You may have noticed a collection of library books on the top shelf of your child’s locker this week. These are books the children have selected as ‘Good Fit Books’ to use during our independent reading sessions in the neighbourhood (to be kept at school).
Prior to borrowing these books we talked about the importance of choosing books that are a good fit for us as this makes reading much more fun and enjoyable. The children used a chart with the following questions to guide their selection:
- Do I like it? (Does the book interest me?)
- Does it fit? (Can I read the pictures or most of the words and understand what is happening? Is it too easy or too hard?)
- Does it help me? (Is this the right book for what I want to learn?)
Our current challenge is to read independently for 5 minutes. When each group achieves this we plan to celebrate with a prep neighbourhood dance party!
You can support your child at home by helping them to choose an appropriate book (this could be a favourite picture book or even an information book with lots of pictures), to find a suitable quiet place to read and encouraging them to practise reading for a few minutes without any help. This will help to increase your child’s reading stamina and build their capacity as a self-directed learner.