When it comes to selecting texts that are just right for students, educators want to ensure that the texts will not only promote student learning and engagement, but also help students find enjoyment in reading. It is important to consider whether texts are relatable, and if the language and vocabulary will support students’ reading abilities. Texts must be developmentally appropriate and interesting to students at the same time. The more students can relate to the texts, the more likely they are to engage.
Selecting the right texts can often be a challenge, but there are several effective literacy practices that can help make the process easier.
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One of the most important steps to take when picking a book for your students is to ask questions. Find out what drives your students to pick up a book and what causes them to put a book down. No matter how many years of teaching you have under your belt or how well you think you might know your students, every learner, every class and every generation is different, so asking questions allows you to get to know your students’ personal and reading interests on a deeper level.
A simple 4-5 question survey using a tech tool like Survey Monkey or Google Forms can be shared with students at various points throughout the year, with questions like:
Literature is a window into worlds and cultures different from ours, while also showing us a mirror that reflects our own realities. Books bring empathy, compassion and love into the classroom by asking students to grapple with the issues we face. Every time students open a new book it’s an opportunity to take a walk in someone else’s shoes.
When picking texts with and for students, consider what woes the classroom or school faces. Are students dealing with bullying? Is there a divide between students from different neighborhoods or socioeconomic groups in your school? The answers to these questions will help you pick the best books, all with the purpose of helping to grow students’ socio-emotional skills.
At some point during the school year, many students will feel like they can’t find the right book or they can’t relate to the book the whole class is reading. Rather than seeing this as a problem, choose to see this mismatch as a learning opportunity for everyone.
By shifting your point of view, book selection becomes a joint endeavor where you and your students come together as a team to find books that motivate and inspire them to want to become lifelong readers. Reading is a gift; if you want your students to believe this too, we have to show them that book selection is part of the reading journey, not a problem.
The five finger rule is a popular, quick and efficient way to check if a book is suitable for students. To use this strategy, tell students to turn to a random page in their book and read it. Instruct the students to hold up one finger for every word on the page that they do not know. The guidelines according to how many fingers they hold up are as follows:
0-1: Too easy
2: A good choice that will give students a sensible challenge and broaden their vocabulary
3: May be a bit challenging, but still a good choice
4: Probably too difficult for students to read on their own, but if reading as a class, it may be okay
5: Too difficult
It is important to ensure that the books students are reading are suitable for their ability. Texts that are too easy will likely bore students and cause a plateau in their reading ability, while texts that are too difficult can frustrate students and cause them to give up on reading. Using the five finger rule can help find a book that’s just right for your students.
Providing a variety of books for your students can help you learn more about them and help them learn more about reading. A classroom library can offer more diverse selections for students while promoting increased reading and enjoyment in reading. It also creates a safe space for students to engage in independent reading and personal exploration.
Because a classroom library is typically a resource that supports students’ reading of self-selected texts, it can help you as a teacher become aware of their personal reading interests. Additionally, it allows students to read aloud and discuss books with peers and teachers, which serves as the perfect opportunity for you to conduct informal assessments of your students’ reading. By doing so, you will become aware of which books are developmentally appropriate for their students and which are not.
Choosing the right book for students isn’t the easiest teaching task. There are many factors to consider -- their reading levels, interests, backgrounds, previous experiences with reading, aspirations and even fears. In fact, it may even be one of the most challenging cognitive tasks a teacher takes on during the school year.
But selecting the right book can be seen as a challenge and a chance to get to know your students better in order to meet them where they are, not where you imagine them to be. By being savvy and working alongside students to pick books that pique their interests, you might just set students up for a lifelong love of reading.
The College of Education at Grand Canyon University offers a diverse range degree programs for current and future teachers. From early childhood, education to secondary program, you’ll find a degree program that’s right for you. To learn more, visit our website or click the Request More Information button on this page.
Book Selection
Book selection in and of itself is a good thing. I think it is important to set boundaries on what books should be available to children. I certainly wouldn’t want a book with graphic violence or nudity on the cover or in the book on a display at the library, whether it’s at a school or a public library. As I read some of the banned books to prepare for my final, I discovered that the books that were banned for language were not any worse than the language my kids hear at school on the playground. Yes, the teachers and duty people try to make the playgrounds as kid-friendly as possible, but they can’t control all of the kids in their care at all times. However, the books I read that discuss homosexuality and drugs I would not want my kids to just run across. Great if they want to read it with me and have a discussion about sex and drugs. I’m all for that. Not great if they read it hidden away in a closet somewhere and never learn from what they read. Inevitably, there will be and are already published books that are not age appropriate for children in general. That doesn’t mean that a parent can’t say “O.K. go ahead and read that book.” It just means that generally books that are inappropriate for an age group can be classified as such.
Our text says this, “It is, of course, unavoidable that adults play an important part in selecting what books children will have access to.” (101) Pleasures in Children’s Literature, Noodleman and Reimer. This type of book selection must happen because the library can not buy every book that is ever published. The librarians must decide how the money they are allotted be spent and on what.
In an interview with a librarian, I discussed the things they take into account when they select a book to buy. First and foremost was the cover and what it looks like. Then she mentioned bright pictures for picture books with not a lot of words. People requesting certain books can affect whether a library will buy them or not. Very briefly, the librarian I talked to, talked about content and worries of offending the patrons at the library. It seemed to me that it was almost an afterthought.
Book selection by parents is also a good thing. If you as a parent really believe that reading a certain book will scar your child, you have the right to say (for your own child) that they can’t read that book. It’s up to us parents, who know our kids best, to decide what they can and can not handle. For me, I let my son read Maus by Art Speigleman because I felt he could probably learn something from reading it. I also let him read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest that all nine year old kids read these books but I feel they are ok for my son.
In conclusion, book selection is an important way for parents to help their kids pick books they will understand and enjoy. The pleasure of reading doesn’t always come from learning something from a book. Sometimes, we get caught up in the reading and just enjoy reading for the sake of reading. Parents are equipped with the knowledge about their own kids to help them learn to select books they will enjoy.
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