Read alouds vs independent reading

[Maela]

This might be a silly question, but here it goes. :)

 

I'm sitting here compiling a list of potential books that I'd want my kids to read over the next few years and making a note of the AR book level next to each entry (to keep me organized). Some of the stories I think would be great for younger kids, but they're a higher AR level. So, obviously, they would make good read alouds. But then I was thinking, should I save some of these for when they're older? Which ones should I read to them, and which should I have them read independently?

 

Hopefully, I'm making sense here. :) Basically, my question is just: How do you decide which books you'll read aloud to your kids in the early years and which books you want to save for them to read on their own? Maybe you'd look at the content level vs the reading level?

[EKS]

Which books I choose to read aloud vs the ones I have my kids read independently has evolved somewhat as my kids have gotten older. When they were young, I read all the standard classic children's books aloud--Roald Dahl, EB White, Narnia, etc, even when their reading ability made them able to read the books themselves. I loved being able to share these books with them.

 

As they got older, I shifted towards reading books aloud that I didn't think they would necessarily read on their own. So, Harry Potter was for independent reading, but I read Jane Eyre aloud.

[Walking-Iris]

I don't divide books into those two categories. My oldest ds has read himself many books that I have read aloud to him. For example he really enjoyed Charlotte's Web and Wind in the Willows and other books like that when he was 4-5. He couldn't read those himself then, but he has since read them independently and I don't think his enjoyment was less from having heard them aloud.

 

We've gone the opposite way as well. My ds has read the Harry Potter series, and I read the 1st one aloud *after* he had read all 7 of them because I wanted to use it with an Arrow guide I had. I think he got more from the book hearing it again out loud.

 

I think that listening and following along helps children build fluency. They get a different experience of that book. Listening to a read aloud can give them a modal in how to read silently.

 

I choose what to read aloud based on what I want to cover within our school plans. I'll also read aloud anything they want me to. But I don't save things just for them to read, or as just read alouds. They're free to pick up any book and read it, regardless of whether I've read it aloud already or plan on reading it aloud at some point.

[Farrar]

I think you play it by ear. However, I think it's definitely worth saving some things for kids to read on their own. I made this mistake with Harry Potter and read the first one aloud. It was good. They loved it. As a story, it was at a good time for them. And then they never read it themselves and the series became one of our "read aloud things." Ack. Not the end of the world, but not quite what I had intended either. So I would personally say save a few things back - compelling, fun things like Percy Jackson, for example, and things that will be perfect book challenges that will engage them like maybe The Indian in the Cupboard or Island of the Blue Dolphins. But there's not one formula. All those things all make good read alouds. I just try to keep it in mind.

 

BTW, the "interest level" is a newer rating that I think came out of some robotic monkey's behind. Sorry if those words were too harsh, but I think it's one of the biggest loads of malarky I've seen in children's book publishing. The RL and Lexile levels can be misleading and off as well, but they represent something. The interest level is just idiotic, for people who think 10 year olds are too old for circuses or 6 year olds are too young for humor and all 9 year olds will like dogs and all 16 year olds will like vampires.

[Farrar]

I don't divide books into those two categories. My oldest ds has read himself many books that I have read aloud to him. For example he really enjoyed Charlotte's Web and Wind in the Willows and other books like that when he was 4-5. He couldn't read those himself then, but he has since read them independently and I don't think his enjoyment was less from having heard them aloud.

 

Before I ended up with kids who refuse to reread anything ever, I thought that's what it would be like. Alas.

[Ellie]

Since I didn't require my dc to read, I never needed to make such a distinction. ;-) I read to them the books I wanted to be sure they experienced, and let them figure out on their own what they wanted to read. :-)

[Walking-Iris]

Before I ended up with kids who refuse to reread anything ever, I thought that's what it would be like. Alas.

 

Yeah I get this. You have to know your kids. My oldest actually likes his interest to be piqued. He actually took off with his reading when he listened to me reading some Magic Tree House aloud to my younger ds. He didn't want to wait to hear the others so just started devouring them on his own.

 

He also uses books like comfort food. He'll happily listen to me read aloud Peter Pan and read it himself as well. And he has heard books again and again as I read them again with my younger children who are ready to hear them. He likes the friendly comfort of hearing and reading favorites again and again. Especially those chapter books from his younger years.

 

I think it may help if one was worried that their kid wouldn't read it on their own to make themselves a read aloud plan. I do. I list the books I want to read for the different ages, and the ones I want to do extra stuff with (projects etc). I do also list books that I don't think my ds will choose (yet) to read on his own, but I want him familiar with. Little House books, for example. I can't see my ds ever willingly choosing to read Ingalls Wilder.

 

Also choose books based on if you'll like reading it. My 5 year old made me read every Beverly Cleary book to him---the whole Ramona and Henry Huggins series. I won't be doing that again with my dd!!! Some books I can read over and over and still enjoy them myself, but others I think I would just scream if I had to read again. My ds has shown an interest in checking out the Llyod Alexander books from the library. I know those books, but I just do NOT want to read them aloud.

 

I also have already told my ds that I may read 1 or 2 of the Potter books, but I just can't read the whole series. So good thing he already has read it. He wants to hear it aloud, and I like them, I'm just not sure I want to read them. I'll read Lion Witch Wardrobe aloud (our current read aloud) but I just can't read all of them. I feel like I'm doing my duty raising a literate kid even reading that much. he can read the others in the Chronicle on his own!! I will however read aloud LOTR. It depends on what you as the read aloud-er would actually enjoy reading as well. Or read something after they've read it to give them a different experience or if you have some further lit studies you would like to do.

 

ETA: FWIW I don't consider our books "school" books either. They are my children's property. So unless we check it out at the library, it's theirs. I've known families who have children's books on the homeschool books shelf, or have certain books set aside for certain curricula (SL or FIAR), and get rid of them when they're done with that particular "school' book. I don't do that. Books are books and my children are free to look through and to rearrange and order and enjoy our children's books as they like.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I have no input on this because we aren't there yet. It's a good question though...which is why I'm reading.

 

Can you tell me what an AR level is and how I look it up? I'm assuming it's the reading level. How would I determine where my child falls? I feel like this would be really helpful for me with my oldest. Thanks!

[Tanikit]

I have read books to my DD(5.5) that I hope she will read to herself one day. I know she will forget them before she reads them because some of these books I read when she was 4 and memory does begin to fade in children as they age. At the moment I see it as these are fun stories and they are helping her vocabulary and language usage. There are so many good books that I do not think I could read aloud every good book to her - she will have to read some to herself at some point. However she is at a high reading level for her age and I DO make sure that the books she reads to me are high interest books no matter what level they are as I want her to enjoy reading - I am less worried if I pick the wrong book for me to read to her as if she is not interested then I can just stop reading it to her with no harm done.

[lea1]

I don't divide books into those two categories. My oldest ds has read himself many books that I have read aloud to him. For example he really enjoyed Charlotte's Web and Wind in the Willows and other books like that when he was 4-5. He couldn't read those himself then, but he has since read them independently and I don't think his enjoyment was less from having heard them aloud.

 

We've gone the opposite way as well. My ds has read the Harry Potter series, and I read the 1st one aloud *after* he had read all 7 of them because I wanted to use it with an Arrow guide I had. I think he got more from the book hearing it again out loud.

 

I think that listening and following along helps children build fluency. They get a different experience of that book. Listening to a read aloud can give them a modal in how to read silently.

 

I choose what to read aloud based on what I want to cover within our school plans. I'll also read aloud anything they want me to. But I don't save things just for them to read, or as just read alouds. They're free to pick up any book and read it, regardless of whether I've read it aloud already or plan on reading it aloud at some point.

 

I have also read a lot of the classics to mine when they were younger and am finding they often don't remember them now, even though they really enjoyed them at the time. They might remember it if I tell them something about it but I can tell they don't remember it well. I have already sold some of those and I now regret it because I know they would love to read some of them now. I will definitely be buying some of them again.

[Mommy22alyns]

We just read books I wanted the girls to experience. That hasn't stopped them from reading them independently once they were able to.

[2queens&1princenmyhouse]

I think you play it by ear. However, I think it's definitely worth saving some things for kids to read on their own. I made this mistake with Harry Potter and read the first one aloud. It was good. They loved it. As a story, it was at a good time for them. And then they never read it themselves and the series became one of our "read aloud things." Ack. Not the end of the world, but not quite what I had intended either. So I would personally say save a few things back - compelling, fun things like Percy Jackson, for example, and things that will be perfect book challenges that will engage them like maybe The Indian in the Cupboard or Island of the Blue Dolphins. But there's not one formula. All those things all make good read alouds. I just try to keep it in mind.

 

BTW, the "interest level" is a newer rating that I think came out of some robotic monkey's behind. Sorry if those words were too harsh, but I think it's one of the biggest loads of malarky I've seen in children's book publishing. The RL and Lexile levels can be misleading and off as well, but they represent something. The interest level is just idiotic, for people who think 10 year olds are too old for circuses or 6 year olds are too young for humor and all 9 year olds will like dogs and all 16 year olds will like vampires.

 

This was us with the Narnia series. I had read the first book hoping to inspire DD10 to pick up something fiction. She loved the book, but wouldn't ever pick up TLW&W to read. So, I ended up reading the whole series aloud. Not the plan.

I have no input on this because we aren't there yet. It's a good question though...which is why I'm reading.

 

Can you tell me what an AR level is and how I look it up? I'm assuming it's the reading level. How would I determine where my child falls? I feel like this would be really helpful for me with my oldest. Thanks!

 

AR stands for Accelerated Reader which is a computerized reading comprehension program. Books are assigned a certain level and the child is free to move between the levels as they desire, but upon completion of the book, the student takes a 10 question comprehension test and the program assigns points based on the number of questions answered correctly. Many schools tie a certain number of AR points into LA grades and/or offer incentives for reaching a certain level. The point value each book is given is based on the length and difficulty of the book. Something like Junie B might be a reading level 1.7 and if all 10 questions are answered correctly, the student earns .5 points toward their reading goal. Harry Potter may be a 7.2 and worth 14 points. These are just examples, I didn't specifically check for accuracy. :thumbup1: Personally, my kids used AR when they attended parochial school and I found it to be a flop. It didn't encourage reading, it encouraged reading AR books. Both girls wouldn't read books that weren't in the system b/c they wouldn't get any points for them. :cursing: Also, DD10 buzzed through their entire collection of "Who Was" books in 3rd grade, many of which had an AR level of 5+ and scored great, but generally her reading level isn't that high, but her interest level was. I would caution people against using their placement tests as a true reflection of where their kids are.

[MinivanMom]

I tend to read books that dovetail with our school studies out loud. I've read aloud historical fiction, biographies, and science books. I also read aloud books that I love and want to share with the children. These have been books like Little House in the Big Woods, Charlotte's Web, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Harry Potter. My older kids have always reread any read-alouds that they loved, so that hasn't been an issue. With Harry Potter, we only read the first book out loud and then they have read the rest of the books independently.

 

I save any books that I really think a child will connect with. I never read my oldest dd Little Women or Anne of Green Gables, because I knew she would really love and connect with them. I wanted her to be able to read and discover them on her own. Connecting with a book is a very personal thing and I don't ever want to get in the way of that. As my kids get older I read aloud less, and I think that's how it should be. We still discuss books, but they are connecting with that author and at a certain point I'm just in the way.

[TraceyS/FL]

My PS 2nd grader has been bringing books home that the teacher is getting rid of (she was a first year teacher) that are not AR books. ONLY AR books in the class now. I hate that they make it a race for AR points and limited to what the school has in the library. Almost every single book my DD read at home - no AR Test. She didn't care, probably because *i* didn't make a big deal about the AR points.

 

I don't care. I want to see you reading, and reading what you want to read. We have a lot of books here..... Last week she told me she is now "allowed" to read 4th grade books based on her STAR testing level. There were only two of them allowed to do that.... Obviously she hasn't been hurt by "only" reading the 25 books the school required for some stupid award. She has a kindle with easy books and hArd books, she isn't afraid really at this point. That is what I want!!

 

As to what to read Loud and what to assign.... I hate reading aloud, it makes me fall asleep, audiobooks are my friends. So I make a list that way! I also do that with the challenging books as my middle-schooler can listen better than she can read with her LDs.

[Maela]

Thank you everyone for the replies! I was unsure whether my question would make sense to anyone else but me. :)

 

I'm not going to have the kids work for AR points. I just like that the levels give me somewhat of an idea of the reading skill necessary for each book. The only reason I know that Dd is at the 3.5 level is because our EC at the charter asked if he could give her a test. Dd likes that kind of thing, so I consented. It took 10 minutes, and I'm sure it's not totally accurate, but it's helping me make the list.

 

Also, we're definitely not going to read everything on the list. I might assign dd (or ds in the future) a book to read "for school," but they can read any book they want at anytime. My plan was just to go through the list, borrow a couple of the books from the library, and pick one out of three to either read together or read independently.

 

I'm obsessed with making this list right now. :) It's fun to rediscover all those books that I loved as a child, and I'm excited to have dc read them! I went through the WWE 1 & 2 passages and put a lot of those on the list. Stuff I read in/out of school. Classics, etc.

 

Dh is taking care of Harry Potter read alouds. :) They're on the third.

[KrissiK]

Since I didn't require my dc to read, I never needed to make such a distinction. ;-) I read to them the books I wanted to be sure they experienced, and let them figure out on their own what they wanted to read. :-)

This. My kids aren't great independent readers anyway, so really, if I want them to hear it, I have to read it. Things will be changing for my oldest, who's going into 5th grade next year, and will have to reada lot more books and read them independently. He's not going to like that much. His greatest joy in life is to be read aloud to, which is completely out of character for the type of kid he is.