Assigned Reading Killing the Love of a Good Book

[jessicalb]

So, I am making a list of books I will assign in high school. My intention is for this to be worthwhile and mostly enjoyable.

 

I was thinking about putting Dune and The Lord of the Rings on the list, and then J said maybe I shouldn't, because so often assigned reading can drive all the love of the book out of the student. Maybe we should wait for him to come to books we hope he might love, and assign him things he needs for educational or cultural literacy reasons.

 

I can see it both ways, and often the books I have assigned he has loved, but sometimes it backfires terribly and he really hates them, so there is no way to predict that. What are your thoughts?

[Susan of Croton]

Hi, This happened to me in ps decades ago. High school teacher gave us a choice of two pieces of literature (like, Romeo and Juliet or Julius Caesar) and we had to pick one and write about it. The joy of picking obscured the fact that it was her list. Just a thought.

[marbel]

Why not make a list of books that you would like them to read but are not specifically assigning? Call it "optional reading" and let them know they are free to read the entire book, set it aside for the future, or reject it altogether.

 

Or, if you have a favorite, do it as a family read-aloud.

 

Or, assign it as required reading but don't make them do anything with it - no book reports, literary analysis papers, nothing. If it's a favorite of yours, let them know you would love to discuss it with them. Tell them why you love it and hope they will enjoy it too.

 

You can hope they will come across a book in the future, and that might work, but they might miss it altogether. Why not offer it with no strings attached?

[regentrude]

My kids have no trouble with books they liked being ruined by assignment - they are thrilled if they can read something "fun" for school.

We will not, however, do writing assignments on these books, because picking them apart is a sure way to ruin them.

(I like SWB's advice never to make them analyze a favorite)

Edited August 29, 2012 by regentrude

[Mom22ns]

My kids have no trouble with books they liked being ruined by assignment - they are thrilled if they can read something "fun" for school.

We will not, however, do assignments on these books, because picking them apart is a sure way to ruin them.

(I like SWB's advice never to make them analyze a favorite)

 

:iagree:

 

My kids don't dislike them just because they are assigned. However, they can be ruined by making them dig in instead of just letting them enjoy them. Include them on the reading list, but don't make them research or write about them unless they want to.

[bobbeym]

My kids don't dislike them just because they are assigned. However, they can be ruined by making them dig in instead of just letting them enjoy them. Include them on the reading list, but don't make them research or write about them unless they want to.

My kids have no trouble with books they liked being ruined by assignment - they are thrilled if they can read something "fun" for school.

We will not, however, do writing assignments on these books, because picking them apart is a sure way to ruin them.

(I like SWB's advice never to make them analyze a favorite)

 

Why not make a list of books that you would like them to read but are not specifically assigning? Call it "optional reading" and let them know they are free to read the entire book, set it aside for the future, or reject it altogether.

 

Or, if you have a favorite, do it as a family read-aloud.

 

Or, assign it as required reading but don't make them do anything with it - no book reports, literary analysis papers, nothing. If it's a favorite of yours, let them know you would love to discuss it with them. Tell them why you love it and hope they will enjoy it too.

 

You can hope they will come across a book in the future, and that might work, but they might miss it altogether. Why not offer it with no strings attached?

 

:iagree: with all the above.

 

DS has his assigned reading with writing assignments as well as a requirement of 7 more books - 4 from a very lengthy list and 3 of his choice on or off the list. We may do some short papers or discussion on the 4 list books, but I'm not planning on making him do anything for the other 3. I already know they'll be favorites and if he wants to talk about them, he can, but I won't require anything.

[klmama]

I always include books I know my dc will enjoy, as well as books I simply think they should read. I know with all of their other interests, books not assigned may not be read. I do try not to overwhelm them with analysis. We have casual discussions of plot, setting, characterization, themes, conflict, foreshadowing, interesting language choices, relation to current events, etc. for 3-4 minutes every few days; after several books have been covered and compared to each other in that same relaxed way, I bring on the writing assignments. I've found that giving my dc time to continue processing the books brings clarity to their opinions, and that makes their writing better. About half the time they write about the books they enjoyed and half the ones they hated. It makes no difference to me which ones they choose, as long as they can support what they have to say. That, of course, involves digging deeper into the text, so even if we didn't go into great depth with the first reading and discussion, it happens the second time around as they write and rewrite their papers. The only books they have hated at the end were books they disliked in the beginning; it had nothing to do with being assigned and everything to do with plot or writing style.

[jessicalb]

Hi, This happened to me in ps decades ago. High school teacher gave us a choice of two pieces of literature (like, Romeo and Juliet or Julius Caesar) and we had to pick one and write about it. The joy of picking obscured the fact that it was her list. Just a thought.

 

I love this! Thanks!

 

Why not make a list of books that you would like them to read but are not specifically assigning? Call it "optional reading" and let them know they are free to read the entire book, set it aside for the future, or reject it altogether.

 

Or, if you have a favorite, do it as a family read-aloud.

 

Yes, we do all of that. We are a very booky family. :) Basically anything we love and anything we think might interest ds is kept on shelves in common areas of the house and books are discussed very often.

 

(I like SWB's advice never to make them analyze a favorite)

 

My kids don't dislike them just because they are assigned. However, they can be ruined by making them dig in instead of just letting them enjoy them. Include them on the reading list, but don't make them research or write about them unless they want to.

 

This makes a lot of sense, thanks. :)

[dirty ethel rackham]

So, I am making a list of books I will assign in high school. My intention is for this to be worthwhile and mostly enjoyable.

 

I was thinking about putting Dune and The Lord of the Rings on the list, and then J said maybe I shouldn't, because so often assigned reading can drive all the love of the book out of the student. Maybe we should wait for him to come to books we hope he might love, and assign him things he needs for educational or cultural literacy reasons.

 

I can see it both ways, and often the books I have assigned he has loved, but sometimes it backfires terribly and he really hates them, so there is no way to predict that. What are your thoughts?

 

Well, if your intent is to analyze them to death, then I think it could ruin some perfectly enjoyable books. We did a literature co-op for a couple years. Our teen sons had input on the list and never felt like studying the books ruined his love of those books. We had other books on his list for cultural literacy reasons. While he didn't always love these books, studying them helped him (and me) gain a greater appreciation for them.

[dhudson]

My kids have no trouble with books they liked being ruined by assignment - they are thrilled if they can read something "fun" for school.

We will not, however, do writing assignments on these books, because picking them apart is a sure way to ruin them.

(I like SWB's advice never to make them analyze a favorite)

 

:iagree: I have assigned many books that have becomes favorites but I don't have him analyze them. We only analyze 3 or 4 books a year but he reads a lot more than that!