Struggling readers, specifically struggling readers, at the elementary level are most definitely a passion of mine. It’s why I wrote the series 10 Things Struggling Readers Need and 5 Days of Multi-Sensory Activities for Teaching Reading. It’s one of the reasons I started blogging 3 years ago…to share my passion with others.
There are many challenges one faces when teaching struggling readers. I would venture to say that one of the biggest challenges is finding books that they WANT to read. This is especially true of older struggling readers (4th grade and up).
The problem is that they need to read texts on their “just right” level to grow as readers, but if they are reading several grade levels below their actual grade (say a 5th grader reading at a 2nd grade level), the book choices may seem “baby-ish” (totally affecting their motivation to read). Today, I want to share some general tools to help when finding and picking books for struggling readers.
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1. The Print/Font
One important feature you need to consider for struggling readers is the print/font. A book can appear “baby-ish” if the font is large with lots of space in between words.
Text with shorter sentence structures may also be offensive to older readers. Another road block for some kids is the font, especially if it looks like a font used for “little kids”. On the flip side, opening up a book that has tons of tiny words on each page may be frustrating to struggling readers.
Quick Tip: One way to get around all of this is to re-type the text. Make the text smaller, split the text up into smaller sections or change the font. Print it out and use with your child.
2. The Pictures
Some struggling readers freak out when they see a book with absolutely no pictures. For kids that like pictures, take the book section by section and let them draw pictures! Other readers feel belittled if you hand them a picture book, no matter how interesting the topic. For these readers, re-type the text and leave out the pictures. Books that have engaging photographs (vs. drawings) seem to to be a great compromise for many struggling readers.
3. The Characters
The believability of the characters is a HUGE one for older struggling readers. If you hand a struggling 4th grader a Franklin book, he may be a bit offended. Kids at this age do not tend to care for talking animals. (Although some older struggling readers may love them.) They want characters who are believable. Characters they can relate to. I really like Cam Jansen books for this reason, because she is a 5th grade character in a book written at a 2nd-3rd grade level.
4. The Content
The last thing to consider when picking books for struggling readers is the content.
- How fascinating is the story line? Does it make you want to keep reading?
- Is it funny? Kids love humor mixed in.
- Does the topic interest the child?- We live in such a fantastic day and age and have access to SO many children’s books. If the struggling reader has a favorite hobby, subject in school, or sport, you are almost sure to find an appropriate text for him. One important thing to keep in mind is that kids who have a deep interest in something are more motivated, have more prior knowledge, and know more of the vocabulary words specific to that topic, making it easier to read texts (even texts that appear to be “too difficult” for them.)
A Few More Suggestions when Picking Books for Struggling Readers
- Nonfiction makes a great pick for struggling readers {see my nonfiction suggestions HERE}. Nonfiction texts in the younger grades are not typically as complicated in structure, making them a great tool for introducing non-fiction text structure.
- Find a series that the reader likes and stick with it for a while. The familiarity with the characters, the setting, and the story line are particularly helpful if your child struggles with comprehension. You can find chapter book series suggestions for 2nd & 3rd grades texts HERE and suggestions for 4th and 5th grades HERE.
- And again (I know it can be more work for you), I would suggest re-typing texts to rid them of their distracting features (large print, cartoon-ish pictures, or kiddy font) if you feel the book topic and story fits the reader.
More Resources for Struggling Readers
- You’ll find a lot more specific recommendations for book titles in my book, How to Choose “Just Right” Books: Helping Kids Grow as Readers (see chapter 3)
- What Really Matters for Struggling Readers by Richard Allington
- 10 Things Struggling Readers Need
- 5 Days of Multi-Sensory Activities for Teaching Reading
- 5 Days of Teaching Text Structure to Readers
Follow This Reading Mama’s board Struggling Readers on Pinterest.
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~Becky
I’m so glad I found this! I started writing my memoir in 2021…but got distracted…but now I am starting back this year.
if you need to publish your books. I suggest authors book publisher the authors book staff worked really hard getting my ebook published.