I seem to have a slightly different problem: my 4th-grader daughter wants to read “difficult” books, but her school won’t let her, sticking to the 5-finger rule. She’s very persistent, and happy to tackle any text, including Shakespeare. We are a bibliophile family, and I can’t see how it can do her any harm. That’s what I did myself, reading Sigmund Freud and Frantz Kafka at the age of 10. This is similar to how you learn a foreign language very quickly: by immersion, so when you are exposed to a new word in a different context, you learn the meaning of it.

Nobody seems to take into account parts of speech in counting the unfamiliar words. If the head nouns are unknown, the understanding of the text is much more severely affected than if the unknown words are adjectives or adverbs. E.g. “And as in uffish thought he stood,/ The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,/ Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,/ And burbled as it came!” (Lewis Carroll)

Exposure to a high quantity builds our feeling for the language, and in the end, teaches us new vocabulary. I find it endlessly frustrating having to battle with just-right-book-indoctrinated librarians and teachers over this issue of letting my child challenge herself as much as she wants. She’s always been nervous when she feels that her reading level is tested, so if she’s made to read aloud, she performs really poorly.

Just yesterday I witnessed the following scene in the library: A new KG1 boy was waiting in line to check out a fabulous, large and colorful Star Wars: How to Draw the Figures book. He looked quite excited and proud of himself. When his turn came, the librarian said: You can’t have this book, it’s not your level. – The boy bravely tried to hold back his tears. The librarians then found a replacement, a small little Star Wars book that had only few words in it.

I appreciate that kids need help and support in choosing their reading, but surely it would be better to let them choose their own reading, than deflate their confidence.

I have the same issues re: poorly equipped parents and those who simply will not discuss the readings with their own children. I partner up kids, ala book club, to pair share. Works great. That use of class time I would support, but not unfettered free reading.

There’s a difference between “independent reading” and “choice reading.” Choice reading provides gains in comprehension, but primarily it’s an opportunity to model and encourage reading for pleasure. Pushing it out of the classroom implies that it’s not as important as “real reading.” I give my students 10-15 minutes each day. While that’s the only part that I ask them to summarize in their reading log, I’ve noticed gaps in page numbers, and many of the students say they’ve started doing more reading on their own because they get started in class.

Kelly Gallagher also warns about under-teaching books as well. It’s important to provide access to books that are above the student’s level; it challenges them in different ways.

I like the idea of at-home reading partners, but I work in a rural community with students are often farther along in their education than any of their family members. Many of my students have parents who are unable to be very involved due to work schedules; some are living on their own. What would you suggest in those situations?

Students reading below grade level will remain at that level. Reading is not a natural skill; it must be nurtured. There are plenty of choices for students to read at their instructional levels.

Mark Pennington