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How Long for 3rd Grader to Read Independently?


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Just curious - what are your thoughts…how long is an appropriate time to encourage a 3rd grade boy to read independently every day? 

 

My DS doesn't typically pick up a book unless I make it a part of his daily homeschool routine.  We typically set an alarm every day and he reads until it buzzes.  I am passionate about reading and want to pass this love on to my children.

 

Thanks!

Lou

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It depends on the child.

 

In our home, the way I passed on my passion about reading was to read aloud to my children from good children's books and to let them see me reading, to go the library weekly, and to have plenty of books available at home at all times. Requiring them to read for a certain amount of time didn't seem to me the best way to help them develop the same passion I have.

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30 minutes free reading time (wiggly child who doesn't love to read, I keep a basket of books near the couch, dd can choose what she wants to read). This doesn't include assigned reading for history or other subjects. I plan to bring it up to 1 hour by the end of 5th grade.

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I think half an hour is good.  But it really depends on the child.  It also depends on the reading material.  My rising 5th graders do an hour every day, but one of my ds almost always alternates it - half an hour of literature, half an hour of either rereading something or reading a graphic novel or something really light.

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  This year (3rd grade) we are trying on "assigned reading."  We are starting out with Jules Verne, and I decided to assign easily achieved chunks (10 minutes), and hope that he falls in love and keeps going on his own.  If he doesn't, the chunks will grow slowly and max out at 30 minutes.  If he just flat out hates a story, we will dump it.    

 

Reading has always been fairly easy for DS and enjoyable.  My goal is to keep it that way while exposing him to more difficult material.  

 

Stella

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DS does 30 mins of assigned reading, we alternate between something modern and a classic, all just above reading level. DS loves to read, and reads on his own often, upto 3 hours a day. we started last year at 10 minutes and built up from there. In december we will add 15 mins of non fiction too. Our goal is to go to 30 mins of non fiction by the end of the year and then in fourth up both to an hour.

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My rising 3rd grader is a reader so I choose not to apply a time minimum. He will for hours as long as he is engaged so instead I try to find him interesting and challenging material and let him decide. I assign length (maybe a chapter depending on book length). If he is not interested in finishing then we find something that motivates him into reading longer. This ends up at around 30-60 minutes of required reading. He may do another hour or more of his own selections throughout the day.

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