Read or listen to books?

[Kim C]

My ds13 is very picky about the books he reads. If he doesn't enjoy a book, he doesn't want to read it. He will read books assigned, but he dawdles. I've been combing over the recent book lists in other threads and the list of books I want to cover in high school keeps growing and growing and growing. My son will listen to books on CD while building Legos or doing other activities. We still do read-a-louds and he enjoys listening to them. He just doesn't enjoy reading unless the book really grabs his attention.

 

So, my question is, does he have to 'read' all of the books or is it just as good to hear them via audiobooks? With many of the classics, it is more important to know the story.

 

Kim

 

[Kim C]

You can do both!!  Have him read some, you read some and the listen to some.  We also listened to some on long car trips.  I also don't think you have to analyze and dissect every single piece of literature.  In fact, I think that kills the enjoyment.  We took some apart, looked at literary elements, etc  However, some we just read and didn't even talk about much.  Enjoy the journey.

 

I plan to do all of the above.I plan to mainly analyze the books that we cover in literature courses.  He needs to get used to reading books he doesn't want to. Luckily he has become more interested in the classics since doing the Caesar's English courses. :) I was mainly wondering if there was anything specifically gained by reading the book instead of just listening to it.

 

Kim

[MtnTeaching]

Don't over think it too much.  If you are having him read and analyze at least 6 books a year then that is great.  You can then add more to just read or listen to.   Yes, he needs to get ready to read things he doesn't like, but maturity builds slowly.  If you only read what he doesn't like, he will learn to hate literature.  Alternate some heavy material with lighthearted ones. 

 

Don't stress too much.  Sounds like you are doing fine.

 

I agree with this.

 

At your son's age, I believe there is a lot to learn from developing both reading and listening skills.  Every child has a strength when it comes to this. I think it is wise to develop both avenues of learning. 

 

Of course, reading is huge.  He will need to be able to decipher what the written word is saying to him, he will develop vocabulary skills from seeing the words and "subliminally" gaining base word meanings, seeing the word and therefore gaining spelling skills, etc. 

 

On the other hand, listening is a skill in and of itself.  In this age of "quick" technology, texts, Twitters, sitcoms, etc., it is my belief that the skill of careful listening needs to be fostered and aided. A college lecture, a board room meeting, or the musings of a friend describing a life-altering decision are all going to be very hard for someone who has not developed the skill to listen.

 

Mix it up for him and he will be fine.  Throw in a few that you make him read and analyze in depth, but also let him explore literature. Listening while building Legos at 13 can be a great way for him learn.  My ds's brain seems to work best when his hands are moving.

[Kim C]

 

Don't overthink it too much.  If you are having him read and analyze at least 6 books a year then that is great.  You can then add more to just read or listen to.   Yes, he needs to get ready to read things he doesn't like, but maturity builds slowly.  If you only read what he doesn't like, he will learn to hate literature.  Alternate some heavy material with lighthearted ones. 

 

Don't stress too much.  Sounds like you are doing fine.

 

I'm trying not to stress.  I'm overthinking everything right now as we prep for high school. I woke up at 4:00 this morning thinking about reading lists and doing all of the 'right' things in high school. I need a vacation.

 

Kim

 

[Kim C]

I agree with this.

 

At your son's age, I believe there is a lot to learn from developing both reading and listening skills.  Every child has a strength when it comes to this. I think it is wise to develop both avenues of learning. 

 

Of course, reading is huge.  He will need to be able to decipher what the written word is saying to him, he will develop vocabulary skills from seeing the words and "subliminally" gaining base word meanings, seeing the word and therefore gaining spelling skills, etc. 

 

On the other hand, listening is a skill in and of itself.  In this age of "quick" technology, texts, Twitters, sitcoms, etc., it is my belief that the skill of careful listening needs to be fostered and aided. A college lecture, a board room meeting, or the musings of a friend describing a life-altering decision are all going to be very hard for someone who has not developed the skill to listen.

 

Mix it up for him and he will be fine.  Throw in a few that you make him read and analyze in depth, but also let him explore literature. Listening while building Legos at 13 can be a great way for him learn.  My ds's brain seems to work best when his hands are moving.

 

Spelling is a concern as my son is not a natural speller. He's come a long way, but we still have work to do. He reads a lot when we can find books he likes. He is looking forward to reading some of the classics which have been referenced in Caesar's English which helps.

 

My son also listens best when he or his hands are moving. He is usually building Legos or drawing/coloring/doing dot-to-dots while I an reading or he is listening to a book on CD.

 

Kim

[Anacharsis]

Some works are actually better listened to than read, provided that the narrator is clear and professional.

 

Poetry is almost always better heard aloud, since traditionally the entire point of poetry over prose was that it was easier to remember and be passed along orally.

 

Speeches are almost always better heard aloud, because it allows the information to be experienced in a way that is closer to the original. This is especially true for speeches made in the past 100 years -- recording technology has made it possible to not only listen to the speech, but listen to the speech delivered by the original orator. For instance, here are two speeches from 1912 delivered by former American president Theodore Roosevelt: https://archive.org/details/theoroos1912

 

Plays are often better spoken, although not always. While the content and delivery is made clearer, some plays require some description of what is going on on-stage; ideally plays should be watched, but for plays that are mostly expository with limited action, audio can work quite well.

[shawthorne44]

Well yes, of course there are things to be gained by reading rather than listening.  However, there are also things to be gained by listening rather than reading.  Sometimes on tough books, we do both.  We will listen to some of it and then I will have him go back and highlight important themes or quotations or characterizations depending upon what we are studying.  Some of it is maturity as well.  In 9th grade my oldest read Pride and Prejudice.  He got the main themes and plot points.  However, when we watched the Colin Firth movie about it he got the humor in it that he missed earlier.  He had no idea how funny the book was.

 

Don't overthink it too much.  If you are having him read and analyze at least 6 books a year then that is great.  You can then add more to just read or listen to.   Yes, he needs to get ready to read things he doesn't like, but maturity builds slowly.  If you only read what he doesn't like, he will learn to hate literature.  Alternate some heavy material with lighthearted ones. 

 

Don't stress too much.  Sounds like you are doing fine.

 

Humor does seem to come across better by hearing it.  I saw Richard the ... (the one with Henry) at the Globe theater.  I'd read it before hand.  When Richard was talking about just wanting a little bit of land, the audience was rolling with laughter.  I was half convinced that the actor ad-libbing because I didn't remember anything funny about it.  But, I pulled up the play on my e-reader and yes it was there.  There have been a few other times I've seen/heard something I read and discovered things I'd totally missed while reading.  

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

We do both.

And we watch plays rather than read them.

:)

[Rosie_0801]

 He needs to get used to reading books he doesn't want to. 

 

Why?

[Kim C]

Why?

 

 

Well, with outside classes later and in college he's probably going to be assigned books to read that he may not want to read. If he slowly learns to do that now, it will be easier later.