How are resources chosen in a reading session?

Bookmark have created a resource for volunteers to use that includes sample pages from our online books. In the first session with a new child, the volunteer will share this resource and ask the child to read the sentences from each book. The level of difficulty ranges from books with simple sentences and mostly CVC words, to more challenging vocabulary more suited to KS2 levels. 

The resource that volunteers share has a sample page for each of our 7 levels. The child will start on the easiest level and move on to the next page until they and their volunteer find one that they feel the child is most comfortable with. Our volunteers have training on how to recognise when a book is too easy or too hard and are shown examples of children reading to help identify this. They are also encouraged to use the 5‑finger method to keep track of the number of words a child struggles with. 

Once the right level has been identified, the volunteer will share a contents page with images of the many books available within that level. They will then talk to their reader about what they are interested in or if any books have caught their eye. As we develop children’s reading for pleasure, it’s important that children choose their own books to help develop their reader identity. Each time a book is finished, the volunteer can bring up the same level contents page again for the child to choose, or a higher or lower level depending on what is best for the child. The volunteer may also suggest other books based on the child’s interests. 

Whilst most resources will be at the right level for the reader, occasionally they will read a challenging book or one that seems easy for them. This is because we encourage our volunteers to find books with topics that interest the children. We have given tips to our volunteers on how to make a text more challenging if the child chooses something ​‘easy’ and how to support if they choose a book that is more challenging for them. It’s all about developing a love of reading, so if a child chooses a book outside of their level, we still encourage volunteers to read this with them to keep up their engagement and excitement with the reading programme. 

If you are interested in seeing a sample of the different levels of our various resources, please contact your School Relationship Manager.