How to help your child find a book that is just right for them, not "too easy", not "too hard", but as Goldilocks so famously said..."just right."
We all want to cultivate a love of reading in our children - it builds their vocabulary, it exposes them to other cultures and ideas, and quite frankly, it may give us a few minutes to drink our coffee in peace.
However, if our children never learn to find a book that they can read (and understand) successfully, they will eventually just give up. This is no good for anyone - I promise!
So, I encourage my students to use what is commonly known as the "Five Finger Rule" (or, as I call it, the Goldilocks Rule).
Five finger rule
We all want to cultivate a love of reading in our children - it builds their vocabulary, it exposes them to other cultures and ideas, and quite frankly, it may give us a few minutes to drink our coffee in peace.
However, if our children never learn to find a book that they can read (and understand) successfully, they will eventually just give up. This is no good for anyone - I promise!
So, I encourage my students to use what is commonly known as the "Five Finger Rule" (or, as I call it, the Goldilocks Rule).
Five finger rule
1. Choose a book that you think you will enjoy.
2. Read the second page.
3. Hold up a finger for each word you do not know.
4. If there are five or more words you did not know, you should choose an easier book.
5. Still think it may not be too difficult? Use the five finger rule on two more pages. If you run out of fingers…it may be a book to save for later.
When they want to read a book that is too hard, there are a few things you can say that won’t crush their sweet sensitive new reader souls-
When they want to read a book that is too hard, there are a few things you can say that won’t crush their sweet sensitive new reader souls-
1. Let's read it together.
2. This is a book you will enjoy more if you save it until you are a little bit older, or even in a few months when you are an even better reader.
3. Depending on the temperament of your child- you could just be honest. “When people read books that are too hard for them, they often skip important parts. You will have more fun with this book if you wait until you can read it easily.”
