How to Handle My 5 y.o.'s BIG Surprise

[Purple Cat]

I did not try to teach my 5 year-old twins to read. I did not spend time asking them to sound out words, etc. But we have read incessantly for years, and I always have picked one word in each title and identified the letters, their sounds, and the blends.

 

At Christmas, my son surprised me by reading Green Eggs and Ham seamlessly. (No, he didn't memorize it; we had read it maybe one time several years back.) I then tried to get him to read some books to me. He was very resistant, and fearful of squelching his enthusiasm, I didn't try to make him.

 

Last month, I decided to try again. I asked him to select any book and read it to me. He selected a third-grade level book and read it nearly flawlessly. (Again, he hadn't memorized it.) A quick online test of reading levels indicates he's a strong third-grade, if not fourth-grade, level reader.

 

But he doesn't want to read to me! I know his skills would improve even more with practice, but at the same time, I'm leery of creating a lot of resistance. We will start formally homeschooling this August, which gives me increased leverage for "requiring" him to read to me.

 

Any ideas on how to handle the child like him who is reading very well, but doesn't want to read to you? (Please accept as given that he is reading at this level; I know he didn't memorize the books in question.)

 

Thank you!

[MelanieM]

Do you know why he doesn't want to read to you? Is he worried that if he starts reading to you, you might *stop* reading to him? Maybe if you can get to the bottom of whe he's so resistant you'll be able to reasure him so that he'll be more open to it.

 

One technique you might try is stopping mid-way through a read aloud, preferably at a really good part, and asking him to take over for a couple minutes so your voice can get a break. He might be inspired by the thought of being helpful and interested enough in what happens next to start reading without thinking too much about it first.

 

 

And welcome to the forums! :D

Edited May 15, 2011 by MelanieM

[Quad Shot Academy]

If he is reading that well, self taught, I wouldn't worry about him reading out loud if he doesn't want to! :tongue_smilie: I would get a basket of various easy to read non fiction books on sone of your history or science subjects and I would require him to read from the basket for 10 minutes a day to start. Then I would start asking him questions about what he read to check his comprehension and start developing his narration skills. HTH some!

[catz]

I wouldn't worry about it at all either. If you're going to start a formal homeschool day in August, maybe just work a page or 2 of out loud reading into your school day at that point.

[LittleIzumi]

Some kids like it better if you read a page, then they read a page, back & forth. I wouldn't force him though.

[Deniseibase]

Don't worry about it - he may just not feeling like he has to 'perform'. If his reading skills are that high at that age, self-taught, he will probably make better progress if you hand him a library card and help him carry home his books and get out of the way otherwise that he would with any program, y'know?

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

As the other's said, don't worry about it. But if you would like for him to read aloud, give him a tape player and have him read books into it. He can then listen to himself (most kids like this) or share it with his brother. Have him read to the dog or other pet. Reading aloud is a skill that some may not feel comfortable with. Give him alternatives to reading aloud to you if you still want him to read aloud.

[Jen in PA]

Could he read to a pet or favorite stuffed animal while you listen nearby?

[regentrude]

If it is important to you that he reads out loud (and it would be, to me), you can take turns reading, one page you, one page he. Or you could select books with a lot of dialogue and each read a different character - this was always a big hit in our house.

[matilda]

I had a kid like this. He wouldn't read to me no matter what I tried. In the end, I made sure that there were plenty of books around at his level and we had quiet reading time every day. At least then he was reading to himself to practice, and we didn't turn reading into a fight. Now he reads out loud just fine.

[2smartones]

BTDT! I agree... don't worry. Be supportive, and provide lots of fun things to read. Go to the library and say "pick whatever you want", and then REALLY let him pick whatever he wants. Anything. Above or below reading level.

[Purple Cat]

Thank you for all the helpful ideas and feedback. I have thought maybe I should just stay out of his way, but at the same time I do want to check his comprehension skills. I'll try seeing if he will read to himself or sister or stuffed animals.

 

Thank you!

[boscopup]

My oldest doesn't like to read out loud either. Now in first grade, I do have him read 1 page to me, then he can read the rest of the chapter to himself. That way, I can help him through any words he doesn't know (those big multisyllable words that you have to sound out), but he's not having to read out loud TOO much. At 5, I didn't have him reading out loud at all.

 

Since this is a new skill, I'd probably just let it be for now. You'll have plenty of time to check comprehension later. Just throw in some very casual discussion after he's read a book (that you have read yourself)... Something like "Wow, I haven't read that book in a while... What kind of animal was that about? Oh yes, a dog. And what did he do?" That can get you going discussing the book without it being scripted questions that make them freak out. ;) Just be very interested in what he has to say about the book, and once you get him going, he might talk and talk and talk about it. You never know! If he doesn't talk, you can add something silly in, like "Did the dog chase an elephant?" when the dog really chased a cat in the story. Stuff like that.

 

And don't worry, we believe you that he doesn't have the books memorized! :D My son surprised me when he first started reading too. He picked up Go, Dog, Go! and read 30 pages of it - it was a new a book we had that we hadn't read yet. He hadn't read anything before that - no Bob books or other early readers. He had just played starfall.com and we'd read a lot of books together. He took off from there. The library is your friend!!! I don't regret at all not doing anything with comprehension or reading out loud at that age. I just let him learn to enjoy reading. Then I added the comprehension (narration in our case) and reading out loud later when he was very comfortable with reading already.

[twoforjoy]

Any ideas on how to handle the child like him who is reading very well, but doesn't want to read to you?

 

My son never wanted to read to me, either. He is such a perfectionist, and I think he was really afraid that he'd make a mistake and I'd hear, which would obviously be the end of the world. (We were doing SL Core K at the time, with Level 2 readers, and he was reading through The Beginner's Bible. He'd get all upset if he couldn't read every biblical name perfectly the first time, even after I explained to him that even adults find many of those names difficult.)

 

I stopped making him do it, just because it was obviously really stressful for him, and it was more important to me that he enjoy reading. He'd sometimes spontaneously read something to me if he thought it was really cool or interesting, but I didn't force him.

 

Side note: Joke books can be really good for that. They were pretty much the only things my son enjoyed reading aloud.

 

I do have him do a little reading aloud at this point, maybe 1-2 paragraphs of his science or language arts or something. And he'll read to his baby sister any time I ask. But I don't make him do much more than that, and I don't think he's any worse off for it.

 

FWIW I always hated reading aloud. Still do. I have no idea why. I'm a good reader and an outgoing person, but there's something about reading off a page to anybody but my own kids that makes me very uncomfortable.

 

ETA: One other suggestion, that worked here: The Elephant & Piggie series, or any other books that naturally lend themselves to shared reading. DS enjoyed reading the Elephant & Piggie books because we could each take a part, and it was more like acting/playing than reading aloud. Other times I'd let him be a character in a book, and he's only have to read when it was that character's turn to speak. For some reason, he seemed to find that less stressful/intimidating.

Edited May 16, 2011 by twoforjoy