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Reading for the NON reader how much should I require


jgrabuskie
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DS9 is between 3rd and 4th. His spelling is superb. He is able to read very well. His comprehension of reading material is good but I think he could do better. Our state requires a test and he scored 5th-grade level in math and 3rd-grade level in language arts. On the language arts portion, he played a guessing game and finished the entire test very quickly because he did not think it was worth his time. His words.

 

HE ABSOLUTELY HATES READING. Yes, I have done ALL the hacks, tricks, and traps to raise his interest/love of reading. But this boy will not be a bibliophile. I am at the point of making reading required for a length of time each day. What is a minimum he should be reading to build his stamina and skills for a 3rd or 4th grader? Hopefully, I stated that correctly.

 

Right now he reads 30 minutes per day 5 days a week and that is pushing the envelope. He refuses chapter books (I read those to him), I have him reading leveled readers that I got from a school or other such books from the library. He is reading end-of-year 4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade leveled nonfiction type readers. (Also, he hates fiction). Where possible, I have him read for one of his subjects, when not possible the leveled reader or something, anything off the book shelf.

 

It has been so bad getting him to read that I have sat through a video game or two having him read everything out loud to get his reading accomplished.

 

This reading issue has also made selecting language arts curriculum very difficult. I switched to using  Reed Novel Studies and stand alone grammar, poetry, reading lesson books so I could use books that he is somewhat interested in.

 

We do have some learning issues, DS9 has Dysgraphia, needs to move and is a typical boy. I have addressed this with recess and a mini trampoline. The dysgraphia is slowly being addressed. I also think he is borderline ADD with anxiety issues. I have worked on this for 2 years and this year the anxiety has not appeared. Fingers are crossed!

 

To wrap up, how much reading time would you suggest?

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None.

 

Some people never enjoy reading on their own. They just don't. If he were mine, I'd continue reading aloud to him from good books, just for enjoyment and mommy-child time, and let him read on his own...or not. Obviously he reads well enough to do his other lessons. Let that be enough.

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And I agree with Ellie, some people just never end up enjoying reading. DH doesn't.  But he reads well and reads when he needs to.  He is a successful engineer.  He filled his time with many productive things, just not reading (unless it was instruction manuals).  

 

If this is a battle he may come to associate pleasure reading with a serious negative.  I'd back off.  Pick materials that are light on required copious book reading, keep read alouds and audio books as part of his day, and give him some space.  Eventually he may come to find areas of interest that inspire him to read to learn more.  Or not.  

 

Honestly, exposure is important but it sounds like he has had plenty of exposure.  He just isn't interested.  Forcing him almost certainly won't improve that.

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Have you had his eyes checked with a developmental optometrist? He may have some vision issues that don't show up with a normal eye exam. That can make reading more work than it is worth.

 

How well does he do with audio books?

Yes, his eyes have been checked. His older brother had tracking issues so I was all about making sure this one was checked too![emoji1]

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

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Thanks for the reassurance. I do not want to turn this into a hate but i want him prepared enough for life.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I understand.  It is hard to know where the balance is.  If he can read and he is still reading for required things, I honestly don't know that I would push required "pleasure" reading at all.  It may have become associated with a lot of negatives at this point.

 

FWIW, I came to associate reading with my free time.  My choice.  My interests.  My parents read to me a lot as a kid but never as a chore or required or "school".  It was just as fun time together.  And I saw them reading a lot, too, for their own pleasure.  Lots of down time just reading.  I had no TV or electronic device in my room so reading was something to occupy my time.  It was also my private thing.  It became my fun activity to do for me.  No one dictated when or what I was reading.  Yes there were limits on what I was allowed to read but I had a lot of leeway within those limits.  I know that dynamic definitely increased my interest in reading.

 

Hard to know, though, as a parent what will benefit a child and what won't/what will work and what won't.  I wish they came with comprehensive manuals...

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With Youngest (who is now 11) he had a tracking issue and was slow to read. I assign him reading books that are below his level. I try to pick books that would be very interesting to him. Right now he is almost done the Droon series. He has to read a book every 3 school days. So it works out to about 4000 words a school day. He can accomplish his reading when he likes, but if he ends up behind then he starts to lose privileges. (We only do school 4 days a week, so he can easily get ahead or caught up on the weekends)

 

He does read graphic novels for person interest.

 

If I didn't require reading he would do very little of it. He does even thank me for making reading required since he is for the most part really enjoying Droon, but admits he wouldn't read it if he didn't have to.

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For my dyslexic boys I made a reading list each year for them. They had to read the books on the reading list. They got a chocolate bar for each book on the reading list they finished. We never had chocolate bars so it was a real treat. Once they had finished the reading list they were finished reading for the year. It usually took them almost he whole year to do the reading list, and they would at the end of the year have a couple of weeks off reading. I read aloud to them harder books.

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Sometimes kids with social thinking deficits refuse fiction because they aren't engaging with the narratives and aren't catching the inferences, cause/effect, etc. You might look at the comprehension series Spotlight on Reading from Carson Dellosa. Also you can look at SocialThinking.com and see if you think any of that applies to him.

 

Given how high stakes your state testing is, I would go ahead and do some yourself. I like the Woodcock Johnson, because it has no ceiling and gives you actual grade levels for everything.

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