Michelle O. in MO Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 my 8yos to read independently? He can read okay, but not fluently. He'll handle chapter books, but is resistant. He'll gladly listen to me read all day long, but ask him to read on his own or out loud to me and it's like pulling teeth. Once he gets started he does okay, but he just doesn't like to do it. Is this a maturity thing? I'm willing to wait this out, that's fine. I just don't want to make it worse by MAKING him read. For now, I've been having him read about 10-15 min/day (I'm not consistent with this because of how hard he fights me over it) but I'd like him to do a little more than that. Any thoughts and guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 What about a reading incentive? If he reads 10 books he gets X prize, for example. It might sound kind of hokey, but that little nudge might show him that reading can be enjoyable. Now that's a good idea. Hokey or not, I think this would work for him. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Make sure he has books that are a little below his reading level so that it's not a difficult stretch for him. Also, reassure him that just because he can read independently doesn't mean that you'll stop reading aloud - so keep doing that! I personally wouldn't push too hard. I require my kids to do free reading for 20 minutes every day. For one of my kids, that's all he can handle. For the other, he will gladly read longer, but it has come slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 What about a reading incentive? . There's the Applebees Bookworm Club: http://www.tlcneighborhood.com/page.php?id=1 And the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! http://www.bookitprogram.com/Enrollment/homeschool.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Make sure he has books that are a little below his reading level so that it's not a difficult stretch for him. :iagree:My son was reluctant to read chapter books just a couple months ago, even though he was capable of it. For him, it was partly a reading stamina issue. After getting some advice here, I bumped the chapter book level back to something obviously easy for him, and I had him read one chapter a day. As he got more stamina, I had him read 2 chapters a day (but these were still short chapters with books below his reading level). Around this time, he rediscovered his Clone Wars books and started reading those (which were closer to his reading level), and pretty soon, he could read one of those in one morning. Part of it was an interest thing. Anyway, it has translated over to his other readings. I get a variety of books from the library that I think he will like, and he has assigned reading time of "anything on the library book shelf" each day. Then our "reading" time is a chapter book that's more difficult (but we worked up to that... again, I started below his reading level until he was more comfortable). Now I have him read a page or two out loud, then he can read the rest of the chapter to himself. We're doing Charlotte's Web right now, which is pushing his reading level just enough (he needs help on occasional words, but overall reads it fine). Back in January, he could not have handled that book at all. it would have overwhelmed him. So definitely go back in reading level to get him interested and comfortable, and to let him enjoy reading. Make it easy for a while until he gets hooked. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanieh Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 :iagree:My son was reluctant to read chapter books just a couple months ago, even though he was capable of it. For him, it was partly a reading stamina issue. After getting some advice here, I bumped the chapter book level back to something obviously easy for him, and I had him read one chapter a day. As he got more stamina, I had him read 2 chapters a day (but these were still short chapters with books below his reading level). Around this time, he rediscovered his Clone Wars books and started reading those (which were closer to his reading level), and pretty soon, he could read one of those in one morning. Part of it was an interest thing. Anyway, it has translated over to his other readings. I get a variety of books from the library that I think he will like, and he has assigned reading time of "anything on the library book shelf" each day. Then our "reading" time is a chapter book that's more difficult (but we worked up to that... again, I started below his reading level until he was more comfortable). Now I have him read a page or two out loud, then he can read the rest of the chapter to himself. We're doing Charlotte's Web right now, which is pushing his reading level just enough (he needs help on occasional words, but overall reads it fine). Back in January, he could not have handled that book at all. it would have overwhelmed him. So definitely go back in reading level to get him interested and comfortable, and to let him enjoy reading. Make it easy for a while until he gets hooked. :) :iagree: This is what I had to do as well. Give them plenty of books lower than their reading level in a book basket by the couch. For my one son, every short book he read equaled 10 minutes of Wii time! He was all over reading multiple books! I also allowed him to stay up 30 minutes later in his bed at night as long as he was reading. He loved that too! Now he's pleasure reading books 3 grade levels higher than his current grade! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 When ds was building fluency, I had him read aloud to me everyday (probably should still be doing that). To begin with, it was just a couple of words. From there we moved to a couple of sentences (we're talking Dr. Seuss, etc) then a couple of pages. This grew gradually until he was voluntarily reading whole books to me (again, Dr. Seuss, early readers). For the most part, although I insisted he read to me, I let him dictate how much. That seemed to save some stress for both of us. You might try alternating the reading with him. You read a sentence; he reads a sentence. He gets his reading practice in, but it's less pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Thank you all for your insight and great advice. This reading journey with my son has been very different than what I experienced with his 12yo sister. She hit the ground running when she first learned how to read. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanieh Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Thank you all for your insight and great advice. This reading journey with my son has been very different than what I experienced with his 12yo sister. She hit the ground running when she first learned how to read. :) No two children are the same....especially boys to girls! :) Give him time, have him read aloud to you on his grade level but let him read below his level for pleasure!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) I would keep working on higher level phonics. When you can sound out any word, it makes reading simple things easier. Webster's Speller teaches phonics to the 12th grade level. I would use the 1908 version, it has more reading selections than the 1828, older students enjoy the reading passages. The passages also teach a lot of vocabulary. You could also try my online phonics lessons. And, the syllable division worksheets on my how to tutor page. Finally, I like the 1879 McGuffey Readers, the difficult words are marked diacritically and shown before the reading selection, so you get the difficult words out of the way and then get to enjoy the readings. They also build in difficulty nicely and are free from Gutenburg, you need the PDFs. Edited March 1, 2011 by ElizabethB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Truthfully, it has taken all my boys longer to read for pleasure than my girls. My almost 10yo has just begun to willingly read something not assigned and the key was finding something he connected with (Captain Underpants much to my embarrassment). As long as they are reading what you've assigned I just keep looking for something that will trip their switch. I know most people here have kids who inhale books but they've all got their own timetable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Staying up past bedtime and really finding books they wanted to read work here. For my older it is survival books. For my younger fantasy/silly books (like the aforementioned Capt. Underpants). Another thing that works is me starting a book I think they'll like and reading the first 3 or 4 chapters and letting them read the rest. This way they also know most of the names and even other tricky vocabulary from hearing me reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Another thing that works is me starting a book I think they'll like and reading the first 3 or 4 chapters and letting them read the rest. This way they also know most of the names and even other tricky vocabulary from hearing me reading it. This is a really good idea. Another way to do the same thing is to borrow the first title of a series from the library in audio form, and the sequels in book form.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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