Accelerated Reader is a great tool to find out if the book your child is reading is appropriate for their grade and age providing the book you are searching is listed in their database. One of the most important aspects of reading is not just reading to decode but reading to comprehend. If your child reads but does not comprehend or cannot tell you about what he or she read, maybe they are reading books that are not level appropriate.
I believe the first step is to figure out what your child’s interests are and start with books around that interest. So lets say your child absolutely loves Tigers, you can get books about Tigers to kick off their interest and slowly dabble into other topics. Once they get used to having to read daily, you will find that they will without you prompting them, want books on a variety of topics.
Here is a link to the ACCELERATED READER BOOK FINDER. Here is how it works. You can search for the name of a book and when the book comes up, you will see a part called the ATOS Book Level. This is what you will need to determine the level your child is reading in. Lets say the ATOS book level is 4.6, that simply means this book is appropriate for a child in 4th Grade by the 6th month. Meaning your child should be able to read this book and answer questions about this book by the time your child has been in 4th Grade (Primary 4) for 6 months.
Most children read within a range so if your child is reading and comprehending at a higher grade level, please allow him or her flourish and encourage your child more. If your child is reading below grade level, please try as much as possible to encourage your child by making reading fun. Reading to your child also helps boost confidence in reading because they can learn from you to decode words and meaning. Most times, when a child doesn’t want to read, it is because they simply don’t know how to decode that book and they get frustrated or bored. One fun thing we do in our household is, when my child is reading, I act out the story with special effect noises and body gestures. He absolutely loves it and most times ill hear, can we read it again.