Reading Selection Rules

from Mrs. Harper

There are some simple ways to help your child select a book that is "just right" for him/her to read.

Goldilocks Method

“Too Easy” Books
   1. The book is short.
  2. The print is big.
   3. You have read the book before.
   4. You know all the words in the books.
   5. The book has lots of pictures.

“Too Hard” Books
   1. The book is long.
   2. The print is small.
   3. There aren’t many pictures in the book.
   4. There are a lot of words that you can’t figure out.
   5. There’s no one to help you if you get stuck.
   6. You don’t know much about this subject.

“Just Right” Books
   1. The book looks interesting..  

2. You can figure out most of the words in the book.
3. Someone has read this book aloud to you.
4. You have read other books by this author.
5  There is someone to give you help if you need it.
6. You know something about this subject.

The Goldilocks Test
Too Easy
1. Have you read it lots of times before?
2. Do you understand the story really well?
3. Do you know almost every word?
4. Can you read it smoothly?

Just Right
1. Is this book new to you?
2. Do you understand a lot of the book?
3. Are there just a few words on a page that you don’t know?
4. When you read, are some places smooth and some choppy?
Too Hard
1. Are there more than 5 words on a page that you don’t know?
2. Are you confused about what is happening in most of this book?
3. When you read, does it sound pretty choppy?
4. Is everyone else busy and unable to help you?
 
If there are 5 or more unknown words on the page, the book is too
hard for him/her and your child needs to read the book with someone

Reading Is a Group Effort
Teacher, parent(s), and child must be involved to make reading happen.

Here's what you can do to reinforce and continue reading skills at home...

Read "Just Right Books"
Goldilocks tried the Three Bears' porridge, chairs, and beds.

She continued to try each one until she found the ones that were "just right" for her.

The books your child reads can be thought of in the same way.

A book that is "just right" is one that your child can read independently. It is not too hard and it is not too easy.

It's a good fit - it's "just right". Here is one way to help your child choose such a book:

FIVE FINGER RULE
While reading the first page of a book, count the unknown words

(using fingers to keep track is fine).

If there are five or more unknown words, the book is too hard for now. Read that book together.
Another important consideration - some first graders have learned to read many words.

They even may be reading "chapter books". However they might not be understanding what's been read. 

Ask your child lots of questions about the story in general and about specific pages to see if he really understands what was read.

It also is important to monitor your child's choices for appropriate content.
Reading Strategies
Check Pictures
Look at the illustrations for a clue.
Guess and Go
Guess what word would make sense and try it in the sentence.
Guess and Check
Guess what word would make sense and check to see if the letters in the printed word match your guess.
Running Start
Go back to the beginning of the sentence and start again.
Word Find
Find the word on a previous page.
Sound It Out
Use the phonics rules that we are learning in class.
Chunk it up
Break the word in parts containing 2-3 letters.
Word in a word
Look for words within words.
Baseword find
Cover suffixes and prefixes to find the baseword.
Consonants only
Sound out the word using just consonants, no vowels.