Originally published by AMERICANSCAPEGOAT.COM
October 30, 2015
Renaissance Learning, Inc., those folks who brought us the abominable Accelerated Reading program, have published an interesting study detailing a survey of commonly read books among American public school children. One of the most interesting aspects of this report is that it includes the AR reading levels* of each book. Here are a few of the revealing highlights:
Of Mice and Men (4.5)
Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets (4.7)Lord of the Flies (5.0)
The Kite Runner (5.2)
Fahrenheit 451 (5.2)
The Fault in Our Stars (5.5)
To Kill a Mockingbird (5.6)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever! (5.8)
Si-cology 1: Tales & Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle, Si Robertson (5.8)
The Last Lecture (6.3)
The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: How Greg Heffley Went Hollywood (6.5)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (6.7)
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog (6.9)
* The first digit signifies the grade level. The second digit signifies the number of months spent in the grade level. Thus, a book with an AR level of 4.2 would be considered appropriate reading for an average fourth grader in the second month of school.