SELECTING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS


 Materials selection at the introductory stage is more trouble-
some than at other literacy stages. So little of the material avail-
able is first class that the range of choice is rather narrow. Then,
too, some materials are estimated by publishers to be at a very low
grade level when in actuality they are much more difficult. This makes
it necessary for the educator to objectively determine the readability
level of the materials himself. Fortunately, this is not hard to do.

 Readability of books, articles, test items, or other writings
refers to the degree of ease of reading. The most important factors
utilized by readability formulas are word difficulty, as judged by
frequency of usage in various types of writing, and sentence length.
Other factors that affect reading ease are number of different words
used, density of ideas, abstractness of ideas, size of print and lead-
ing (amount of white space between lines).

 Two easy formulas to use with introductory stage materials are
the Graded Reading Difficulty Work Sheet (Garrard Press) and the Smith-
Wheeler Readability Formula (Reading Clinic, Florida State University).
After a little practice with these formulas, the reading grade level of
a book or selection can be determined in about ten minutes. With
experience, the grade level or difficulty can be estimated adequately
without applying formulae. Once determined, the level should be marked
in the book in code.

 All classroom library books should be coded according to reading
level. They should also be.shelved according to level so that the
teacher can guide the students in self-selection within their band of
reading ability. One code that has worked well is to put the reading
grade level of the book as the second number of a four-number series.
For example: A book with a readability level of grade two might be
coded 9271. A book with a readability level of grade three might be
coded 7391. Many published materials use a color code.

 At the introductory level factors other than readability should
be appraised. Instructional materials should use fourteen point or
larger print (a point is 1/72 of an inch). The binding should be
inconspicuous. Illustrations should be adult. Vocabulary should be
controlled so that no more than three to five words per hundred are
new to the reader. The sentence length should be reasonable. Some
provision should be made for drill or repetition. Units should be
related in content and allow for expansion into projects or research.
Books should be sufficiently long to allow for adequate repetition of
words, whether they contain one story or many. Of course, it is taken
for granted that the books deal with subjects and problems of concern
to adults. Unfortunately, few books written for adult basic education
meet these criteria. Even the most popular ones progress from a


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