Just Right

Hopefully you and your student are on the path to a happy learning session when you come to tutoring.  I also hope that you have been reading together.  Not just reading homework assignments or math problems, but actual books that you can discuss together.  Whether it is choosing a book from our library or even if your student brings in their own story, there are a few ways to identify if the story your child chooses is fitting for them.  We all like to choose things to read that interest us (hence our genre labeled library) and that should certainly be a part of the reading process, but sometimes these choices don't always fit the child the best when it comes to independent reading.  It is great to read together and who doesn't like to be read to, but as teachers and leaders we want to guide our students to become the best independent reader that they can be and choose books that are "just right" for them.

If a book is too hard for the student read, the student will give up and abandon the book.  If a book is too easy, they are not being challenged.  If a book is "just right", a student will feel confident as a reader and enjoy what they are reading.  I like to use the five finger rule:

1.  Pick a book and turn to any page of the text and have your student begin reading
2.  Each time they come to a word that he or she cannot prounounce or understand, put up one finger.
3.  When you reach the end of the page, how many fingers are you holding up?  If you are holding up five or more fingers, the text is too difficult for them to read at this time.  Choose another one.

We want to hear our students read fluently, and of course we want to challenge them, but better have them be comfortable and excited to read rather than stumbling over every word.  Think about Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  "Just Right" fits us the best as it did for Goldilocks.  Help your student be choosy about what they are reading for fun.  If you would like further information on this to keep in your student's folder, come see me, I have a great packet just for you!  Go for a goal of trying to read together each time you see each other.  Even just for ten minutes, a little reading goes a long way!