7 yr old can read but won't?

[mom2Hh]

my 7 yr old ds is reading above grade level (I think). He went through all 5 levels of hooked on phonics by the time he was about 6. He did very well with it and loved reading the books it came with. He read some other books too. He read much of a large book of Thomas the Train stories- the old original ones. Now I know some of that must have been hard for him because those stories are hard for me to read and follow sometimes! He had mild interest in picking out some books to read from the library. But once they were home he often wouldn't read them. In the past when he's read out loud during HOP instruction or other books he read with nice expression. Now he rarely wants to read out loud- often resists or gets mad. He rarely reads books on his own. He'll spend lots of time looking at lego books that show unique lego creations, etc. I do a lot of reading out loud to him and his little brother. Chapter books included. His friend who is a full year younger (and going to public school) reads a lot. He reads the magic tree house books so my ds wanted to try some. But I'm the one who is reading them to him!

I'm just not sure why he doesn't want to read on his own. (He did read an entire Thornton Burgess book one day- Buster Bear- read the whole thing which took several hours, but rarely since then.)

 

My question- is this normal that he doesn't want to read on his own? (When I ask him he says it's too hard. But I've heard him read- he reads well and seems to have good comprehension. :confused1: )

 

and what else do we do to "teach" reading once they know how to read?

[ClassicalTwins]

This list helped get my boys intersted

 

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/files/Books%20for%20Boys%20Who%20Would....pdf

 

FWIW, my boys are almost 10 and are just now getting the interest to read on their own. & they still love to have me read to them.

[mom2Hh]

This list helped get my boys intersted

 

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/files/Books%20for%20Boys%20Who%20Would....pdf

 

FWIW, my boys are almost 10 and are just now getting the interest to read on their own. & they still love to have me read to them.

 

thanks for the link! great list! Is that list suggestions that boys would want to read on their own? Or as possible read alouds? They seem to have a wide range of reading level- Mike Mulligan vs. Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He loves some of those books already (Mike Mulligan being one). But through my reading to him.

 

I know in school he'd probably be made to read on his own. Should I be "forcing" it in homeschool? Like read a book of his choice for 15 minutes each day?

[Hockey Mom]

You know what sparked interest for my boys? Audio books. I bought them each an MP3 player, and burned our CDs onto the MP3 player. My youngest is almost done with The Lightning Thief, and is begging to read the rest of the series now. I bought him the rest of the books, but with the understanding that he would have to read those on his own. He's very excited about it.

 

With my oldest, he likes non-fiction science books. If it's about space or the human body, he's all over that.

 

Regarding the interest in books in the library vs. once they're home, here's what I started doing: have them read a book before we check out. They pick another to start on the ride home. Then they have to finish the book before any screen time happens.

 

We went through many types of books before we found the books that sparked interest. The next obstacle was to remove distractions and create time to read.

[Farrar]

thanks for the link! great list! Is that list suggestions that boys would want to read on their own? Or as possible read alouds? They seem to have a wide range of reading level- Mike Mulligan vs. Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He loves some of those books already (Mike Mulligan being one). But through my reading to him.

 

I know in school he'd probably be made to read on his own. Should I be "forcing" it in homeschool? Like read a book of his choice for 15 minutes each day?

 

I think that list is both or either, depending on the kid. You could also use the grades 3 and up lists for reading aloud. I think it's a list that has a lot of great books... but it's mostly older books. I do find that newer books are often more enticing to some kids and there are many good options. We try to read a mix here.

 

You can make him read for 15 mins a day. I think that's appropriate. Or not. That's okay too, I think. :001_smile: He's only 7. Keep reading aloud. Try the audiobooks. Remember that reading classics isn't the only path to a lifelong enjoyment of books. Try strewing (leaving around, checking out from the library, giving as gifts, or whatever) different things - nonfiction, illustrated books, books that are probably too easy, books that are packed full of information, comic books, magazines, etc.

 

My boys are just slightly older. Last year, we were still reading things like Fly Guy and Elephant and Piggie (which are both very easy, but we still read them because they're funny), Stink, Nate the Great, Commander Toad, Poppleton, Mercy Watson... And we love graphic novels. Amulet, Flying Beaver Brothers, Squish, Guinea PI...

[Lecka]

Magic Tree House might be too hard for independent reading. Independent reading is supposed to be easy for kids to read.

 

For Magic Tree House you could read every other paragraph, or read 2 pages and have him read half a page. That might be his level.

 

If he is trying things too hard, no wonder it it frustrating.

 

If his interest level is higher than his reading level, no wonder he wants you to read the books he is interested in to him.

 

My son is required to read with me, but he has been a struggling reader. He definitely needs it. The books he chooses for himself are very easy, like pre-school. He likes that they are easy for him :) But he is reading aloud at his level with me, to have some help, and with me taking lots of turns to read.

 

It is also possible the neighbor is having books previewed for him in some way that makes it easier for him to read them. Maybe his mom played the book on tape last year. Maybe his teacher read it to him at school. Maybe his friend told him the plot. All of those kinds of things can make a book easier to read. Or maybe this boy is a couple of reading levels higher than he is. Also, the Magic Tree House books start easy and get harder throughout the series. Right now my son is not bad in the first 20 book, he can read every other page with me. But in the Merlin Missions, he cannot read a page without help.

[DoubleAMom]

How about reading incentive programs through the library or Book-It? You can sign up for Book-It as a homeschooler. You set monthly reading goals for your kids and if they reach them you give them a coupon for a free Pizza Hut Pan Pizza.

 

Our library recently had an incentive program where the kids received a coupon for a free cheeseburger for every 5 books they read. My son was so excited to be able to earn his own cheeseburger!

[Wheres Toto]

I was having a similar problem with my son, except he also wouldn't listen to read alouds. He had the ability - we are doing some 3rd grade reading comprehension activities - but he wouldn't read anything but Pokemon books or some Ninjago graphic novels.

 

I started out bribing him to read 30 minutes a day in exchange for Pokemon cards. He spent most of his time with a Pokemon handbook but it was reading.

 

Just recently I started reading to him at night. I've been reading the first two or three Chapters of a Magic Tree House book to him, and then telling him we would continue the next night. Instead of waiting, he would read the rest of the book himself, and often move on to the next one. We have the first 30 books, missing just one or two. So far, in three nights he's read 6 or 7 of the books. I started with the Night of the Ninjas since Ninjas are an interest of his.

 

Edited to add: I don't make him read aloud to me very often. He complains that it makes his "mouth tired".

Edited October 23, 2012 by dottieanna29

[DoubleAMom]

 

Edited to add: I don't make him read aloud to me very often. He complains that it makes his "mouth tired".

 

My son doesn't like reading aloud either and I don't force the issue. I ask questions to make sure he's comprehending and leave it at that.

[Karen in CO]

Have you had his vision checked? My dd reads above grade-level but also stumbles on easy readers. She can read for an hour but also tires and frustrates easily. She often looses her place when she's reading and prefers to read a whole sentence then recite the sentence to me instead of reading it one word at at time. I had her evaluated last month by a developmental optometrist who found some significant visual processing problems.

 

If you haven't had his eyes checked recently, please eliminate the possibility of a simple vision problem. Then help him slowly build fluency with interesting books. If that doesn't work, please keep in mind that there could be other vision problems.

[mom2Hh]

Have you had his vision checked? My dd reads above grade-level but also stumbles on easy readers. She can read for an hour but also tires and frustrates easily. She often looses her place when she's reading and prefers to read a whole sentence then recite the sentence to me instead of reading it one word at at time. I had her evaluated last month by a developmental optometrist who found some significant visual processing problems.

 

If you haven't had his eyes checked recently, please eliminate the possibility of a simple vision problem. Then help him slowly build fluency with interesting books. If that doesn't work, please keep in mind that there could be other vision problems.

 

thanks- that is interesting to know. He had his vision tested by a regular optomerist at a good eye office 2 years ago. They did the drops and between the burning and the blurring he was so miserable it might be hard to get him to go back! But I am curious now... I'm wondering what other signs I could notice at home that he might be having trouble. It seemed like you brought your child to more of a vision specialist? I'm not sure if we have someone like that around here.

 

What I have noticed when he's reading aloud is that I think he is reading ahead faster than he can speak it. And he'll change words but it still makes sense. Too tired to think of an example. one might be saying "He's coming" when the words on the page say "He is coming." but there are other examples. He does know when things don't sound right though. He is capable of reading at probably a 3rd grade level (guessing) but doesn't seem to want to. I've seen things he's read or heard him read and it's great! but I wonder if he's not hearing the words in his head when he reads. I recently learned that "slow readers" are actually better:001_smile: (and that's me so yay!- it's ok to be slow)- that they are hearing the words in their head as they read. I think he may not be doing that. He can remember details though. ??

[Hedgehogs4]

my 7 yr old ds is reading above grade level (I think). He went through all 5 levels of hooked on phonics by the time he was about 6. He did very well with it and loved reading the books it came with. He read some other books too. He read much of a large book of Thomas the Train stories- the old original ones. Now I know some of that must have been hard for him because those stories are hard for me to read and follow sometimes! He had mild interest in picking out some books to read from the library. But once they were home he often wouldn't read them. In the past when he's read out loud during HOP instruction or other books he read with nice expression. Now he rarely wants to read out loud- often resists or gets mad. He rarely reads books on his own. He'll spend lots of time looking at lego books that show unique lego creations, etc. I do a lot of reading out loud to him and his little brother. Chapter books included. His friend who is a full year younger (and going to public school) reads a lot. He reads the magic tree house books so my ds wanted to try some. But I'm the one who is reading them to him!

I'm just not sure why he doesn't want to read on his own. (He did read an entire Thornton Burgess book one day- Buster Bear- read the whole thing which took several hours, but rarely since then.)

 

My question- is this normal that he doesn't want to read on his own? (When I ask him he says it's too hard. But I've heard him read- he reads well and seems to have good comprehension. :confused1: )

 

and what else do we do to "teach" reading once they know how to read?

 

You just described my dd7. I posted a thread here yesterday about how my dd7 love to listen to books but resists reading herself. The responses of the ladies were very helpful. As my DS 11 plows through books like a fish through water, I have to remember that he didn't really get going with independent reading until he was about 9. Be patient (preaching to the choir, here). It will happen.

[kwg]

Have you tried Calvin and Hobbes? My ds loved them!!!

[Bree]

my ds is like that. Sometimes he will read a lot and then at times he will not want to touch anything for a while. I found with him he does better when he has non-fiction books to read. He will check out a dozen books on animals from the library and spent tons of time reading those. Maybe trying different genres might help.

[MerryAtHope]

"Too hard" might mean that he's not ready for books without pictures yet. Being able to read the words is not the same as being able to make up for the lack of pictures in his mind. I think I'd try easier picture books for awhile and just let him enjoy those.

 

It could also mean that his eyes aren't ready for the font size in some of the chapter books, that tracking with that small font is work for him even though he reads well.

 

It might also be worth a vision check-up if you haven't done one recently.

 

It could also just mean that reading is still work for him, and that it's not as relaxing as some other things--and when he's ready, he'll read more. As long as you are still reading to him, and still have required reading for school, I probably wouldn't worry too much.

 

Merry :-)

[mom2Hh]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, ideas and encouragement. He actually did a little better reading aloud today. Maybe he just hasn't found enough books he wants to read on his own yet- or I "spoil" him (just kidding) by reading aloud everything he wants. I've been known to read an entire magic treehouse book in one day (when I'm tired, it's raining, and we all snuggle on my bed and finish reading the whole thing!). So he's not getting the urge to pick it up himself to finish.

I'll try putting it down at just the right time and see what happens! And I'll try to be more patient. It's so hard not to compare to other kids sometimes.

[campmom]

My ds 7 also could read but did not want to, he only read when I made him. In January I took him to a good eye doctor who said he needed reading glasses. There was no change in his reading. Finally I took him to a development opt. in September. His glasses were making it harder far him to read. I might not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. The focusing muscles in his eyes were only working at 30%. He has had 4 weeks of vision therapy and I am already seeing improvement. I even "caught" him reading a book the other day. When he did read he tired quickly and did what you were saying about changing words, guessing etc. all signs of vision problems. Get him checked.

[mom2Hh]

My ds 7 also could read but did not want to, he only read when I made him. In January I took him to a good eye doctor who said he needed reading glasses. There was no change in his reading. Finally I took him to a development opt. in September. His glasses were making it harder far him to read. I might not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. The focusing muscles in his eyes were only working at 30%. He has had 4 weeks of vision therapy and I am already seeing improvement. I even "caught" him reading a book the other day. When he did read he tired quickly and did what you were saying about changing words, guessing etc. all signs of vision problems. Get him checked.

 

What do I look for- a "developmental optrician"? I've never heard of one.... wondering if there are other terms or titles- sounds like something we'd have to travel 2 hours for...