IPICK and Voracious Reading

As students are learning how to organize books in the library, they are also learning how to choose "just right readers."  We discussed the acronym, "IPICK" which illustrates to the children how to go about choosing a just right reader.  We relate this to riding bikes and wearing shoes.  INQUIRE with your child how a just right book relates to doing these things.  When we pick out books for ourselves, we want to be sure that we are choosing a book that is interesting, purposeful, makes sense to us, and one that we know most of the words.  We use a five finger rule to determine if the book is just right for us.  We are practicing voracious reading by building our fluency through re-reading just right books.  When the book students choose is on their reading level and they are interested in it, they will be able to practice reading smoothly and with expression. They will understand what they are reading and ultimately improve their fluency. Students who are reading books that are too hard for them, struggle, become frustrated, and never get the practice of building fluency because they are continuously trying to decode and solve for words.  What kind of books is your child reading at home?  Remember, it doesn't hurt to have them reread these over and over again!