READING CHECKUP GUIDE
(contd.)

Grades 3 and up
Independent readers have mastered basic reading skills and can teach themselves new things by reading. The more they read, the more their skills improve. Independent readers are also independent thinkers. They are beginning to interpret or “read between the lines,” and respond critically to what they read. Thanks to your involvement, they are off to a healthy start toward a lifetime of reading.

Does your child...
1. Read different kinds of writing, such as news, information, poetry and stories?
    a. just stories     b. some variety     c. a wide variety
2. Talk about books and find meaning in the stories?
    a. not yet     b. sometimes     c. often
3. Read for information and to learn new skills?
    a. sometimes     b. more often     c. often
4. Read for pleasure, not just for school?
    a. almost never     b. sometimes     c. often

Can your child...
1. Read aloud smoothly and with expression?
    a. not yet     b. sometimes     c. often
2. Interpret what the writer is trying to say?
    a. not yet     b. sometimes     c. often
3. Write longer and more interesting sentences than before?
    a. not yet     b. sometimes     c. often
4. Spell most words correctly?
    a. not yet     b. more and more     c. most of the time

Not to worry! It’s okay if your child...
1. Doesn’t like to read aloud. Silent reading goes a lot faster.

2. Still reads picture books. Many are quite sophisticated and written for older readers.

3. Makes spelling mistakes. Help your child create a personal list of difficult words to spell.

How you can help...

• Continue reading aloud books that challenge your child’s listening vocabulary and thinking skills. Reading books that are above your children’s level will help them grow as readers.
• Encourage your child’s independent reading by providing a steady flow of books and conversation about them.
• Help children who seem to lose interest in reading find the time to read at home for personal enjoyment. Check to see that their lives haven’t become overly scheduled.
• Help your children find more reasons to write. Enlist them in taking messages, making up the shopping list, writing letters, and answering e-mail.

      Book shelf

• Classics and other more recent novels to read aloud together
• Longer chapter books for “middle readers”
• A variety of genres, including biography, fiction, nonfiction and poetry

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