The 5 finger rule.

[Tattncat]

I never met a book I couldn't read, even if I had to resort to a dictionary.

[The Terminator]

Most of the time the words I don't know are old words from old books, Agatha uses of few weird ones.

Anyone know what Pugnacious means?

Spoiler:

Having a combatant nature

The dictionary helps for words like that.

[Freeshadow]

puginism is archaic for boxing isn't it?
as a non english native I had to look up that "score" means 20.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

puginism is archaic for boxing isn't it?
as a non english native I had to look up that "score" means 20.

Pugilism is boxing.
Apache

[HoopyFrood]

Without resorting to a dictionary: pugnacious means eager to fight, rambunctious.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Honestly, it's been quite a while since I came across five words in an entire book that I didn't understand or recognize. On the other hand, I don't read for spelling puzzlers, but for the story. I guess the writers I read just know the same vocabulary I do...

+1

[xg4bx]

i still count on books to improve my vocabulary, i was calling everyone 'craven' for a good week after i finished A Game of Thrones.

my word of the moment is 'misandry', which is the hatred of men. i'm just looking for an opportunity to use it.

I agree with the rule, though you clearly need to use your discretion: non-fiction doesn't count. Ditto for foreign passages and archaic words. If you are good at figuring out words from context, or like hunting them down in the dictionary, then up your threshold. And remember that this rule is directed towards children's books, books that typically have far fewer words per page.

In some cases, I believe that holding back readers is a good idea. I have seen far too many adult ESL students and children give up simply because they were attempting to read material far beyond their reading level. Worse yet, I've seen ESL students and children zipping through books like they were going out of style and even pronouncing words properly when they were asked to read -- yet they could not understand construct meaning from the text.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Count me in as another one who constantly heard, "Oh that one is a little advanced for you dear, perhaps you'd like this one instead?"

Seriously? Kids are more astute and capable than we give them credit for.

Ahh, a real life Brick Heck. Wonderful!

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Count me in as another one who constantly heard, "Oh that one is a little advanced for you dear, perhaps you'd like this one instead?"

Me too!
Fortunately (as I sort of mentioned before) two of my older brothers (8 and 14 years older) had great confidence in "little sis's" abilities and kept giving me books to "challenge" me. And I loved it!
When I said "I don't understand" they said "keep reading and you might" or they tried to explain.

Kids grow when people believe in them!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

When I was a wee lad, I used to read Doc Savage novels. One of the main characters, Johnny, would never use a small word when he could use a few jaw-breakers instead. So I grew up reading phrases like "an ultra-ambiguous conundrum," "a truly prodigious agendum" and "I'll aid in the extermination of the enemy with complacency," and worse, on a regular basis.

Then there was Ray Bradbury, and his poetic style of writing. Between the two, I picked up new vocabulary fast and early. And always being interested in general science, I was exposed to more exotic words early as well.

I'm not saying I have a huge vocabulary... just that it developed early and well, making it easy to keep up with the rest as I got older.

Originally Posted by xg4bx

my word of the moment is 'misandry', which is the hatred of men. i'm just looking for an opportunity to use it.

(Quietly leaves the room for awhile)

[theducks]

Pulpmeister hit one of my 'What doe that mean?'
Agatha Christy was forever using 'British-isms that confound us Yanks
(and we are not talking about the spelling differences )

BTW I am not for Americanization of those books.
I just need an en-UK -> en-US decoder ring

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

Who else had a mom who made them get the dictionary every time they ran into a word they didn't know?

when my kids were little, we used to play a game with my Random House Unabridged Dictionary where we'd open it randomly and learn new words.

My son was denied special services (he's got some cognitive disabilities) at his school because his working vocabulary was too big.

[hnoto]

I didn't read all the posts, so forgive me if I repeat someone. This is a rule meant to be used for elementary school students who are still learning reading skills and strategies. If a student picks up a book and can't read(aka decode) 5 words on a page, then the book may be too hard for them to read. Now, if they WANT to read it, I say go ahead and try it! It was not meant (from my teacher perspective) to be aimed at full readers who have access to dictionaries and can use context clues to figure out meanings of words. Simply to keep kids from giving up on reading because they are picking out books that are too hard right now.

[speakingtohe]

I'm pretty old and only read in English. So far I haven't used the dictionary. (2 years with ereader).

I do wish I understood more French though. The French in Canada seem to laugh a lot more than the non-French.

Helen