Middle and High School Summer Reading: Is the book a Good Fit

You child has a reading list from school, maybe from the Nutmeg Reading List, or maybe he or she is allowed to choose what he/she would like to read over the summer.  How do you know your child is reading on his or her just right reading level?

Simple.  Reading Math.  What? 

I’m going to give you a lesson on reading math.  Huh?  What the heck is reading math, you ask?  Well, it’s a simple way to determine if a book is too difficult for your child.  By following this basic principle, you can gauge how much your child is reading, and whether or not the book is just the right level or fit for your child. It does require a little work on your part, but if you have a pack of post-its, and are able to do a daily check in with your child, it's no more complicated than having a conversation.

Additionally, I am also going to suggest that, contrary to what most schools in the area are saying, your child should read at least 8 books over the summer, or a book a week.  Yes, it’s possible….and here’s how:

Reading Math  (How to Determine if a book is the right level)

Assume the average Young Adult book has about 250 words per page, and is on average, about 250 pages.

 If a book is a good fit, the reader should be able to read about 250 words per minute.

250 words = 1 page.

If your child is reading with strength and stamina, meaning he or she is able to sustain reading for about an hour and he or she is reading a page/minute, then at the end of 60 minutes, he or she will have completed reading 60 pages.

If he’s reading for an hour, say five times per week, then the reader is reading about 300 pages per week (60 pages x 5 times per week).   If your child is not reading a page a minute, you may want to ask him or her to keeps a log, just on a post-it, of how long he or she read, and how many pages he read in that time period.  This will tell you if the book is too hard for your child. 

By the end of summer, your student should have 8 books finished, and be ready for the next grade!

What makes one book harder than another book, or makes a book complex?

There are many factors that go into text complexity, things like the number of pages, the number characters a reader has to keep track of, sentence structure, multiple story lines, whether or not the reader has to “learn the rules of the society,” such as one has to do with historical and science fiction genres.  Texts get more complex as well when there are multiple themes. 

If you want your student to be ready for the next grade, pay attention to his or her reading over the summer.  Better yet, read the book too.