Just Right Books: Supporting Your Child in the Reading Process

Why do readers need leveled books? Independence Engagement Organization Practice Attainable difficulty

Children Learn to word solve by using all 3 sources of information Meaning Syntax Visual

Meaning The child looks at the picture to think about what may ‘fit’ in the sentence. Thinks: Does my choice make sense in this story?” Correct Choice: The dog is running in the park. Incorrect Choice: The bag is running in the park.

Syntax The structure of the text (up to and including the substitution) should make an acceptable English language construction. Thinks: Does it ‘sound right’ to say it that way? Correct choice: Look at my ice cream. Incorrect choice: Look at me ice cream.

Visual The child is processing the individual letters of each word. Thinks: Does the word look right? Correct choice: Dad is home. Incorrect choice: Bad is home.

Characteristics of Each Level: A & B Highly supported by pictures Repeating language Short, predictable sentences Sight words and familiar vocabulary C & D More text on a page Longer, more complex words (-ing, -ed) Characters and Dialogue Punctuation (…, “”, ?, !)

Characteristics of Each Level: E & F Most concepts supported by detailed pictures Sequence of Events Longer sentences and words Contractions Words with predictable spelling patterns Compound sentences G & H Texts with unusual settings Smaller font Complex letter-sound relationships Content-specific language Question and answer books More dialogue with multiple speakers Minimal illustrations

TCRWP Benchmarks 1 2 3 4 January D or below E/F G/H I or above March E or below F/G H/I/J K or above June G or below H I/J/K L or above

Good Habits to Solve Hard Words: Check the picture Look at all of the parts of the word Get a running start Check it and do a double check – Does it sound right? Does it make sense? Try it two ways Crash the parts together

Word Detectives Take an Even Closer Look: Break long words into small words Pay attention to the beginning of the word Break the ending off of a word Look out for vowel teams Use parts of words that you know

Comprehension Support: Ask questions about specific parts of the story Make inferences Make a connection: How is this story similar to another book? Have you had a similar experience? Visualize the story Retell the story – Characters and Key Details