Do you do read alouds and independent reading? (Age gap issue)

[Runningmom80]

Up to this year we've mostly been doing read alouds for our literature discussions.  However, next year I will have 2 first graders and a 5th grader.  I would like to do a version of a morning basket with a read aloud for everyone, but I would also want my 5th grader to read something more challenging on his own.  Is that how this is usually done?  Or do I do 2 read aloud sessions?  (I don't know that my voice can take it!)

 

 

Thanks!

[Arcadia]

Hubby does the readalouds. My kids have assigned reading and leisure reading which they read on their own. I do read their assigned reading books because they would ask me to look through their work before submitting for class.

 

We did audio books for my youngest when he was younger so he could listen and read for books like Wind in the Willows.

[Gil]

I don't know about the baskets and such, but why not just pick high quality 2nd-3rd grade books? The 5th grader can read challenging material to themselves at a later point in the day and will also get the chance to experience some of the good stuff you didn't get to with him when he was 2nd-3rd grade books.

 

[Soror]

My son has books he reads and he listens in to the books geared towards the girls(3rd and 1st). I do some read-alouds with him too but not as much these days. I kind of go back and forth hitting something for everyone.

[HS Mom in NC]

I've done multiple read aloud sessions during they day and I've done a long read aloud session with an assigned reading session during the day.   My husband also has a read aloud session every day.  We do that until they start college.

I did multiple read aloud sessions until the kids could sit for a long (45-60 minute) read aloud. I started sessions at 10 minutes or so in the early preschool years with 3 or 4 sittings a day at various times of day: the first part of the day, in the late morning, in the early afternoon, in the late afternoon, at bedtime.  Then in late preschool they would be able to do medium sessions in the 20-30 minute range so my husband started medium long evening read alouds and I would continue with about 3 short read alouds throughout the day.  By elementary school we had 2 or 3 shorter ones that related directly to SOTW and the accompanying activity books.  By mid-elementary we have one long read aloud related to SOTW and one assigned independent reading related to SOTW and my husband's long read aloud in the evening.

Starting with shorter ones a few times a day builds up your ability to read loud for longer periods of time.  If it's particularly troublesome you can get recorded books and have kids listen to someone else read to them. We gear our read alouds to the oldest child unless there's a huge age gap like we have with our youngest (7.5 and 9.5 years younger than siblings-she likes to point out the .5s.)  In that situation we had to divide the kids up for read alouds.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited August 31, 2023 by SilverMoon

[Loesje22000]

I don't / didn't read aloud.

Reading in another language helped us to narrow the gap.

[Dramorellis]

I have multiple read alouds going. I do Five in a Row and whatever Pre-K-2nd type library books in the morning and a higher level novel in the afternoon a few times a week. My husband also reads to them separately in the evening. The novel might be too much for the younger two as it is geared to the 9 year old but they still usually enjoy it and get something out of it. The morning read is aimed for the youngers but my older son also enjoys listening so it works out very well. Both the 9 and 5 year old have a basket of pre-selected books that they work throughout the year. My 4th grader has to do 30 min. silent/required reading daily of the "school" book. The 5 year old has to do 5-10 minutes of reading aloud to me daily.

[MrsWeasley]

I read to the toddler whenever he sits on the potty. I read selections directed at my kindy kid during breakfast and my third grader during lunch. At bedtime, I try to pick something that appeals to both.

[Porridge]

We currently do read-a-louds over meal time - breakfast and lunch (when daddy isn't with us). It means that I eat earlier or later, which I'm hoping to phase out of over the coming years. It was the only time my wiggly ones were sitting still.  At first it was picture books. I would do a separate, more challenging read with my older child (we would read together - she reads one paragraph, I read one paragraph), but it often got squeezed out by other things - it is indeed challenging to fit in multiple reading sessions (and I only have 2 kids!).  I was pleasantly surprised when my DS5 started listening in to my DD7's readings of the Secret Garden and demanding to be part of it. Now, I just read it aloud to both of them. It means my daughter isn't reading the book on her own, but I'm okay with that. We discuss the book as a family, and she has other opportunities for higher-level independent reading.

[lllll]

nm

Edited January 31, 2016 by - 8 95

[My4arrows]

We are doing two read alouds right now with my 3rd, 1st and pre kers, but all the kids listen to all of them.  DH is also reading aloud the Chronicles of Narnia to them at night, so really three.  When I need to I split up the read alouds where one will be in the morning and the other in the afternoon or evening.  My older ones also have independent reading they do throughout the day.  We are big on reading though and one of my favorite parts of the day is cuddling with my kids on the couch and reading with them, so I'm hoping read alouds will always include all the kids!  My older guys are loving having the books I used to read to them when they were pre-kers read aloud again now.  

 

Also, I have been recording myself reading to them so they can listen to it whenever they want.  This is also in hopes as they do get older and I may not have the time to always read to them, I still can in them listening to these.  I am only doing this right now with our favorites since my youngest is still quite young and won't remember what I'm reading to them now.

[lovinmyboys]

My kids are between the ages of 3-9. We listen to audiobooks in the car and they listen to audiobooks or read during "rest time." We also read at a couple of different points of the day and I gear the books to certain ages, but encourage everyone to listen. I also try to have my 3 readers read with me. It turns into a lot of time spent reading.

 

Right now my 9yr old is reading Circus Mirandus independently, buddy reading Ice Whale with me, listening to the Ramona books in the car, and I am reading Ginger Pye out loud.

 

I do think it is hard with the different ages. Even though I feel like we do a lot of reading, I still think some of my kids are missing good books at their level, or that I am not challenging my oldest enough, or that my 3yr old doesn't hear enough picture books.

 

They each pick their own audiobook at rest time and that helps me make sure they are hearing books geared for them without me having to spend all day reading.

[Coco_Clark]

We go in stages- first the littles come to the couch and get their read-aloud (picture books, their memory work, ect), then the biggers come and we do the stuff I want everyone there for (poetry, bible reading, ect), then the littles are dismissed and the bigs remain for their stuff (chapter book reading, their memory work).

 

Sometimes a big wants to hear the littles books, and vis-versa. That's totally ok. But they don't HAVE to.

[Holly]

We do a mix of family readings and independent readings.  I try to break them up throughout the morning so my voice isn't suffering.  I'd say in a typical day we read aloud at least 4 readings.  Our science and history are literature-based, plus we may read some poems or short stories.  Each child has up to two independent readings (one for history/geography and one for literature).  I also try to read some picture books to my younger DC each day...my 2yo loves being read to!  We have used Librivox for some books.  Most of our ELTL readings are available as recordings through Librivox.

 

Most of our read alouds are geared toward upper elementary or middle school, so I guess I'm aiming for the middle.  I try to fit in some picture books as well.  

Edited January 29, 2016 by Holly

[lewelma]

My dh has done shared read aloud with my kids being 3.5 years apart.  The older just gets more out of it than the younger, but then the younger is more challenged.  It all seemed to work out, and no one complained.  This continued until my older boy was 14.5, and he started to not want to be involved any more.

 

Ruth in NZ

[kirstenhill]

I read to my boys in the morning during our school day (primarily the 1st and 3rd grader, sometimes the 4 year old listens too, but I am not counting on it most of the time), while DD works independently.   Then i have a special read-aloud time with DD most nights at bedtime, while DH reads to the boys.  If DH isn't available, I either read to DD later after I read to the boys, or skip reading to her if I am too tired.  Most of what I read to DD at bedtime she could read herself, but we still really like that time to connect and read things that might not be of interest to the boys.

 

If there are things I want everyone to hear all at once, we typically do those as audiobooks in the car. 

[happypamama]

Varies. Everyone has his or her own assigned literature, generally correlated to history, but not always, at his or her own level, as soon as they can read. Until they can read, they get reading instruction from me.

 

We also have a family readaloud going, which is usually somewhere between the oldest and youngest. We stop and explain as necessary, and sometimes we read picture books to the little guys and then send them to bed while we read something more complicated to the older ones. Or DH reads to the older ones. Or they have their own readaloud novel going. It really varies. Sometimes I read at night, sometimes after breakfast, sometimes after lunch, and often we listen to some thing in the car (I usually make that something more on the little kids' level because it's harder to stop and explain that way)

[fdrinca]

My oldest gets higher-level read-alouds as audiobooks while he travels to and from gymnastics workouts and meets. It's not cozying up on the sofa, but it helps bridge the gap. 

[J&JMom]

We have a group novel read aloud first thing every morning for 30-45 minutes and a nonfiction group read aloud or two on Fridays.  Then each boy has a twice weekly 'novel study' with me for 30 minutes where I read the book and they complete the questions in their lit guides as we come to them.  Lastly, they have independent reading goals which should equate to 30 minutes daily at their reading level.  This is in addition to their literature class works of 20-30 minutes a day.

[pehp]

We do a morning basket with all of us.  Then my son breaks off to his room for a few minutes for his own reading (his choice of books I approve) while I read some "just for her" books w/ my 5 year old.  (Although he migrates in to be with us again if he ever hears E.B. White......:))

 

That's all.  I am pretty laid-back about his independent reading; he reads so much on his own already that I don't really need to "enforce" this as a part of "school"--it is just convenient for him to do some reading while I'm reading to his sister.