When encouraging children to read the classics...

[I.Dup.]

and follow book lists like "Good Books List" and "Ambleside Online" are we supposed to be reading these selections WITH them? Or can/should they be reading independently?

 

My daughter is a voracious reader, but we haven't ventured into many classics yet and the ones we have she isn't all that impressed by. I'm not sure how to get her reading richer books without having to commit to reading them all aloud to her myself. That is lovely and well and good but with 5+ other children (young & rowdy boys) I'm just not sure I can commit to that. Thoughts?

[Mandylubug]

Well, some I read with mine but others I pick for independent read. I also buy the abridged versions that are more on their level. My son is obsessed with The Odyssey right now after reading it last month.

 

eta: sorry to not answer your question... I am not sure how people go about the book lists of Ambleside, etc. and who reads what typically.

[Hoot]

I think to a certain point it is expected that you'll read the books with them; however, I stopped reading everything with my DS a LONG time ago. These days I rarely, if ever, read anything with or to him. We've found our absolute best friend on earth to be the audiobook. DS13 has been addicted to them for years and can get through them (often multiple times each) far faster than I could read them to him or he could read them himself.

[I.Dup.]

My daughter has read many of the abridged versions of classics as well...are abridged versions still "counted?"

[VaKim]

What kind of books do interest her? Any examples? Oh, and how old is she?

Not sure what you mean by "counted," but if you mean is it the same as reading the actual books, that depends on what you are wanting to get out of it. If you want her to read them for exposure to the basic story, then yes, it counts. However, if you are wanting her to read them for the vocabulary and language development, and just the beauty of the writing (if indeed it is beautiful, lol) and all that other great stuff you get (or are supposed to) from reading the classics, then, no, the abridged versions won't give you that.

[VaKim]

double post

[I.Dup.]

She still loves fairy books because she still loves all things fairy. So she has read the entire Disney Fairies chapter book series and everything by Gail Carson Levine (all on fairies). Those are always her first choice. She has loved what she's read of the Babysitter's club. She doesn't like Nancy Drew. She HAS really enjoyed the abridged version of the classics, but when we have started reading Anne of Avonlea or other more challenging language-wise, she doesn't seem interested. She didn't even like the Little House books. :confused1:

[Tea 4 Three]

When my older dc were small, I was in your shoes. We did many read alouds, but I often didn't feel that I could tackle many of the classics because often our read aloud time was hit and miss. I wanted them to have consistent time to listen to the more advanced language and to be able to rewind and listen again. I agree with a previous poster...audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks! Without audiobooks I don't know if my dc would have embraced the classics like they have. When they were 5-6 yo, they started listening to the Narnia series and Andrew Lang's Fairy Stories. By the time they were in 4th grade they were listening to Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, etc. They will listen to the stories over and over, and when they got older they wanted to read them as well. Whatever meanings and language were over their heads, they eventually figured out. I found that around 5th grade and up, they don't even flinch when I give them a classic to read, and I think that those early experiences were essential to my high school students who are now willing to tackle Homer, Aristotle, Polybius, etc.

[I.Dup.]

When my older dc were small, I was in your shoes. We did many read alouds, but I often didn't feel that I could tackle many of the classics because often our read aloud time was hit and miss. I wanted them to have consistent time to listen to the more advanced language and to be able to rewind and listen again. I agree with a previous poster...audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks! Without audiobooks I don't know if my dc would have embraced the classics like they have. When they were 5-6 yo, they started listening to the Narnia series and Andrew Lang's Fairy Stories. By the time they were in 4th grade they were listening to Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, etc. They will listen to the stories over and over, and when they got older they wanted to read them as well. Whatever meanings and language were over their heads, they eventually figured out. I found that around 5th grade and up, they don't even flinch when I give them a classic to read, and I think that those early experiences were essential to my high school students who are now willing to tackle Homer, Aristotle, Polybius, etc.

 

This is so encouraging, thank you! Did you have a specific time of day where they would go listen to audiobooks (we aren't in the car very much), or did they close themself off in their room and listen to it on their own accord, or...?

[Tea 4 Three]

 

This is so encouraging, thank you! Did you have a specific time of day where they would go listen to audiobooks (we aren't in the car very much), or did they close themself off in their room and listen to it on their own accord, or...?

 

 

Bedtime. It is a huge punishment if they can't listen to something when they go to bed. We established it by accident when they were babies and toddlers and we would play music while they fell asleep. I found that the more they listened, the more they wanted to listen and started doing so on their own. It seemed easier with tapes and CD's for little ones to control their own content. For my younger ones now we will play something from my ipod touch or the iPad and we have a wireless speaker (this one.) They will always fall asleep to whatever they are listening to, so the next night we will start it on the last thing they remember. I miss tapes because it was so much easier to find the right spot! I do have one dd who will stay awake just to listen and have more trouble falling asleep. She listens a lot on her own during the day or she often chooses to go to bed early so she can have listening time.

 

When my older dc were young, we weren't coming and going all the time, and I would have listening time in the afternoon while the babies were napping. They would be occupied and I could get something done as well. Usually 30-40 min was good, unless they were really into it and then it could really go on. :) In some seasons, especially when I was pregnant and couldn't catch my breath to do hardly any read aloud time, we would listen while we ate lunch.

 

The car has been great on trips (once or twice a year), but not otherwise.

[Occasionally]

 

This is so encouraging, thank you! Did you have a specific time of day where they would go listen to audiobooks (we aren't in the car very much), or did they close themself off in their room and listen to it on their own accord, or...?

 

 

My kids use their mp3 players at "naptime" - their midday break. I've loaded the players up with audiobooks. They love them!

[2squared]

She still loves fairy books because she still loves all things fairy. So she has read the entire Disney Fairies chapter book series and everything by Gail Carson Levine (all on fairies). Those are always her first choice. She has loved what she's read of the Babysitter's club. She doesn't like Nancy Drew. She HAS really enjoyed the abridged version of the classics, but when we have started reading Anne of Avonlea or other more challenging language-wise, she doesn't seem interested. She didn't even like the Little House books. :confused1:

 

 

I would look for classics below her reading level with themes she would enjoy. In fact, I would even start with classic picture books. Many classic picture books are written at the 5th and 6th grade level. They not only grab their readers with their language, but also with their illustrations. If you read picture books to the kids, I would read classics to them as a group so you are training them all at the same time.

 

For chapter book read alouds/audios, I would start with Andrew Lang's classic Fairy Tales in the color series. They sound perfect for a fairy loving girl. A few of them are free on Amazon for the Kindle.

[I.Dup.]

Thank you all! This is really encouraging! :)

[Chrysalis Academy]

These are all great suggestions - my girls (both) listen to classics that are well above their reading level via audiobooks. I do a bedtime readaloud with both of them together, not necessarily a classic. Dd10 reads a lot of good historical fiction on her own, but not too many full-fledged classics at this point - she's read things like Tom Sawyer. My goal with choosing read alouds to do with her is to choose things that are a little beyond her reading level, in terms of vocabulary, real-world knowledge, or complexity (either plot or structure), but that interest her, and do those as read-alouds. So in 4th grade I read aloud The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. This year I've read aloud Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Hound of the Baskervilles (and other Sherlock Holmes stories). We're going to do Huckleberry Finn and Little Women this spring, and those will probably be a combo of read aloud and independent reading. The goal is to transition her into reading classics on her own when the time is right, which we'll figure out as we go along.

[2squared]

These are all great suggestions - my girls (both) listen to classics that are well above their reading level via audiobooks. I do a bedtime readaloud with both of them together, not necessarily a classic. Dd10 reads a lot of good historical fiction on her own, but not too many full-fledged classics at this point - she's read things like Tom Sawyer. My goal with choosing read alouds to do with her is to choose things that are a little beyond her reading level, in terms of vocabulary, real-world knowledge, or complexity (either plot or structure), but that interest her, and do those as read-alouds. So in 4th grade I read aloud The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. This year I've read aloud Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Hound of the Baskervilles (and other Sherlock Holmes stories). We're going to do Huckleberry Finn and Little Women this spring, and those will probably be a combo of read aloud and independent reading. The goal is to transition her into reading classics on her own when the time is right, which we'll figure out as we go along.

 

 

My kids have always read quality literature, but I transition them to more difficult literature in a similar fashion. This year in 5th grade my oldest is reading more complex books, but I am reading ahead of her so we can talk about each book as she goes through them. I leave sticky notes in the book itself so we both know when she gets to a conversation point. When she is done with her daily reading, she brings the notes to me for our discussion.

[I.Dup.]

These are all great suggestions - my girls (both) listen to classics that are well above their reading level via audiobooks. I do a bedtime readaloud with both of them together, not necessarily a classic. Dd10 reads a lot of good historical fiction on her own, but not too many full-fledged classics at this point - she's read things like Tom Sawyer. My goal with choosing read alouds to do with her is to choose things that are a little beyond her reading level, in terms of vocabulary, real-world knowledge, or complexity (either plot or structure), but that interest her, and do those as read-alouds. So in 4th grade I read aloud The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. This year I've read aloud Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Hound of the Baskervilles (and other Sherlock Holmes stories). We're going to do Huckleberry Finn and Little Women this spring, and those will probably be a combo of read aloud and independent reading. The goal is to transition her into reading classics on her own when the time is right, which we'll figure out as we go along.

My kids have always read quality literature, but I transition them to more difficult literature in a similar fashion. This year in 5th grade my oldest is reading more complex books, but I am reading ahead of her so we can talk about each book as she goes through them. I leave sticky notes in the book itself so we both know when she gets to a conversation point. When she is done with her daily reading, she brings the notes to me for our discussion.

 

Yeah, this is what I would love to happen. I just wasn't sure how to GET here there when even Little House on the Prairie was too boring for her! She doesn't seem to like any of the "old-timey" stuff so hopefully the audiobooks will help!

[2squared]

I wouldn't dismiss classic picture books in your quest to introduce your kids to higher quality literature. Many of the Caldecott winners are around a 4th grade reading level. My 10yo enjoys classic picture books just as much as classic chapter books.

 

Mater Amabilis has more current classic book suggestions. We have particularly enjoyed their geography selections.

[NittanyJen]

We have gone in stages. I read unabridged versions of Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and the like; McCaughrean's 1001 Arabian Nights, Padric Colum's "Children's Homer," etc to them starting at age 7. My more struggling reader has read some Stepping Stones and Landmark abridged versions to himself or listened to audiobooks (both unabridged and abridged-- we are Jim Weiss fans) and he is now reading unabridged versions of some stories with which he is familiar. My older son, who does not have the same reading issues, was able to just dive right on in at around age 9-10.

 

A few notes you may use for whatever they are worth:

 

1. My younger has really enjoyed Michael Clay Thompson's editions of some of the classic books. He likes having the vocabulary in footnotes (he knows all about reading footnotes, thanks to Life of Fred!) the typeface, the size of the books in his hands, and the callout boxes that point out poetics and other notes in the sidebars. We don't break down literature and torture it to death with worksheets and character lists and such, but he really likes this additional information and food for thought. MCT also puts out a companion parent guide with a few questions for discussion with the child that may be helpful.

 

2. Not all classics are really all that enjoyable. My older son, who is a voracious reader with a tremendous vocabulary did not take long to decide he *hated* Treasure Island. There will be a few books that I may insist we struggle through, but that was not one of them (really, there is not a fantastic amount of depth to it anyway. I tried it mostly because I grew up living elbow to elbow among the Wyeth family, and loved showing my kids the original artwork from that book, which hangs in a nearby museum). My younger is actually enjoying the book. Sometimes we must insist our kids do things that are not enjoyable, but when it comes to literature, some respect must be paid to the idea that some books are simply not for everyone . . . and you have to decide whether a particular assignment is a hill to die on . . . and IMHO a few books that are deemed "classics" such as Treasure Island, Moby Dick, and a few others I can think of, are not hills to die on.

 

3. Sometimes reading a book out loud to all of your kids together is a solution to the "I don't have time to read this" dilemma. I only have two, but I have found that many truly solid books can reach a wide age range, and it's fine that different kids can get different things from it. We read "To Kill A Mockingbird" together, and my older child picked up on more of the serious themes about the attack than my younger; my younger got a lot out of discussing how the different characters talked and treated each other. I was fine with that. Younger can read the book again when he is older, probably reading it to himself. For that matter, my older one will probably read it again in high school, and get new things from it. Pretty much any level of quality literature can reach different levels for different age readers (and for mature themes, I have found that to be pretty self-regulating; my kids just skip over stuff they don't get yet, and ask about what they are ready to ask about, and end the conversation when they have gotten enough information for now).

 

I only have two; I don't know how helpful any of this is when teaching more.