How to engage a student in chapter books

[sweetpea3829]

DD8 (almost 9) is mildly dyslexic, but reads fairly well.  But I am having a heck of a time getting her engaged in chapter books.  I don't think she really has the attention span to read a book over the course of several days.  

 

We ARE reading chapter books for reading.  She and her brother read Trumpet of the Swan and Cricket in Times Square over the summer.  We just finished The Whipping Boy.  She did fine, but the reading was broken down for her.  On such and such a day, she'd read such and such a chapter.

 

I'm talking about pleasure-reading here.  I give the kids time after lunch for quiet reading.  I ask my oldest two to read from chapter books of their choice.  She just really isn't interested.  I've GIVEN her books to read, (aka, assigned them) and so she's read the first two Harry Potters (but was scared by them) and Charlotte's Web.  She did enjoy Charlotte's Web, but I had to insist she read.  

 

I have ordered books within her interest level (horses...of course).  She's not interested.  

 

Yet, we have an upstairs library FULL of picture books and of the like and she'll sit for hours and read them.  Book after book.  I think she just doesn't have the stamina/attention span to deal with a book with multiple chapters.

 

Any ideas on how to get her over this hump?  Reading picture books is great, but at some point, she kind of needs to make that leap to longer books.  

[tammyw]

This is my ds8 also. He loves being read to (right now that's Harry potter) and reads a good bit, but less interested in reading chapter books himself. Dd11 was an avid chapter book reader by this point (still is) so it's confusing. He still loves pictures though and said he doesn't love reading books without at least some good pictures.

[Carrousel]

DS loves to read.  When he was between picture books and chapter books, he read a lot of those small-ish chapter books (the ones that they finish so fast they're painful to buy!)  I think that helped his confidence and eased the transition to books like Charlotte's Web, etc.  He also read lots of Geronimo Stilton type books-- a shorter chapter book that is colorful and has lots of pictures sprinkled thru it.  

 

For free reading though, I think as long as they're reading, let them choose whatever they like, the goal is to enjoy reading, not to read "hard" books (even if you know they're not "hard" for her   ;)  ).

 

 If you think she needs to work on stamina and retention, work on that during your read aloud and structured reading time.  Maybe doing a short summary (1-2 sentences or bullet points) or reading journal of each day's chapter and reviewing it before reading the next day's chapter would help?  

 

Heck, I don't even like to read one chapter a day as an adult.  I prefer to devour a book and will read like a madwoman once I've cracked open a good one!  Your DD may be the same way, and may like the picture books because of that.

[Ellie]

When she's ready to read longer books, she'll read longer books. :-)

[OneStepAtATime]

Why not get audio books?  Or if you have a Kindle Fire, do kindle books with Immersion reading so she is not having to work so hard at decoding and fluency while trying to enjoy the book.  The text is synced to the audio so she hears the words and sees the words at the same time.  

 

DS10 is dyslexic.  He carts his Kindle around everywhere and frequently uses headsets when he wants to be near the family but doesn't want to disturb anyone.  He gets way more exposure to content/concepts/vocabulary/grammar by listening to audio books or using Immersion Reading than if he were having to wade through chapter books on his own.  Audio books were what finally unlocked DS10's love of books.  He is now more likely to pick up a book book as well, now, because his reading is improving through remediation but also because he now sees how great books can be.

 

HTH...

[hornblower]

At that stage, what was most helpful for both my kids were the Scholastic chapter books. The Animal Ark series & the Dolphin Diaries by Ben Baglio were especially popular & I ended up just buying the whole sets of both of them. They were all read several times & well worth it for us.

The print is a bit larger, the chapters fairly short & the whole books are quite short & so not intimidating. They really liked being able to finish a book reasonably quickly.  By the time they finished all these (plus other similar Scholastic books from the library) they were ready to move on to bigger & meatier books. They really just needed to build up stamina.

Ok, so  these aren't great literature but they were an important part of the process to get my kids to a position where they were confident to tackle more difficult books.

 

[Farrar]

The books you're mentioning are sort of hard for a kid who's struggling to read them. I'd let her try her hand at shorter, easier books, more like at the Magic Treehouse level. There are things that feel a bit older but aren't much harder than that like Judy Moody or Spiderwick.

 

And then, yeah, keep reading aloud and doing audiobooks for the "real" literature until she's ready to dive into it herself.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Two of mine got started on chapter books when I was reading aloud books that were so great that they couldn't stand not knowing what happened next when I put them down one day, so they picked them up and finished. Like me, they will still quit reading a less than engaging book (and many times I still start them off by reading aloud books I think are necessary but slow starting), but they are prolific readers overall. My third was more resistant until DH gave him his Paperwhite. His issue was not sustained interest though. He was more intimidated by the smaller typeface and sheer physical size of most chapter books, both of which can be mitigated with an ereader. Now he goes through books like candy, at age 8.

 

Anyway, my twofold recommendation is to keep reading the best of the best books aloud and to stop after particularly engaging chapters. When kiddo asks you to please read another chapter, you can let her know she is welcome to read on but your voice is giving out. ;) I never told my kids that I wanted them reading chapter books, by the way. It was a silent goal of mine to hook them. Because kids are ready at different times, I fear it will make some feel bad if they feel slow to get there.

[Alte Veste Academy]

The books you're mentioning are sort of hard for a kid who's struggling to read them. I'd let her try her hand at shorter, easier books, more like at the Magic Treehouse level. There are things that feel a bit older but aren't much harder than that like Judy Moody or Spiderwick.

Oh, this is very true too! My oldest DS, despite being able to read pretty much anything at a young age, went through a period of reading straight through Magic Treehouse. They were interesting, easy, and made quick work out of forming the habit of reading chapter books daily. I could have told him no, I guess. They are not classics and were below his ability level. But they helped him begin to identify as a reader, and that is the goal! DD10 went through a similar tear when she was new to chapter books, now that I think of it. And she is currently reading through all of the Warriors series despite being capable of more. I don't choose their free reading though, and I am always happy to see lots of variety. Sometimes what we see as ability related is more about habits.

[BatmansWife]

Hmm...I wonder if she's struggling reading more than you think.  That might be a reason she isn't too interested in the longer chapter books.  Charlotte's Web is a little bit harder, imo.  My youngest really wasn't interested in chapter books because of the lack of pictures.  She only started to like them after we read a lot together (or should I say...after I read a lot to her).  We are doing a literature-based program where I do a lot of reading to her.  Even the books that she is "supposed" to read by herself (in the program), I read to her.  She enjoys it so much more...she gets much more out of it.  Of course, I do have a stack of books that are her books to read alone...but she hasn't had much interest in them this year.  Last year she did read by herself a little more.  She said she really enjoyed Ginger Pye last year.  She has enjoyed The Boxcar Children books quite a bit.  This past summer she read the Grandma's Attic series and liked that a lot. We recently just finished reading aloud Moccasin Trail.  She hated it at first...she groaned when I'd pull it out.  But after we stuck it out through the first chapter...she was so engaged with that book and never wanted it to end.  It's her absolute favorite book right now.  Now that we finished it, she is reading it on her own.  Another series of books she absolutely loves is The Doll People.  We just received book 4 in the series and I'm reading that aloud as a reward for getting school work done during the day.  ;)  Gosh...I guess this wasn't very helpful...it's just me rambling.  I guess I just wanted to say that she's young still.  My daughter is 2 years older and is still getting into the swing of chapter books. 

[tammyw]

The books you're mentioning are sort of hard for a kid who's struggling to read them. I'd let her try her hand at shorter, easier books, more like at the Magic Treehouse level. There are things that feel a bit older but aren't much harder than that like Judy Moody or Spiderwick.

 

And then, yeah, keep reading aloud and doing audiobooks for the "real" literature until she's ready to dive into it herself.

 

I know my issues are different than the OP. Mine are that I'm comparing my two children, which I know is a big no-no. Just because dd11 was independently reading books like The Secret Garden and the Harry Potter series by age 8, doesn't mean he has to. He's actually a great reader, but he just doesn't ENJOY reading those books independently yet (he loves hearing them though). He has read all the Stink books several times (loves them), he adores graphic novels, he loves all the Mike Venezia books and "You Wouldn't Want to Be" series, but I struggle to find quality chapter books that fits his needs (he's already outgrown Magic Treehouse, he says).

[Farrar]

I know my issues are different than the OP. Mine are that I'm comparing my two children, which I know is a big no-no. Just because dd11 was independently reading books like The Secret Garden and the Harry Potter series by age 8, doesn't mean he has to. He's actually a great reader, but he just doesn't ENJOY reading those books independently yet (he loves hearing them though). He has read all the Stink books several times (loves them), he adores graphic novels, he loves all the Mike Venezia books and "You Wouldn't Want to Be" series, but I struggle to find quality chapter books that fits his needs (he's already outgrown Magic Treehouse, he says).

 

Yes, I get that. One of my boys just went on a tear with the "easy" books and I feel like it was definitely in order to gain fluency. He really skipped that Magic Treehouse stage. But all of the easy books weren't things I would necessarily call "quality," you know? He read Frank Einstein, Planet Tad, Timmy Failure, the new Jedi Academy... basically all the "Wimpy Kid" style books, which I feel like is the style of easy books for upper elementary now. There's also the Origami Yoda series and the Big Nate books. I'm okay with it because he alternates with something more literary. But he's capable of doing more and not all kids are. I mean, the books the OP lists would be fine for my 10 yo now. They would have been a stretch for him at age 8, but they are some of the easiest ones out there. There are series like Humphrey, Hank Zipper, Alvin Ho, etc. which are at least narrative without all pictures but they weren't as high interest for my kids and I don't consider they great literature so it felt funny to "push" that stuff.

 

Other easy but slightly more literary options... The Lemonade War series, the Ramona or the Ribsy or the Mouse and the Motorcycle books, Gooney Bird Greene, Because of Winn-Dixie, The One and Only Ivan, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, My Father's Dragon, The Enormous Egg, Mr. Popper's Penguins... But really if a kid isn't ready for Charlotte's Web, they may not really be ready for Ramona either. It's tough.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Yes, and if Harry Potter scared her, maybe some good quality gentle stuff? DS8 does not like anything scary at all, and his favorite author now is Dick King-Smith. His books are good, but they tend to be shorter, so less intimidating and not at all hard to follow.

[SamanthaCarter]

I suspect some kids, including my ds8 (and me!), want to know that they are going to enjoy the book before committing. Because it's work, and anybody wants to feel like their work is worthwhile, yk? I've found that if I pick up the books I expect him to be able to read on his own, and read a chapter or two out loud to him, sometimes just getting that taste encourages him to pick it up and keep going. Or not. I don't have to do that for Magic Treehouse, because he knows he loves them and can get through them quickly. But for a new author/series, yes. And if it doesn't seem to be doing anything for him, I just quietly return it to the library and try something different. Mine's reluctant with pleasure-reading too, but he's getting better. 

 

 

 

[LindaOz]

My son was very similar to this. So, my advice, just keep assigning but assign easier 'free reads' and keep the more challenging reads for your together reading lessons.

 

In the past few months my ds has finally taken off with his reading because he found some books that he enjoyed. Firstly, it was the Imagination Station books. This is a series of books where the characters visit different periods of history - really easy read but he loved them and would even reread them which, until then, was almost unheard of for him.

 

Then, he moved onto some of the Enid Blyton books. He enjoyed The Children of Cherry Tree Farm and it's sequels, loved the Galliano's Circus books and has just started book 16 in the Secret Seven series. He reads these in quiet time after lunch but will sometimes now read for 'fun' at bed time - trust me, this is a breakthrough.

 

So, persevere with the assigning. Make it easy, and one day the penny will drop :) .

[FairProspects]

Many dyslexics (even adult dyslexics) struggle with the font size of chapter books even if they can decode the words easily. If she is choosing picture books over chapter books, maybe there is something about spreading the words out spatially that is helping her.  I would suggest moving to audio or having her read along with chapter books or moving to digital text where she can expand the font size. I agree that you are asking a lot of dyslexic to read chapter books without support. Really, some adult dyslexics don't read books without audio at all.

[MerryAtHope]

One thing I didn't see mentioned...when I was in that 8-9 year-old range, I couldn't understand why chapter books had no pictures. I thought it was awful. I loved all kinds of story books, fairy tales--books that had as hard or harder words than many chapter books (many picture books are written specifically for adults to read them to children and do have harder vocabulary)--all richly, beautifully illustrated. Why take something wonderful like a good story, and ruin it by not having beautiful artwork to go along with?

 

So, that was a very hard transition for me (and I always tested high in reading). 

 

Books that included line drawings somewhat softened the blow, though often there was only one per chapter. If you can find chapter books that ease that transition by gradually having more text and fewer pictures, you may be able to guide her in that direction. 

 

My kids enjoyed picture books into that 8-10 year-old range, and it made sense to me. 

[LMD]

one thing I did was read the first few pages of a chapter to her, then get her to finish the chapter. This team reading seemed to encourage her and also helped her to get into the story more easily.

[Renny30]

My DS will be 9 tomorrow. Not dyslexic as far as I know, but struggles with reading. We transitioned with short chapter books with pictures. The Magic Tree House series and the Magic School Bus series. Prior to that I did a read aloud with no pictures (one of the Little House books), so he got used to the idea of story with no pictures. It worked for us. He does a novel study on a chapter book every week. That's a huge step in the right direction for us. 

[Innisfree]

Agreeing with the idea of Magic Treehouse, Animal Ark, etc type series. My younger dd stuck with these much longer than my elder dd, and I was really getting worried. She's almost ten now and still reads a few of the Animal Arks.

 

But just in the past four months or so she's also been reading and rereading Misty of Chincoteague, Sea Star, Stormy, and the Black Stallion books.  :001_smile:  Then after we finished the Chronicles of Narnia as read-alouds, she started reading them.

 

I'd find easy books that she likes for free reading. Actually, if she likes the picture books, there's some great literature in that category. Virginia Lee Burton and Beatrix Potter come to mind. The reading is more advanced than Magic Tree House, and the stories are classics.