How Do I Find a Book I Can Read By Myself?
When you are independently reading, you don't want to only read easy books. Easy books are books that you know how to read ALL the words and you know what ALL the words mean. You also don't want hard books when you read all by yourself. Hard books are books that you have trouble reading 5 or more words per page, or you don't understand what 5 or more words mean per page. You want what I call the "Goldielocks" books or JUST RIGHT books. In a JUST RIGHT book, you still need to slow down to think about 2 or 3 words per page. It may be how to say the word or what the meaning is to the word. Just right books make you think, but the words aren't so hard that the meaning of the story is lost.
HOW TO TAKE THE 5 FINGER TEST
Find a book that you would like to read. Open it up to any page that doesn't have a picture on it. Make a fist and start to read. Put a finger up each time you come to a word that you can't sound our or don't know the meaning of. Look at your hand at the end of the page. If you still want to read it, but you have run out of fingers, then find a grown up to read it with you. If no fingers went up, then you have a "vacation book". These are fun to read, but to become a better reader you need Just Right books. Remember, Just Right books should have about 2 or 3 words per page that you can't sound out or you don't understand what they mean.
HOW TO TAKE THE 5 FINGER TEST
Find a book that you would like to read. Open it up to any page that doesn't have a picture on it. Make a fist and start to read. Put a finger up each time you come to a word that you can't sound our or don't know the meaning of. Look at your hand at the end of the page. If you still want to read it, but you have run out of fingers, then find a grown up to read it with you. If no fingers went up, then you have a "vacation book". These are fun to read, but to become a better reader you need Just Right books. Remember, Just Right books should have about 2 or 3 words per page that you can't sound out or you don't understand what they mean.
Which Book?
Books can be sorted into different genres. I would recommend reading books from a variety of genres so that you know what you like best. My students have given you some choices of good books on my book recommendation page. The books are sorted into genres. There are some great book reviews on some of the books too!
What Do I Read Next?
Here is a website that will offer book recommendations based on the last book you read. Scroll down to the words, Start typing the title or the author of a book you like, and click on the link underneath which matches best.