BEYOND THE INDEPENDENT-LEVEL TEXT: CONSIDERING THE READER?TEXT MATCH IN FIRST GRADERS' SELF-SELECTIONS DURING RECREATIONAL READING

• Published in: Reading psychology Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 309 - 333
• Main Authors: Donovan, Carol A, Smolkin, Laura B, Lomax, Richard G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Informa UK Ltd 01-10-2000
• Subjects: Grade 1; Primary Education; Readability; Reader Text Relationship; Reading Achievement; Reading Material Selection; Reading Research; Recreational Reading; Self Selection (Reading)
• ISSN: 0270-2711; 1521-0685
• DOI: 10.1080/027027100750061949

This study examined the recreational self-selections of two classes of first graders from extensive classroom libraries that included a large percentage of informational books. The following questions guided this study: 1) What are the readability levels of the books self-selected by low-, average-, and high-ability readers during recreational reading in their first grade classrooms? 2) Are there differences in the amounts or readability levels of story and informational books selected by boys and girls of different reading abilities? The participants were students of the same teacher in two consecutive years at two different schools. Self-selected texts were recorded for six continuous weeks during the once-daily, thirty-minute recreational reading period that served as one part of the reading program. The selections were examined for the match between the children's reading level and the readability level of books selected by low-, average-, and high-ability readers. Findings indicate influences of gender and genre on the high percentage of selections that were made above children's reading levels. The relation of frustration-level texts to interest and motivation, as well as to supporting children's conceptual and genre knowledge growth, are discussed.