•  On Jul, 17, 2022
•  Tutoring Primary
•   Blog

Reading for Pleasure

Children choose their own readers or chapter books in the classroom. They are given reading time for pleasure. Usually, this takes place first thing in the morning or after lunch.

Children will choose texts that interest them. However, these texts will be below their best reading level. This is the way it should be. They read material that is entertaining or interesting. To get the best comprehension the texts will require lower decoding skills. Another way of saying this is the simpler the text, the higher the comprehension. These texts will have a emphasis on high frequency words. This develops fluency and speed.

Texts with middle ranking difficulty:
These are often for the collection of information or the teaching of textual format. They would include non-fiction with pictures and diagrams. I would include simpler texts with many formatting conventions such as sub-headings, short paragraphs, inverted commas perhaps, and even footnotes.

Acquisition of skills is the real challenge. It is through close reading of demanding texts that children make the greatest progress. Leisure reading produces fluency with the high frequency of words. Middle ranking texts extend general knowledge and give students a good grasp of language conventions.

The three levels of reading all have a place in the classroom.  Leisure reading, middle-ranking reading and close reading have different purposes and need to be assessed in different ways.