Self-Selection

As a teacher, I plan on allowing time in our weekly schedule for independent reading. Sometimes our lives can get so chaotic, that we do not have the opportunity to read books of our choice for pleasure. In order to ensure that my students are not wasting their time pretending to read books that are not of interest to them, here are a few strategies that I will teach my children. These methods will help them eliminate books which would have caused them to become bored or distracted.

The "Goldilocks Strategy": Students are taught to classify books based off of their difficulty level. A book can be "too hard", meaning the child would like to read it, but he/she does not have the strategies for figuring out unfamiliar words and/or concepts. A book can be "just right", meaning the child is interested and has strategies to figure out most unfamiliar words and/or concepts. Or books can be "too easy", meaning the child has already read the books for fun. This technique allows children to make choices and make steps toward self-discovery.

The "Five-Finger Method": Students are instructed to open the books to any page and begin reading. As they read, the student puts up one finger for each word for which he/she is not familiar. If the student finishes the page and is holding up all five fingers, he/she will know that particular selection is too difficult.

It is my desire to familiarize myself with many more methods such as these to help my students become active decision-makers in their reading process.