Choosing 'Just Right' Books
Selecting Books Based on Levels and Genres (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 2: Consolidation / FluencyStage 3: Literacy for Growth
Ages:
7-12
Grade Range:
2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6thFood Groups:
Primary: Text Structures & Genres, Reading Fluency & Expression, Classroom Tips Secondary: Reading Comprehension Strategies
Transcript
One of the problems that I encounter often in my classroom library is that students look at and say I don't know what to read. So we had to go through how to choose a 'Just Right' book. Behind me I have an anchor chart that gives them tips about how to choose a book. You want to look at the cover, you can open up the book and you can read through it, you can read the little blurb on the back that gives you an idea of what the book will be about, but most importantly, they open up the book and they use the 5 Finger Rule. The students open the book to any page and they read the page. If there are five words on that page that they dont know, then they need to try a different book. The Genres at a Glance anchor chart is important for the students because it helps them not only for their reading log categorize the books that theyre reading, but more importantly, it gives them an idea of the variety of books that they can read. A lot of the students in the class really love reading novels, and we want to encourage them to read other kinds of books as well. We want them reading informational texts. If theyre interested in history, then they can read historical fiction. Its surprising how often students dont know that historical fiction exists. So the genres are up there to help encourage them to start taking risks in what they read.
Related References
Activity Objective
The goal of Choosing 'Just Right' Books: Selecting Books Based on Levels and Genres (Virtual Tour) is to maximize the knowledge that students have about reading selections. The teacher uses anchor charts to identify steps on how to choose a book. The Five Finger Rule is an important step to use and if there are five words on a page that the students dont know, the book is not for them. The Genres at a Glance anchor chart is another important way to show students the different types of books that they can read. Depending on the students interests, they can step out of their comfort zone and read a new genre that they have not heard of or read before.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Allow students to discuss and share books and genres that they enjoy reading to bring interest about new genres amongst the students.
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