Good readers think about their own experiences, other books they have read, and their knowledge of the world to better understand what they are reading.
As a reader, thinking about what you already know is called using your schema. This helps readers to better understand what they read.
To help your child make meaningful connections, you can model your own connections for your child.
You might say…
That part reminds me of… | Cette partie me fait penser à…
I read another book that… | J’ai lu un autre livre qui…
This makes me think of… | Ceci me fait penser à…
I felt ______ like (name of character)… when… | Je me sentais ______comme (nom du personnage)… lorsque…
This book reminds me of (another book) because… | Ce livre me fait penser à (un autre livre) parce que…
I can relate to… because one time… | Quelque chose de semblable m’est arrivé lorsque…
Something similar happened to me when…. | Je fais un lien avec…
To become a better reader, a child needs to read every day. Asking your child questions will determine if a book is easy, just right, or too hard.
Reading easy books is fun and builds your child’s confidence as a reader. If your child answers yes to these questions, the book is probably easy.
Have you read it many times before?
Does the story make sense to you?
Do you know and understand almost every word?
Does your reading sound smooth (like talking)?
Reading just right books gives your child the opportunity to practise using different reading strategies.
If your child answers yes to these questions, the book is probably just right.
Is this book new to you?
Do you understand what you have read so far?
Are there just 2 or 3 words on each page you don’t know?
Are some places in your reading smooth and other parts a bit choppy?
Do you know what is happening in the story or what you are learning?
Reading a book that is too hard can be frustrating and makes it difficult for your child to understand what he/she is reading.
If your child answers yes to these questions, encourage your child to try this book later or read this book to your child.
Are there 4 or 5 words on a page you don’t know?
Are you confused about what is happening in most of the book?
Does your reading sound choppy?
The Five Finger Rule | Règle des 5 doigts
When your child is able to read books with several sentences on a page, encourage him/her to use the Five Finger Rule.
Choose a page in the middle of the book. | Choisis une page au milieu du livre.
Begin reading. | Commences à lire.
Put up one finger each time you stumble over a word or come to a word you do not know. | Lèves un doigt à chaque fois que tu ne peux pas lire un mot.
Stop reading at the end of the page. | Arrètes à la fin de la page.
If you have 0 to 3 fingers up, go ahead and read the book.
If you have 4 to 5 fingers up, the book is too hard.