Choosing Just Right Books for Independent Reading

1
Choosing Just Right Books for Independent
Reading

• By
• Andrea Frasier
• First Lessons 4.3

2
Independent Reading

• Independent reading enables students to clock up
  mileage as readers, expand their reading powers,
  and fulfill the essential goal of daily reading.
• 
  -Fountas Pinnell

3
Classroom Library

• Students should have access to a range of quality
  books.
• Book baskets should be filled with fiction,
  nonfiction, poetry, and various levels of reading
  difficulty
• The library should keep growing and changing to
  reflect student interests, reading levels, and
  topics of study

4
Why Is this Important?

• Children can read for extended periods of time
  when they are matched with a Just Right book
• They are more successful with books that interest
  them
• Children are capable of using a variety of
  strategies if their book offers the right amount
  of support and challenges
• Semantic and syntactic cues can not be accessed
  when when books are too difficult and children
  are forced to rely on graphophonic cues.

5
Easy Books

• Students can read the words fluently (smooth and
  with an interesting voice)
• There often are not a lot of words on a page
• Students know how to say all the words
• There are not a lot of pages in the book
• Students have a lot of schema for the subject
• Sometimes the book has a larger font
• Students totally understand the story
• Students reading rate may be quicker
• Students thinking comes easy as they read the
  words

6
Challenging

• Many of the words are too hard to decode (failed
  a five finger test)
• Students don't know what the tricky words MEAN
• Students reading becomes choppy more than it is
  fluent
• Students don't have any schema for the subject
• There are often a lot of words on the page
• Often the font is small
• Students may lose focus while reading
• Students are not enjoying the book because they
  have to do too much word work
• Their thinking is confused
• Their reading rate slows way down

7
Just Right

• Students can read most of the words
• Students can understand what you are reading
• Students enjoy reading the book
• Students may have some schema for the subject
• They can read the book with smooth fluency but
  there are some choppy places
• Their reading rate is just right- not too slow
  and not too fast
• Students can figure out the tricky words and
  still get the meaning of the story

8
Know Your Students!

• Conference during independent reading (see sample
  conference questions)
• Listen to students read
• Consider how the books in your classroom support
  and challenge all readers

9
Books

• Check books out of the school and/or public
  library
• Share with other teachers
• Book Room
• Book Club Award Points
• Spend on 1-6 copies of a single text (NOT on
  text sets!)

10
Supporting All Readers

• For optimal learning to occur, students must be
  matched to just Right books
• If this is not in place, many students continue
  getting taught with the main reading textbook
  that is at their frustration level
• Students continue getting taught (but not
  necessarily learning) for the whole school year
  using an inappropriate book