Help Selecting A Book

The 5-Finger Rule for choosing a “Just Right” book only helps to evaluate student’s ability to read the words. In order to use this strategy, have your child open a book to the middle, and begin reading. For each word, the child doesn’t know, have them put up one finger.

If at the end of the page you have:

5 or more fingers up - too hard and challenging, save the book for later
4 fingers up - very challenging
2-3 fingers up - just right
0-1 fingers up - too easy, vacation book

This strategy does not check a child’s comprehension level.

Therefore, a parent should check that your child understands the story by asking questions.

 

• Who was in the story?
• What happened in the story?
• Where did the story take place?