They’re an important part of the reading journey for many people with dyslexia and literacy differences.
It can be a bit of a challenge finding engaging reading materials when you’ve got dyslexia or literacy differences. Sometimes, the stories aimed at your age group are a little too far ahead of what you’re comfortable with at the moment… but also, what ten-year-old wants to read a book aimed at children who are five or six? This is where High/Low books come in- and they’re an important part of the reading journey for hundreds of thousands of people with dyslexia and literacy differences all over the world.
Books that aren’t engaging won’t be that likely to motivate children to read. It’s a simple fact, and an understandable one – reading can be difficult, and a pay-off in story form can be one of the main understandable goals for younger readers. And sometimes, if a reader is struggling to get to grips with some of the longer and more complex language usage in the books aimed at their age group, a book that’s aimed at younger readers simply won’t feel compelling to them. The stories will be simpler, the characters will have less dimension, and the concerns and focuses of the main narrative might come across as infantile or ‘for babies’. High/Low writing combines ‘High Interest’ stories with ‘Low Reading Level’ language- hence the name- that can motivate struggling readers without leaving them feeling like they’re being singled out or progressing differently.
A High/Low book will look very similar to an original version of the text, but the grammar and language used will be simpler. Sentences might be shorter and have less clauses, and punctuation might stick to the basics, with full stops and commas used instead of more complex devices like colons and ellipses. Vocabulary choices will be more simplistic, and there might be less adverbs included in the text that can artificially inflate a sentence. It’s also likely that in the book, there’s more of a focus on illustrations to help reluctant readers make inferences and problem-solve word definitions they might be struggling with.
These High/Low versions of books can be an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to helping a reader with literacy differences or dyslexia, and are good as disguising the adaptations made for their audiences, providing their support invisibly, so that the reader doesn’t feel like they’re being made to engage with reading materials that are ‘easier’, ‘for kids who aren’t smart’.
High/Low books aren’t just a great idea for building and maintaining an interest in reading, either – they’re a great way of honing and developing reading skills. They’re a very effective tool for improving reading fluency, vocabulary, and making readers feel at home with the act of reading, and can also help readers to feel more independent and able to look to books in their leisure time, too. By removing the association of reading and anxiety and debunking the idea that it’s simply ‘too hard’ or that they’re ‘just not very good at it’, reading can become a recreational activity, and something that readers enjoy in their downtime.
There’s more in-depth information about the kinds of High/Low fiction available and the effect that they can have on struggling readers available at Reading Rockets, as well as a list of reputable publishers of High/Low fiction.