This time of year is the perfect time to pick up some “monster fingers” to add to your reading centers! You can find them amongst all of the costumes/party favors.
I’ve used these year round to help students keep their places while they are reading. They are great for beginning readers and for struggling readers! They add just that little extra ounce of fun!
If you are teacher, consider adding them to your reading center or use them during small group reading time. I used to pass one out to each student in my reading circle. It was amazing to notice that everyone seemed to know where we were and be able to keep up! 😉
If you are homeschooling parent, use them with your own children. My daughter is reading Charlotte’s Web. It’s her first chapter book, so she has a little trouble keeping her place with so many words on the page.
Another tip for struggling readers is to get a plain bookmark (or index card) and turn it sideways. Instead of moving it down below each row that is being read, I have found it much for effective to place it on top of the row being read. I’m not exactly sure why this works better, but it really seems to help my daughter. I notice her speed increases when I do this.
Note: If you don’t like the idea of calling these “monster fingers,” tell your children they are fingers of book characters like a Narnian creature or bear claws, etc.