Monday, January 19, 2009

Judging the age-level of books

What can your child read alone?

It can be difficult to decide what books are just right for your reader – not too hard or too easy. Here’s a great suggestion, from a book/pamphlet produced by the YMCA, called Raising Kids Who Read.

“To decide which books are right for independent reading, notice if your child can read a few pages of a book with 95 per cent accuracy. That is, does he or she miss only one out of every 20 words?

If a young reader falters on one out of every 10 words, take turns reading the book together. You can supply words too difficult for him or her to read. If your child misses more than one in 10, to reduce frustration, make this book one that you read aloud.”

Great advice.

This book was produced in 2004 by the YMCA, 42 Charles St. E., Toronto, Ontario, www.ymca.ca. Writer: Carolyn Munson-Benson, Design: Holmes & Lee, Photography: Stacey Brandford.
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1 comment:

Michele K. said...

Another great suggestion! As a child, I found nothing more off-putting than trying to read a book that was beyond my skills at the time!