In order to help our kids grow as readers, we want their main diet* of reading to be at their “just right” level. What exactly does “just right” mean?
What are “Just Right” Books?
- Kids know most of the words (95% or more)
- Readers have the strategies to figure out most of the words they don’t know using context or looking for familiar spelling patterns. I like to read “just right” books with readers first (or at least pre-teach a few words and concepts) before I set him free to do it on his own.
- The topic is familiar to the child (prior knowledge or schema).
- Kids are interested in what they are reading. Note that this will not always be the case, but when we can match kids’ interests to their texts, what a powerful pair!
- Readers can understand what they are reading. I repeated this over and over in my ebook: if a child can “bark” all the words, but cannot remember or recall what he has just read, it is not on the child’s “just right” level. In the case of comprehension issues, there may be several things going on. Just a couple of ideas are 1) the child is focusing so much of his attention on reading words, he isn’t thinking about meaning or 2) the child does not fully understand that proficient readers pay attention to meaning as they are reading.
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To read more about picking “just right” books for kids, you can purchase my ebook.
Once we understand what a “just right” book is for our child, we can teach our kids how to pick up a text and size it up for themselves. Is it too hard? Too easy? or “just right”? This FREE printable chart (from the appendix of my ebook) is a great tool to help kids identify “just right” books for themselves.
*Please note that while “just right” books are a powerful tool for growing our readers, we do not want to limit them saying they cannot read other kinds of books for enjoyment or learning. Books that are “too easy” or “too hard” also play a role with readers, as I mention in my ebook.
To purchase How to Choose “Just Right” Books, click on the image above or HERE. You can also subscribe by email to receive the entire Printable Resource Pack from the appendix of my ebook!
To download this FREE Printable Page for Kids to help them identify “just right” books for them, click HERE!
More Resources on Teaching Readers:
- How to Ask Questions to Check Comprehension
- Comprehension Strategies ~ Reading Equals Thinking
- Before they Read {The Importance of Prior Knowledge and Vocabulary}
- Struggling Readers Need Texts They CAN Read
- Struggling Readers Need Texts They WANT to Read
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~Becky
Great printable, Becky! It’s so difficult sometimes to choose books that are “just right!”