I strongly recommend that teachers of level 1 WL classes not use the novels, even though they are labeled as level 1 chapter books. I think level 1 novels should be started in level 2. The reason is that it divides the classroom community. The kids who are readers quickly wrestle away the classroom process from the kids who don’t have a reading background. It creates rifts in the class. We cannot have rifts in level 1 classes, or we will lose kids and our programs won’t flourish. We lose kids out of our programs by rewarding the faster readers, and we don’t notice the damage caused. We have to learn how to teach with full inclusivity. That means introducing novels much later than is done now. What should they read in level 1, then? Why, their wonderful stories, of course! They can all read their stories easily because they made them up, and because the star gives them such repetitive depth.
