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It can be hard to know what books are too hard for your child to read and which may be too easy. Here’s our guide to helping you choose the books that are at the right level.
Measure your child’s reading level
Your child’s teacher may already know your child’s reading level, so that’s a good starting point. If the teacher is not sure, there is a handy quick assessment you can do at home using the San Diego Quick Assessment of Reading Ability.
Choose a book at that level
The next step is to look for books that are at the right level, but that also interests your child. Some kids’ books indicate its reading level on the back of the book or its spine. If not, Scholastic has a Book Wizard that lets you search for the levels of books by title, author or keyword. In fact, this is a great resource to find more books by your child’s favorite author or by your child’s favorite topic.
Do the five-fingers vocabulary check
Now that you’ve found a book you believe to be at the right level, have your child read the first page. As she reads the page ask her to hold up a finger for every word she doesn’t know.
If at the end of the page, she has put up more than five fingers, you’ll know that book is too hard for her. You should then choose an easier book.
Finish with a quick comprehension check
Your child is comfortable reading the book. He’s enjoying the topic, he passed the five finger rule; now do a quick comprehension check. After reading a few pages, ask your child to tell you in their own words what they just read.
If they struggle to tell you, you’ll want to read the pages together with your child to find out what parts they struggled to understand. You might even need to go back to the five-finger vocabulary check.
If your child interpreted the text correctly, you’re all set. Now you know what level your child is at.
Happy reading.
We offer a series of reading comprehension workbooks in our bookstore, ranging in difficulty from A to Z and correlated to grade levels.
