Books from the library

I am trying to teach the students what to look for in choosing books appropriate to their level. I've noticed that most of the students go to the library and choose a book without really knowing why they have chosen it. Sometimes, a student would come back with a very difficult book of about 300 pages when their level is very low.It would usually take the student one day to get through just one page. This book is inappropriate to the student's actual reading level, but the student doesn't realise this. So, today, I taught the students about some of the things to look for in choosing a book. For example, we looked at the grammar, vocabulary and number of pages. We also looked at how the pictures help in giving more understanding of the text. We discussed the books that the students got out from the library yesterday, and then went to the library again today to get another book, but this time based on the things I had taught the students to look for. The students are beginning to understand why they are choosing a book. They are deciding how the book will help them to improve their English. This skill is getting the students to assess books for their own level in a more realistic way.
We also looked at the length of the book. If the book is over 200 pages, then I don't expect the student to read the book many times. However, if the book is only about 10-20 pages then the student should be reading the book two or three times. I explained how repetition in reading can be very beneficial for learning new vocabulary or grammar, as well as improving reading fluency.

I also gave the students three different vocabulary books and got them to choose which one was the most suitable for them and why. The students came up with some good ideas as to why they chose only one of the books. This exercise made the students assess whether or not the books that they get to study English are appropriate to them. Hopefully, the students will choose books that are more suitable to their level and have more of a purpose when searching for reading material.

After the students had given a brief summary to their group of why they had chosen their book, I made a connection to the books that they had chosen and the S.R.A (reading box that is in class). The students could see that if they chose a book from the library then it should match the level that they are at from the reading box. Again, I am getting the students to evaluate their decisions about choosing books.