Finding a Good Fit Book

When I first talk to my students about picking good books to read independently, we talk about shoes. (lesson modified from The Daily Five)  I bring in a pair of size 16 basketball shoes that belong to a neighbor of mine and a pair of teeny, tiny baby shoes.  We discuss the importance of wearing shoes that are the right size for you right now.  Even though the big basketball shoes are awesome and the baby shoes are adorable, they don't do either the kids or me much good because they are not a good fit for us.  That doesn't make them bad shoes, it just means that they aren't good for us right now.  We then transfer this understanding to finding a good independent reading book.

When they are looking for a book to read independently, kids need a book at the right level so they understand what is going on in the story and that uses words they can figure out on their own.  To help them evaluate a book they pull off the shelf, I have my students use a Two Hand Test.




The two hand test helps a child evaluate if a book is a good fit for them to read independently right now.  The best part is that this 'test' is super simple and requires no more than the book, which is why I love it!  Here are the instructions I give my students for giving a book the Two Hand Test:

Open the book and start reading any page.  Every time you come to a word that you cannot figure out, put down one finger on your hand.  If you have to put down all five fingers before you get to the end of the page, that book might be too hard.

Next, use the fingers of your other hand to help you decide if you understood what happened on that page.  If you can answer who, what, where, when, and why about the page you just read, this book should be a pretty good fit.

But what if this book isn't a good fit for my child's independent level right now and they really want to read it?  Don't give up!  That book just fits into a different difficulty level for them right now.  It may not be a good book for them to read independently, but they can still enjoy it.

Book Difficulty Levels

I think about book difficulties in rings.  These rings are always changing as children grow to be better readers and each book fits each child's levels a little differently, but for each child, every book fits into one of the following categories.

Most of the time when a child is reading a book on their own, we want them to be reading a book on their Independent level.  That means that the child can have success reading and understanding the story without help.  But there are ways to enjoy books from other difficulty levels as well.

When I work with students on becoming stronger readers, we work on books in their Instructional level.  To successfully read these books, children need some help.  Depending on the book, they may need help deciphering hard words, making sense of the vocabulary, or completely comprehending the story.

Even though these books are a little hard for students, it is important for them to spend time reading at their Instructional level because that is what pushes them to become better readers.  As children grow into better readers, the books that were once Instructional for them become Independent books and they are able to read harder material at an Instructional level.

Parents can help their children read books at an Instructional level at home in lots of ways including reading the book with your child, having your child read out loud to you, and providing an audio book for your child to listen to as they follow along in the book.

Even if a book is too hard for children to read and understand on their own even with help, they can still enjoy that book.  This places the book in the Read Aloud level for that particular child.  Parents can share books in this level with their child through an Interactive Read Aloud.  This means more than just reading the book to your child.  It involves talking though vocabulary and comprehension as you read to help the child to understand the harder material.

Some books, however, are even beyond a child's Read Aloud level.  These books are beyond a child's current comprehension levels, even with help and are considered at a Too Hard level.

Parents are often concerned by children reading books that fit into their Easy level.  While we do want children to spend most of their time reading on their own with Independent level books, there is still power in reading Easy level books.  Repeated readings of Easy level books, especially when read aloud, can significantly increase a child's reading fluency which is an important aspect of becoming a well-rounded reader that we often overlook with older children.