Reading is a skill children need for success throughout their education
and their lives. Having your child read with you on a daily basis will help to
ensure this success.
There are four different levels of reading you should be familiar with in order
for you and your child to choose books that are appropriate. They are:
The Independent Level - This is the level at which your child reads fluently
and with excellent comprehension. This level is sometimes called the
"recreational reading level" because not only will your child be able to function
on his own, but the materials will be of high interest to him.
The Instructional Level - This is the level at which your child can make
progress reading with instructional guidance. The material to be read at this
level must be challenging, but not too difficult. This is also the level at which
you and your child should be reading together.
The Frustration Level - This is the level at which your child is unable to
decode or recognize many of the words and he is unable to comprehend the
text successfully. This material is too difficult to provide a basis for reading growth.
The Listening Capacity Level - This is the level at which your child can
understand material that is read aloud. This level is usually about 2 years above the
instructional level.
Your child's reading level can vary based on his/her interest in the book and his/her familiarity with the subject matter.
To find out your child's reading levels, check with his teacher.
To help you match your child's reading level to books, check the back cover or spine
of the book. Many times the RL(Reading Level) is listed there.
To make the most out of your child's time spent reading, try a few of the suggestions listed below.
Suggest to your child that s/he does during reading strategies such as: pause to ask yourself questions about what your are reading, make connections to things you already know about, figure out the meaning of new words, stop and rephrase what you've just read, reread if you don't understand or remember, visualize pictures in your mind of what you are reading.
Suggest to your child s/he does after reading strategies such as: tell someone aloud what you have just read, answer questions about what you have read, review what you have learned, write down a few things you have read, discuss your ideas about what you read with someone else, draw pictures of what you have read.
