Do you pre-read all assigned reading for an 8th grader?

[SA Homeschooler]

Hi. I have a question: Do you pre-read/re-read all assigned reading for your middle school student?

I would love to assign more reading but I don't have time to re-read or pre-read everthing.  However if I don't, how will I be able to discuss it with my DS.  I really don't want to make him write about everything he reads.  I don't want to make him analyze it to death either.  I just want him to read good books and enjoy them.  Any advise is welmcom.

 

Many books such as The Pearl, The house of Seven Gables, Lord of the Flies, etc. I have already read when I was in high school but I certainly don't remember much about them.  And I am a slow reader so re-reading everything would be quite cumbersome.

[foxbridgeacademy]

The book for him, Cliff Notes for you? I could see this working for books you've already read.  Also, you could get the audio version (actually takes way longer IMO but I read really fast).  Mix in some short stories that could be read quickly but has a lot of discussion value.

[claire up north]

I pre read some stuff. I can't keep up with it all, though. I find, though, that I can still talk about books I haven't read by asking probing questions and sharing similar but personal insights. It's not the same as reading the books, but it still helps the kid learn to narrate and think deeper about a given subject.

[redsquirrel]

Do I read ALL of it? No, but a good chunk. If I have already read it then I permit myself a good long peruse of the wikki or cliff notes or pink monkey, or all of them, lol. Even if I do read it, I take a look at reading guides and what other middle school or high school teachers have assigned etc.

 

[SilverMoon]

Pshaw. I don't have time. Especially if I've already read it in the past.

 

I do check out Cliff Notes or Spark Notes online to jog my memory. If it's a main book we'll use all year, like an annotated classic, I will read the whole thing and take notes as I lesson plan over the summer.

 

Reviews here on the board from posters I "know" are helpful too, but I take them with some salt. I read deeper into one of ds's books this year because of a harsh review of his version, and found I disagreed with the poster entirely.

[SA Homeschooler]

Thank you all for your tips.  I really appreciate the guidance.

[regentrude]

If I specifically assign a book, it needs to have an educational objective; thus I have to read the book to determine how it fits into my educational goals for my student. I am very selective in what I assign.  My kids select a large portion of the books they read; those I don't read.

[RootAnn]

I preread most things I'm not familiar with if I'm assigning it. I'm glad I preread one book that was on a 'maybe' list because I found it was completely inappropriate for my daughter. I wouldn't have known had I not read the whole thing. The beginning, middle, and ending were fine. The problems were a few too-explicit sexual encounters buried in the middle of chapters that didn't look troublesome from a quick perusal. Of course, I should have known better because the book was in the adult section of the library. Then again, that sort of thing is sometimes found in the Youth Fiction area of our library, too.  :tongue_smilie:

 

But I don't have time for everything.