Choosing Books for Reading: An Analysis of Three Types of Readers

Abstract

This article will present the findings of a project that examined book choices made by three types of readers involved in a literature-based instructional reading program. Three below-average, three average, and three above-average students were randomly selected from a 4th-grade class, which was using a self-selection literature-based reading program. At the end of the self-selection component, these students' records of conferences with the teacher were analyzed to determine what types of strategies they used to choose books and to determine the levels of books they were choosing (i.e., books at their independent, instructional, or frustration levels). The author found that the readers chose books for similar reasons, but these reasons were mentioned at different frequency with the below-average readers, whose criteria included looking at pictures, reading familiar authors, and using friends' recommendations. In judging book difficulty, the students mentioned looking at the length of the word, size of print, length of the book, and other book-related factors. The above-average and below-average readers showed similar patterns in that they consistently chose books that were inappropriate for their reading levels. For example, the below-average students were choosing books at their frustration level, while the above-average students were generally choosing books that were too easy.