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So helpful

[Rachel Prince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the book suggestions and the progression from familiar to new territory. I feel like it didn't really help me with my elementary students however.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more of a 3.5. I'll come back with more thoughts over the weekend. (I mean, I did take 4 pages of notes while reading this. I do have thoughts.)

[Karina Escajeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a class and prepped a separate annotated bibliography assignment for it. some good info in here, but then again, a ton of fluff.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gave me some research to ground my beliefs on reading. It had a lot of great ideas. However, it is an older book, so the reading suggestions are older and not up-to-date.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outline for moving students through the complexities of texts while keeping them motivated to read.

[Kimberly Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with practical plans and applications to help teachers motivate our students to read.

[Jeff Mattison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful concept I want to integrate in my classroom. Seemingly no two reading ladders are alike, so I'll need wide familiarity with books of student interest to help them build theirs.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat and read Reading Ladders Leading Students from Where They Are to Where We’d Like Them to Be by Teri S. Lesesne @professornana from cover to cover. Sometimes I had to adapt and think primary as Teri shared her insights into YA content but overall it was one of those professional books that I appreciated from beginning to end. I initially purchased this book because I appreciate Teri’s insights shared on http://professornana.livejournal.com and secondly because I was hoping to expand my ability to identify the next book for some of my readers who are stuck in that rut… I’ve tried similar themes, genres, and writing style recommendations but they’re just not moving forward from a favorite series or book… I know some children need to reread a book a few times to get it through their system, process it, reflect and notice different nuances throughout but sometimes I want to get that student who is reading Percy Jackson series books to move into the Ranger’s Apprentice series… Sometimes I want to get that student who has read the fantastic Babymouse series three times through to move forward into reading Frankie Pickle or Geronimo Stilton. So I was quite curious about Reading Ladders.

I appreciated the powerful content all the way through this book. Learning another professional’s opinion on how to begin to build lifelong readers, motivate readers, develop and build reading ladders and additionally how to assess those readers was a fascinating experience. Often I’d jump up and say “yes!” that’s exactly what I think too! Other times I’d pause and reflect on another take on reading aloud, book talking, and helping children find the “right” book. My key quote that I’m taking from the book is: “You should aspire to be known as the book person in your classroom and in your school. Be the one who knows the good books and shares them through reading aloud and book talking. Be the person who has those good books in the classroom and how knows how to help students find them in the library as well…”

So, I really took to heart the portion on reading ladders in the book. I appreciated the realization that I already have done reading ladders in practice for years, just didn’t put a name to it. Here’s Teri’s definition of what a reading ladder is: “A reading ladder is a series or set of books that are related in some way and that demonstrate a slow gradual development from simple to more complex.” So I sat back and thought about my tried and true practices of leading students up these reading ladders, my successes and failures. As a primary teacher librarian, I’ve certainly placed the right book in a child’s hand hundreds of times over the years and then anticipated the eventual return of the child that day or a few days after with the “What’s next, I LOVED this book Mrs. Alvarez!” Often I’ve enjoyed connecting students with books of a similar genre or theme and I’ve created numerous bookmarks in the past that work towards these aims. But since I heard of the concept of a reading ladder, I’m constantly thinking of connections between the books and what I’d recommend to a student next to help them grow as a passionate reader.

My push to help children find their love of reading is one where I try to demonstrate balance. Explaining to my students that having a balanced selection of books, series, genres, and writing styles will help them grow as readers. So I think I’m a little bit of a chutes and ladders teacher librarian. Sometimes if I see a student has read Redwall by Brian Jacques, I’ll ask if they’ve enjoyed the graphic novel adaptation or the picture book connected with it before I recommend reading Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel. Other times I’ll notice an older student reading I want my hat back by Jon Klassen and remind them that A Series of Unfortunate Events has a pretty fun dark twisted approach as well. I am always trying to support my student’s reading growth but since I’m in the primary school, I also feel I have the flexibility to embrace the love of reading at many levels and celebrate a students’ opportunity to have a balanced selection while they grow as readers.

Grateful to have the time to sit back and enjoy Reading Ladders and reflect on the ideas within the book treasure. Thank you to Teri S. Lesesne for continuing to blog and inspire as well! She always makes me quietly ponder different educational situations in connection with literacy. I’m looking forward to creating my own official reading ladders.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have kids who are either reluctant readers at the beginning of the year, or who read like my six year old eats: only a handful of favorites are ingested and the rest of the good stuff sits ignored on the plate/lunch kit. As a reading teacher, it's been my challenge (or is that pleasure?) to coax these readers into discovering the joys of both reading and choosing genres outside of their comfort zone. I've also had students who are proficient, even voracious readers. These readers chew up books and will ask me, "Do you have anything just like _____________?"

Lesesne offers her expertise on these kinds of readers, showing the why of classroom libraries (rigor and relevance), time for reading (NCLB be damned), and reading mentors (you, the teacher, can be a vital component to your students) are crucial to the development of lifelong readers. But she also takes her readers on the how of extending reading beyond one type of book. I love how she shows how to take a reader from where they are and has an eye on where she wants them to be, utilizing one rung at a time in order to get to the top of a reading ladder. "We can help them stretch by showing them books that mirror what they already like but that perhaps are a little longer, a bit more abstract, or challenge them more." (p. 3) "A reading ladder is a series or set of books that are related in some way (e.g.; thematically) and that demonstrate a slow gradual development from simple to more complex." (p. 49)

Reading Ladders is a must read for both experienced as well as new-to-the-profession teacher looking for more tools to use with his/her students. Affirmations as well as help to build book ladders are plentiful, and true to Professor Nana's nature, titles abound in this skinny read. I very much enjoyed this one, and should have picked it up when I first purchased it a year ago.

Uh-huh passages: (see if you don't agree)

"...students who were read aloud to on a regular basis scored higher on tests of word usage, vocabulary, and reading comprehension." (p. 14)

"...model the behaviors I expect(ed) from my students. I read aloud in class, talked about my own reading, wrote samples of all their assignments, and even composed in front of the class..." (p. 15)

"...TIME for them to actually read...I had no control over my students' time once they were out of school, but I could carve out some time for them to read in the classroom." (p. 16)

"Readers are made, not born." (p. 17)

"Reading aloud and booktalking should be part of every teacher's bag of tricks." (p. 39)

"Be the person who can bring students into the reading club." (p.45)

[Christina V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read for any teacher who wants to start incorporating independent reading (which I'm going to refer to now as IR) in their classrooms. I personally believe that IR is so incredibly important for students. I know some educators who scoff at the idea of IR because they think that it's a waste or time, or that teachers use it to get out of "real" teaching, or that it's not rigorous enough, but I don't think that's true. IR, when it's done right, can be an incredible stepping stone for unmotivated readers and a great scaffold for our higher-level readers as well. In this book, Lesesne offers a few good tips about making IR as productive as possible, particularly if you've never done IR in your classroom before.

For me, since I have already been embedding independent reading in my curriculum for a while, I was actually hoping to get a little more out of it, which is why I only gave it 3 stars. The "reading ladders" is what I was most interested in, since it can be very personalized and targeted to each individual student. Teachers can meet the students where they are, and then slowly bring them up to where they need/where we want them to be. Lesesne gave a lot of great samples of existing ladders that she and her colleagues had put together, but I wish there had been a little more instruction in the book about how to create some reading ladders for myself. But, I know part of it simply comes with being well-read and just knowing what options are out there, so maybe that's not really a fair statement on my part since I don't know as much YA fiction as others...

Either way, the book was a great resource and I will definitely be using the information in it in my classroom.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book with tons of great ideas. I get this notion of the top and bottom rung and it makes sense.

I am so focused on helping my students develop an interest in nonfiction that I have to consider how this would work in my science class. I could definitely see having a bottom rung be a picture book that makes the topic accessible. This would give all kids an introduction to the topic....and if it was a DK Eyewitness books they could either read the information or the captions or look at the pictures or all three.

The real question is how to find the top rung. I can see doing this as subtopics off the starting book. I'm not sure how much I will expand their reading level from the bottom to the top........but I can see how I could definitely expand the background knowledge.

I also want to incorporate some of the non-book reading Lesene mentioned. Maybe get kids hooked on reading Popular Science or Twitter feeds or blogs.

I know the trick is knowing enough to customize the approach for all the kids, but I just don't know. My school librarian doesn't have a huge colleciton or understanding of nonfiction...so I'm pretty much on my own.

I will try...hopefully I can find other people who are interested in doing this inside a content area and we can fumbled around together. The best part of the book was when the author said...there's no prescribed route from bottom to top. You just have to figure it out as you go...but really if kids just talk about what they liked, what they learned, what they didn't like....like "real" people, it will be OK. I'm hanging onto that.

[Randall De Kleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I teach high school Language Arts, so this was a solid follow-up read to Book Love by Penny Kittle. I particularly liked the early chapters which gave considerations on how best to motivate lifelong readers (know about books, know about students, and know about environments) and establish a culture of literacy in classrooms (read-aloud, book talks, classroom libraries). I'm also affirmed in my decision to give students as much independent reading time as I can allow within the parameters of my prescribed curriculum. A secondary benefit of this book is that it gave me many book titles to investigate within YA genres with which I have little background knowledge (humor, fantasy, novels in verse). I feel better equipped at making reading a winsome option when it comes to my more reluctant readers. However, a large percentage of her book suggestions are intended for middle grades readers, and I found myself wishing for more high school suggestions.

Quotes that stick:

"Reading levels and Lexiles are not the way to determine the rigor of a text. Instead, rigor should be determined by sophistication of thought, depth of character development, stylistic choices, and mastery of language on part of the author" (6).

"Readers are made, not born" (17).