The District has adopted  Lucy Calkin's Reading and Writing Workshop to help enhance students' development of deeper understanding and to become more reflective readers. In the upper elementary grades, we are no longer learning to read, we are reading to learn. 

We also use Notice and Note Signposts and Questions to develop close reading strategies. These encourage students to read both Fiction and Nonfiction texts and ask, "So What? Why is this important? Why did the author include this? What could this mean for the character?" etc. Asking yourself these questions while reading helps students focus more on the actual passage and the development on the story rather than just reading words off of a page. 

Finally, we have them check a book's reading level through ARBookFind. This website has been of vital importance throughout the years and will help you at home as well. Search the book of interest and find the "BL" (Book Level) to see if it is in your range. For example, a BL of 5.3 would be the reading equivalent of a reader at fifth grade, third month. This is an approximation of the students reading level. We always encourage students to read above their given reading level to enhance their developmental ability.