The five-finger rule is used when selecting independent reading materials. The criterion it emphasizes is which of the following?

• A. Reading fluency
• B. Readability level
• C. Student interest
• D. Story structure

Answer: (B)

The main idea is matching a book to a reader by how hard the text is to read. The five-finger rule is a quick way to gauge text difficulty, focusing on readability level. As a student reads a page, they count how many words they can’t read or understand. Each unknown word bumps a finger; when five fingers are raised, that page is typically considered too challenging for independent reading. This helps teachers and readers choose books that are at or just below the reader’s level so they can decode and comprehend with confidence, rather than focusing on how fluent the reader is, whether the student finds the material interesting, or how the story is structured.