Just Kate Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 My 7yo DS loves audio books. He has many loaded on his iPod and listens to them all the time (his favorites are the Narnia books, Thornton W Burgess books and Beverly Cleary books). He could spend hours in his floor playing Legos and animals while listening to these books. He also listens at night before falling asleep. The problem is that he hates to read. I would say that he is probably an average reader (or maybe a tiny bit below average). He is in 2nd grade and can read Level 3 books (of the I Can Read series and others similar). He also does great with phonics and is good at reading independent words that we come across in every day life. But he hates to sit down and read. The only books that he has read without me bugging him are Elephant and Piggie books and Fly Guy books. I have to force him to read anything more difficult. I thought about taking away his audio books, but I think that they can and should have a place in his life (along with reading books). Since he started listening, I have noticed an increase in his vocabulary and in his knowledge of nature (thanks to the Burgess books!). When I was a kid, I remember wanting to learn to read so I could get lost in the stories on my own. Ds doesn’t have this incentive due to audio books. How do I encourage this kid to read??? Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 (edited) Bumping to see if anyone has suggestions? Or should I move this to the K-8 Curriculum board? Thanks! Edited September 21, 2011 by mandos mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 My kiddo (also 7 yrs old) sounds a lot like yours, and I've pondered the same question. Here are some random ideas (I have not tried them yet, so the jury is out on if they will work): - Let him listen to the first book in a series, then give him a printed copy of the next book in the series (might work, if he's very motivated to read that next book, although I think my guy would balk at this). - Let him listen to the first few chapters of an audiobook, then read the next few chapters of same book before listening further. - Have him follow along with a printed book. Other than those, I'm stumped and would like to hear more ideas. Then again, I am happy that my kiddo prefers audiobooks to screen time, and if we keep plugging along this way, it will be okay. I plan to keep increasing our independent reading time, and to keep enticing him with (printed) books that he will find appealing (and that we don't have in audio form). Let me know if you think of something else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 My kiddo (also 7 yrs old) sounds a lot like yours, and I've pondered the same question. Here are some random ideas (I have not tried them yet, so the jury is out on if they will work): - Let him listen to the first book in a series, then give him a printed copy of the next book in the series (might work, if he's very motivated to read that next book, although I think my guy would balk at this). - Let him listen to the first few chapters of an audiobook, then read the next few chapters of same book before listening further. - Have him follow along with a printed book. Other than those, I'm stumped and would like to hear more ideas. Then again, I am happy that my kiddo prefers audiobooks to screen time, and if we keep plugging along this way, it will be okay. I plan to keep increasing our independent reading time, and to keep enticing him with (printed) books that he will find appealing (and that we don't have in audio form). Let me know if you think of something else! Thanks Spryte! I am also glad to have audio books as an option and I know I shouldn't take them away. This kid loves books...he is always begging me to read to him. I know he is frustrated because reading is hard (listening is much easier!) and frankly, those early reading books just aren't that exciting. I would love to hear other's thoughts on this as well. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 My reluctant reader loved audiobooks. As his reading skills got better, he wanted to do more reading of paper books. The first thing I thought of when I read your post was that he likes audiobooks as background noise - that way he can build and still have a story. If he was reading a book, he couldn't ALSO build with Lego. He likes books differently from how you liked them. Maybe he, right now, enjoys the auditory processing better than the visual. It's okay. He's not doomed to a life of no paper book reading just because he likes audiobooks as a 7 year old. He's listening to really complex things! His vocabulary is growing, his attention span probably is, etc. Things are happening inside his brain. It'll be okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Oh, and the "gateway" to more print reading for my late reader? Calvin and Hobbes. The vocabulary can be broad. I got a mixed assortment of books at the library and left them around (including comic books). He also would get non-fiction (the boy loves National Geographic magazines). He started out just reading the picture captions, but the longer he has them, the more of the articles he reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 We were here last year with DS8. I played dirty. I let the kids listen to the first book in a series on audio, then informed DS (who was totally into the story and wanted more) that the library copy of the audio would not be available for a few weeks, but that I could read a chapter a day of the print version until it was available. DS couldn't be bothered to wait for me and devoured the book on his own in a week's time. He has been a voracious reader ever since. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I know this is off topic, but where do you get the audio books for your son? DD is 7 too and I wonder if she'd like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 We get audiobooks (CD or downloads) from the local library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I know this is off topic, but where do you get the audio books for your son? DD is 7 too and I wonder if she'd like them. Not the OP, but we have a subscription to audible.com, plus we use the iTunes store to buy them when we have gift cards. There are a lot of free options, too - the library, Libravox (but the readers are volunteers and it's hit or miss on their reading ability), and there are some podcasts out there, too. We pick them up when we see them on sale... scored a great 17 disc set of The Narnia books at the Border's bargain section a few years ago - for $5! Woot.com sometimes has big sets - and we've had good luck with those, as well. My mom just brought a few that she picked up on the road (she's a traveling artist) at, of all places, Cracker Barrel (Treasure Island, and 2 other classics I can't recall at the moment - but they were on clearance for about $5 each, and came with a book to follow). Once in a while, there are even kids' audiobooks as kids' meal prizes - Magic Tree House & Veggie Tales come to mind, and though they're not classics, we've enjoyed them - much more than the food that came with them. :) Hope that gets you started :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 My boys are HUGE audio book users. We have a rule: no listening to the audio book until you have read the book. Ok, at 7 it was permitted if a parent read most of the book outloud to you, but you had to read some of it. It could be outloud to a parent or to yourself. You have to put in some effort even if it is only one sentence per paragraph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I would continue to encourage the audio books. He will learn so much from listening. There could be reasons he doesn't want to read a book. It could be his eyes need to mature, he needs greater focus for the level of books he likes, he could have a reading issue (my one son is dyslexic and reading is hard). Or he could just be more of an auditory type learner and prefers that method. Whatever the reason, if he's listening to good books it's great. As he gets older he will start reading so he can get through a book faster. It will come. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I know this is off topic, but where do you get the audio books for your son? DD is 7 too and I wonder if she'd like them. We get ours from the local library system. All of our kids enjoy the audiobooks, even the 4yo. They like to spend afternoons building with Legos or coloring while listening to audiobooks in their playroom. I was thinking about this some more today, and I realized that I had one more thing going that made a difference. We have a quiet time any day that we are home and books are the only thing allowed. I keep baskets of interesting books in all the quiet time spots, some below, some above their actual reading level. The goal for the books that are above reading level is to be just a little above so they have to work for it a little, not too hard that they want to quit. The books also have to be really engaging. We also have found some good graphic novels in our library system. (Think Cavin and Hobbes or Snoopy for the 21st century.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 I know this is off topic, but where do you get the audio books for your son? DD is 7 too and I wonder if she'd like them. As others have mentioned we primarily use librivox.org and the library. For the narnia books, I googled "free narnia audio" and found a free podcast of ALL the books! Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and reassurance. This is my first reader, so I'm a bit anxious about getting it right :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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