Take a few of the books from the different levels, and put a range of levels in each of the book baskets that will go out to the tables during Self-Selected Reading Block. Now you'll be assured that you've got a range of books that will match the range of abilities in each of your cooperative settings. All of your tables or groups should be composed of high, average, and low achieving students. So, you'll want to have books that meet those needs. Next, your experience in leveling materials comes to the rescue during Guided Reading Block.
Many teachers are at a loss.
Likewise, they are at a loss for what to choose for the easier days of reading. Many would love to know how to pick materials with confidence without always being tied to a basal or any publisher or catalog to tell them the level of the material. If several teachers in a school have leveled sets of books, they might agree to combine the small sets so that there are larger collections for the Guided Reading Block. If they have several of these 6-pack sets on several titles, they regroup them, and then they rotate the use of the class set, so that everyone still gets to teach each title. Having labeled books has served you well, and knowing how to level books has, additionally, served you and your students well.