mmeblue Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 If you develop your own reading list for your child's school year, how do you determine what to include? Also, how do you determine how long to spend on each book - i.e., what amount of reading is reasonable for your child's level each day? (I do expect that my child will be doing plenty of free reading as well. I'm talking about those books that she will read in her "official" school time, and being intentional about which books she will read over the course of the year.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeblue Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Bumping just because my post got buried beneath a bunch of spam threads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I almost asked this exact question today, I'm interested in what others say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Factors that play into my reading list for the girls are the curriculum as I try to tie some of our readings into what we are studying in history and science, their interests, their reading and maturity level, and recommendations from others. As for how much to expect... DD12 reads for 30 minutes at a time, but she has multiple books going. Currently, she is reading Aristotle Leads the Way, a biography on Alexander the Great, The Storybook of Science, Logic to the rescue, and White Fang. She reads from White Fang everyday but rotates the others. This puts her reading at about an hour a day. DD7&8 read about 4 pages from their books in a sitting. They are currently reading Pocahontas, The Magic School Bus Explores the Animal World, and Little House in the Big Woods. Little House is read everyday and since we read it tandem, usually get in about 8 or so pages. The others rotate. This puts their reading at about 30 minutes a day. That said if they wish to read more then we do. These are minimums. I encourage reading on their own, but do not require it. I think 10 minutes per grade level a day is reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Listening in, but, your kids are super young! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 For developing a reading list, I really like looking at book lists from curriculum vendors, homeschool websites with lists of books by grade level, lists of of "Great Books" and "Good Books" (children's classics, Newberry books, quality books, etc.). From those lists, I include works that: - expose to lovely language (and beautiful images, if illustrated) - stretch us, and expose us to new and interesting subjects and ideas - my children would enjoy - go along with our historical time period, science, art/music studies, or other special study - *I* want to include, based on good reviews from these boards - *I* enjoyed as a child For the "school reading", I'd pick works that were at, or just a touch above their reading level to help them stretch. For free reading, lots of works at and below their reading level to encourage confidence and enjoyment of reading. For read alouds, I read works above their own reading level to them. Our book goals included: - daily, during school hours, AND again at night: family read-alouds (me reading aloud from a work above their reading level) - daily, during school hours student read aloud / together read aloud, "popcorn" style -- "you read a page, I read a page"; approx. amounts of time we spent at this: gr. 1-2 = 10 min. gr. 3-4 = 15-20 min. gr. 5-6 = 25 min. gr. 7-12 = 10-15 pages / 30-45 min. - solo, quiet reading by student; some people require an amount of time per day; I just handed them a book that had to be finished by the end of the week, 2 weeks, or whatever, and let them decide when/how to work it in (more of a firm boundary/structure in the elementary years, like requiring sitting down with the book 3x/week, for example) - daily, free time: book basket of library books, magazines, picture books, quality books, "lite" books, etc. to choose from, if desired - daily, bed time reading, allow children an extra 15-20 minutes at bedtime to read in bed in they wish Mostly, just lots of opportunities for reading and exposure to books throughout the day. Sometimes read alouds when they were young were while they were in the bath tub; or at lunch; or we'd all curl up on mom & dad's bed together; or sit outside (we did it up in a tree a few times) ... We always took books to the dr. & dentist offices for waiting ... Books on tape in the car ... My desire was to foster a love of books and the worlds they open up to us, so we just strewed the house, and our daily schedule with reading material to enjoy. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I'm working on a reading list for grades 2-12+ right now. Stuff that makes the list: books I loved, Newbery award winners, books I've seen highly recommended here and from reading homeschooling blogs, many of the "classics" (don't ask me how I define that :001_smile: ) that I never read, etc. Dd is only in 1st grade, but she reads at a fourth grade level, so we've already begun working through the list. I tell her about three of them, and then she decides which of the three she wants to read. Sometimes we do it as a read aloud, sometimes she reads it herself, and sometimes she reads it out loud to me. I mostly let her decide that too. She loves reading! We do 20-30 minutes a day, and then she also chooses to read before bed for about 30 minutes. Sometimes we fly through the book and sometimes we take our time with lots of discussion. It's working so far, but I'll admit I'm new at this. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeblue Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Listening in, but, your kids are super young! ...okay? I'm not exactly sure how to respond to this. Just for the record, I'm not planning a reading list for the 2-year-old or the fetus. ;) DD#1 will be 5 in a few days. My3girls, Lori D., and Maela - thanks for the thoughtful responses! I've been doing some of the things you guys mentioned but will take your ideas into consideration as well. Actually, I had a tentative list made up, but then DD found two of the books on it (things we already owned) and has now already read them! I'm afraid I may end up needing to do more of a figure-it-out-as-you-go approach, even though I am a planner by nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I don't know how you can develop a reading list for a 4-year-old. My kids developed reading skills at such different paces and had totally different interests. I feel like a young reader needs to be interested in what they are reading about and successful. I couldn't have made a list a year ahead of time for my 6-year-olds with any success. Now, if you're talking about read alouds, that is different. FWIW, my 7-year-old is a much more confident reader than my 9-year-old. She was reading Little Women yesterday. I would never have thought of scheduling that in advance. If I had planned books for her based on my son, it would have been useless and possibly harmful. When she took of reading, she was like a rocket. I couldn't have foreseen it. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmtzc2009 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I'm a newbie but here's what's been working well for me. Granted my ds is 10 but he is reading below grade level and does't have a ton of enthusiasm for reading. I pull booklists from many places on the web (blogs, etc.) as well as I view the books that several different curriculum companies use along side the time period we are studying. If I want more info on a book I will often look at it on Amazon. You can often read a few pages and get a feel for the book to decide if it's a good fit or not. I really try to have him read independently 20 minutes every day....I'd say he actually does it about 3X a week. We have our required reading for our studies which I mostly read aloud. Then his independent reading is from a group of books I've selected that fit his interests. Best of Luck! Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmeblue Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Oh okay, I understand better where you're coming from now, EmilyGF! DD is currently at a stage where she will read anything in front of her that has words on it. But I am basing my choices on what kinds of stories I think will hold her interest, especially as I choose longer books. (My tentative list has a mix of shorter and longer books.) I expect that whatever lists I make for her will change when each of my other kids reaches the same stage. Part of my desire for planning ahead is that I want to have at least some of the books purchased ahead of time and not have to rely on the library for them. So there's a budgeting aspect, too, as I decide what is worth buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Basically I do what Farrarwilliams tells me to do :) I'm only partly kidding. I am still feeling my way here and trying to find a balance; books that I thought DS would love he did not and we've had unexpected likes (Graveyard Book was a miss, Gregor the Overlander a huge unmitigated success). He reads for about 45 min in the morning and then again 45 min or so in the afternoon during quiet time He averages a book about every two weeks. Some books have to do with what we are doing (visiting Alcatraz, etc) but mostly I read what was liked here and use amazon recommendations and book lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Basically I do what Farrarwilliams tells me to do :smilielol5: Only laughing 'cause that's kinda true for me too -- at least for checking out books she recommends! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Part of my desire for planning ahead is that I want to have at least some of the books purchased ahead of time and not have to rely on the library for them. So there's a budgeting aspect, too, as I decide what is worth buying. For read-alouds that are older classics, look for the text free online, or get a free or $1 ebook download, or free audio book version: Gutenberg Project Book Boon LibriVox Open Culture Books Should Be Free Ambling Books iTunes In case something you'd planned on got read in advance: - magazine subscriptions, which "doles out" new monthly reading - borrow a stack of books back and forth with other homeschooling families, or other high-volume-reading families who are friends for new reading material for your voracious reader Also, you could keep the books you plan for school boxed up and dole them out during the year, and then fill book baskets and bookshelves with all kinds of other books -- library books, borrowed books, yard sale finds, etc. ideas to stretch your book budget: - hit your local library book sales; here, on the last day of the sale, you can buy a grocery bag stuffed with all the books you can fit in it for $5 - while running errands on a weekend morning, hit a few yard sales and check out the boxes of books - local Good Will / Salvation Army / 2nd hand shops - used book stores (many give trade for books you're done with, which you use to purchase used books at their store) - check out Paperback Swap - some homeschoolers sell "book lots" -- a whole stack of books they want to get rid of, for a single price/postage fee -- sometimes you get unexpected delights in those book lots, and at worst, it gives you fodder for taking to the used book store for trade (lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 My list is just a big long list of books with the AR level next to each title. The first book is 2.0 and the last is maybe college level(?). We just go down the list (with her choosing one of the next three). So I don't plan out exactly what books she'll read each year. We just read and the list gives us suggestions. Maybe it'll matter more when my kids are older? Thought I should clarify that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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