Ds' free time choice of books is hurting his ability to read good books

[jkl]

Ds is 10.  He's always read ahead of grade level, started reading pretty fluently at age 5, etc.  For school, I assign 2 books at a time--1 that ties in with our history and 1 piece of good literature.  I see him struggling when I give him anything to read that is above the level of Half-Magic, for example.  I feel like he may even be going backward in his ability to read and understand.  i think I can trace it directly to the books he chooses to read in his free time (Star Wars Encyclopedias mainly) and how he reads them (skims, just looks at the pages that interest him, etc).    I'm not sure what to do.  I hate to restrict what he gets from the library or micromanage his reading style (his free time reading style), yet I really think the junk he's reading is hurting him.  Help!

Edited April 11, 2016 by jkl

[itsheresomewhere]

Ds is 10.  He's always read ahead of grade level, started reading pretty fluently at age 5, etc.  For school, I assign 2 books at a time--1 that ties in with our history and 1 piece of good literature.  I see him struggling when I give him anything to read that is above the level of Half-Magic, for example.  I feel like he may even be going backwards in his ability to read and understand.  i think I can trace it directly to the books he chooses to read in his free time (Star Wars Encyclopedias mainly) and how he reads them (skims, just looks at the pages that interest him, etc).    I'm not sure what to do.  I hate to restrict what he gets from the library or micromanage his reading style (his free time reading style), yet I really think the junk he's reading is hurting him.  Help!

Don't restrict his free time books.  People underestimate the benefits of reading twaddle/junky books.  I need twaddle to unwind sometimes and so do my kids. To me it sounds like he may need a little help in the comprehension department.  It is not uncommon for kids to need that helped even when they have been good readers.  

 

Also, just throwing this out there- has he had his eyes checked recently?  By an eye doctor and not a pediatrician.  Ten is a common age for starting to need glasses ( just ask my wallet).

[Arcadia]

Half magic according to scholastic website has a reading level of 6th grade. For a 10 year old to have difficulty reading a book above a 6th grade level doesn't sound alarming enough to manage his free reading time.

 

Reading comprehension is separate from reading fluently. You just have to work on his reading comprehension skills during literature/language arts.

 

My 6th grade DS11 sometimes read books that are a 3rd grade reading level for leisure. Did not hurt his standardized test scores anyway.

 

Edited for typing errors.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Arcadia

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with previous posters. :)

 

Perhaps the books you are assigning are above his comfortable reading level -- as pp said, Half Magic is at a 6th grade level -- age 10 is at a 5th grade reading level. What level are the books you typically give DS that tie in with History and Science -- if they are mostly grade 6 and above, maybe try backing down a notch to books that fall more at a grade 4-6 level. Just because a student *can* read the words and read above grade level doesn't mean it's comfortable to always have to do so. The more advanced books not only have advanced vocabulary, but contain more advanced topics, which may just not be of interest to DS yet -- in addition to grade level of reading, you also have to take into consideration the interest-level of the student's reading. 

 

How about scheduling 20 minutes a day to do one of those books as a *together* read-aloud, doing it "popcorn" style ("you read a page, I read a page"). That gives DS practice in reading fluency, and you a chance to see if there is an actual issue with reading (vision problem, tracking problem, dyslexia/stealth dyslexia, processing/memory issue, etc).

 

That also gives you the opportunity to discuss in the moment, and to practice remembering what you read -- at the start of each session, have him do a brief sum-up of what happened the day before. Or at the end of the read-aloud time, have him narrate in just a few sentences what happened in that day's reading -- or, each of you say what you thought was the key event of the story, and why you think that -- or, based on what you read that day, each of you predict what you think is going to happen. All of those types of activities require more focused attention on the text. :)

 

Reading together daily would also help you see if it's just DS being a typical 10yo boy who would prefer to skim the books required for school so he can get on with the important things of building forts, Lego-ing, and pouring over his Star Wars encyclopedias! ;)

Edited April 11, 2016 by Lori D.

[jkl]

Hmmmm  Maybe my expectations are too high, then.  Or maybe half-magic is a bad example.  I think my problem is that I felt like he was really ahead for a long time, and now he's...not.  Maybe it's Mom that needs to adjust her thinking.  Thanks guys!

[jkl]

Don't restrict his free time books.  People underestimate the benefits of reading twaddle/junky books.  I need twaddle to unwind sometimes and so do my kids. To me it sounds like he may need a little help in the comprehension department.  It is not uncommon for kids to need that helped even when they have been good readers.  

 

Also, just throwing this out there- has he had his eyes checked recently?  By an eye doctor and not a pediatrician.  Ten is a common age for starting to need glasses ( just ask my wallet).

Thanks.  I'll look into this. 

 

He does a buddy read time with dh at night.  Right now they are reading Redwall.  Dh says ds has a hard time with words he's not familiar with.  I have no idea what reading level this is.  Like I said, I got used to him being so far ahead in reading skills.  Reading was his "thing"--math is another story--but now...  Anyway, thanks for the perspective!

[HomeAgain]

It might help to remember that he's also hitting puberty. :)  Mine 'went stupid' at about age 11 for 2 years - thoughtless, couldn't connect the dots if he tried.  By 13 he was back on track again.  I saw the same thing happen over and over with different kids I worked with, too.

[jkl]

Puberty--Noooooo!  He's still my baby :)

[JumpyTheFrog]

Maybe he needs to learn how to divide long words into syllables so he can sound them out.

[Tanaqui]

He does a buddy read time with dh at night.  Right now they are reading Redwall.  Dh says ds has a hard time with words he's not familiar with.  I have no idea what reading level this is.  Like I said, I got used to him being so far ahead in reading skills.  Reading was his "thing"--math is another story--but now...  Anyway, thanks for the perspective!

 

The Redwall books are around a 7th or almost 8th grade reading level, according to Scholastic Book Wizard.

[Bluegoat]

I have a few, contradictory thoughts.

 

The first is that I think it is actually very common for kids to begin to level out at that age.  Kids that were precocious readers simply become good readers, and kids that were late readers make a quick leap.  So expecting to stay ahead is probably not reasonable.

 

OTOH, I think that there can be a downside to twaddle type books, and I don't think reading level is the whole story with regard to quality.  Reading good books takes a certain amount of brain work, and there is I think a tendency for many kids to revert whenever possible to the easy.  So just like some kids will always take the easier assignment, or eat the junky food, some will start to resent the brain work and always want the brain-candy.

 

If that happens, I think it is a bit like dealing with a child who won't eat his real food because of snacking and sweets, you need to find a way to control it.  For some kids it isn't an issue - they understand implicitly that reading is not always entertainment only and that there can actually be a lot of - more -  satisfaction in reading something substantial. 

 

I might consider, for a child where this was happening, really reducing access to twaddle books, but making special care to pick substantial books that will also be entertaining.  Maybe even ones that are substantial but at an easier reading level than you know the child can manage.

 

 

[Bluegoat]

The Redwall books are around a 7th or almost 8th grade reading level, according to Scholastic Book Wizard.

 

I've read some of these.  That seems quite high to me.  But I often find the levels assigned a little weird.

[jkl]

I have a few, contradictory thoughts.

 

The first is that I think it is actually very common for kids to begin to level out at that age.  Kids that were precocious readers simply become good readers, and kids that were late readers make a quick leap.  So expecting to stay ahead is probably not reasonable.

 

OTOH, I think that there can be a downside to twaddle type books, and I don't think reading level is the whole story with regard to quality.  Reading good books takes a certain amount of brain work, and there is I think a tendency for many kids to revert whenever possible to the easy.  So just like some kids will always take the easier assignment, or eat the junky food, some will start to resent the brain work and always want the brain-candy.

 

If that happens, I think it is a bit like dealing with a child who won't eat his real food because of snacking and sweets, you need to find a way to control it.  For some kids it isn't an issue - they understand implicitly that reading is not always entertainment only and that there can actually be a lot of - more -  satisfaction in reading something substantial. 

 

I might consider, for a child where this was happening, really reducing access to twaddle books, but making special care to pick substantial books that will also be entertaining.  Maybe even ones that are substantial but at an easier reading level than you know the child can manage.

 

This is really good advice.  I was thinking that we do limit the junk that goes in our kids' mouths and the junk they see on a screen.  Should books be any different????  On the other hand, I'm guilty of reading twaddle and I would resent it if someone tried to control what I read.  I'm so torn!

 

[itsheresomewhere]

This is really good advice.  I was thinking that we do limit the junk that goes in our kids' mouths and the junk they see on a screen.  Should books be any different????  On the other hand, I'm guilty of reading twaddle and I would resent it if someone tried to control what I read.  I'm so torn!

 

 

Everytime someones says how bad twaddle is- I always think don't you ever just pick a up and read a magazine/junky book that just fit the mood/newspaper/something on the internet?  I read so much as a child and I am very grateful that no one ever limited my reading.  

[Cosmos]

This is really good advice.  I was thinking that we do limit the junk that goes in our kids' mouths and the junk they see on a screen.  Should books be any different????  On the other hand, I'm guilty of reading twaddle and I would resent it if someone tried to control what I read.  I'm so torn!

 

 

I wouldn't restrict the "junk" books. Just require enough of the good ones that he develops and maintains his ability to focus and comprehend complex texts. He should be doing enough of that challenging work during school time to achieve your educational goals, so that he can do whatever he wants in free time. 

 

ETA: And you may well find that as his capacity to handle difficult literature increases, his desire for it will increase as well. Eventually he may come to choose complex reading in his own free reading. And then he may hit some times when he needs/desires a few months of nothing but junk! I know I certainly do that in my own reading life, and so does my ds. Just keep chugging away at the meat and vegetable books in school.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Cosmos

[Arcadia]

My kids read the entire How to train your Dragon series, all the Rick Riordan books, Calvin and Hobbes comics and to some these would be twaddle. My kids read at the library to relax so twaddle is there. If you want to narrow down his choice of leisure reading, make a book basket of books you choose.

 

As for enjoying harder books, the child's vocabulary ability has to be close to the books chosen. When your husband does the readaloud, he can explain any new words. When your child reads, he might need a dictionary near by.

 

Besides vocabulary, life experience affects the type of books a child understands. My boys have seen child beggars in our area, they can understand the context of Oliver Twist reasonably. They won't be able to understand War and Peace even if they can read it fluently.

 

Edited for funny autocorrects :)

Edited April 11, 2016 by Arcadia

[katilac]

I would not ban or put specific limits on twaddle if there's enough overall rigor in his school day. You may need to work specifically on improving reading skills; some kids just keep moving up levels with no loss in comprehension or fluency, but many more need some specific skill practice and scaffolding. This may or may not be built into your language arts. 

 

Can you give a few examples of his assigned reading? 

 

Other things I would do: 

• Don't restrict what he checks out from the library, just add to it. I used to choose good books that I thought would appeal to my kids, and they just went on the shelf without comment. Sometimes they didn't get read, sometimes they did. 
• Listen to audiobooks in the car (and at home also if he really enjoys them). This can expose him to higher level works than he can handle on his own, and is also great for pronunciation. 
• The team reading with dad is awesome and I'd definitely continue. 
• I would also be reading something together in school all or most of the time. 
• As another poster said, get his eyes checked. 
• Make sure he has enough interesting activities going on to feed his brain outside of school. I don't mean extracurriculars (although 1 or 2 can be good) so much as visiting museums, going on nature walks, attending local festivals, anything that interests the family. 

 

 

 

[jkl]

 

I would not ban or put specific limits on twaddle if there's enough overall rigor in his school day. You may need to work specifically on improving reading skills; some kids just keep moving up levels with no loss in comprehension or fluency, but many more need some specific skill practice and scaffolding. This may or may not be built into your language arts. 

 

Can you give a few examples of his assigned reading? 

 

Other things I would do: 

• Don't restrict what he checks out from the library, just add to it. I used to choose good books that I thought would appeal to my kids, and they just went on the shelf without comment. Sometimes they didn't get read, sometimes they did. 
• Listen to audiobooks in the car (and at home also if he really enjoys them). This can expose him to higher level works than he can handle on his own, and is also great for pronunciation. 
• The team reading with dad is awesome and I'd definitely continue. 
• I would also be reading something together in school all or most of the time. 
• As another poster said, get his eyes checked. 
• Make sure he has enough interesting activities going on to feed his brain outside of school. I don't mean extracurriculars (although 1 or 2 can be good) so much as visiting museums, going on nature walks, attending local festivals, anything that interests the family. 

 

 

Thanks so much for the advice.  We're doing WWE3 to help build comprehension.  He also does at least 1 written or oral narration (usually written) a day.  Right now we are on a week-long break.  Next week, his assigned reading will be By the Great Horn Spoon and The Four Story Mistake.  He'll read a chapter of each daily until they are finished. 

 

I already do add to his library picks.  He has a room filled with chapter books we've gotten for him for birthdays, Christmas, etc.  We have a huge bookshelf stocked with many non-fiction books.  He will  glance through these, but does not really read them.  Most of the time, when not reading for school, he reads what I'd consider junk.  He used to listen to audiobooks at night, but now he says he'd rather read-and guess what he's reading :(  As a family, we always have 1 or 2 chapter book read alouds going (right now, they are By the Shores of Silver Lake and Alice and Wonderland).  He loves to be read to.

      I was talking to him a little bit this morning about his reading choices, and he told me he doesn't like the books that  I pick because it takes too long to get to the action.  Maybe I need to find some books that start out exciting right at the beginning to hook him in.

 

Good idea about getting him out to more interesting activities.  It's been hard this year with a toddler.

 

Thanks everyone for all of the wise words!

 

[Lori D.]

...Dh says ds has a hard time with words he's not familiar with...

 

Trouble sounding out words can sometimes be a sign of "stealth dyslexia", so you might look into that.

 

Megawords, a spelling program, teaches syllabication and breaking long words into bite-size chunks for spelling, but we found that it also helped our DS slow down and sound out for reading, as well.

 

Daily together out loud reading also helped, but you are already doing that with the nightly reading with DH. :)

 

 

...He has a room filled with chapter books… many non-fiction books.  He will  glance through these, but does not really read them.  Most of the time, when not reading for school, he reads what I'd consider junk.  He used to listen to audiobooks at night, but now he says he'd rather read-and guess what he's reading  :(  As a family, we always have 1 or 2 chapter book read alouds going… He loves to be read to.

      I was talking to him a little bit this morning about his reading choices, and he told me he doesn't like the books that  I pick because it takes too long to get to the action...

 

 

This is wonderful you were able to have this conversation with him!  Perhaps he's in the midst of a transitional stage of reading and hasn't quite hit the maturity yet to enjoy/appreciate works that unfold more slowly. Books with adventure right off the bat sound like a good idea -- By the Great Horn Spoon is a good one! :) Here's a list that has some more good books in the gr. 4-6 reading range: Newton K-12: Best Books for Boys in 4th and 5th grade.

 

Another thought -- instead of 1 chapter in each of 2 books per day, perhaps have DS read 2-3 chapters a day (say, 30-45 minutes) in the same book, and stick with that book until he finishes it, and then switch over to the other book and read 2 chapters a day in that one. Breaking up a book into such short chunks might not allow DS the ability to get a reading rhythm and get used to the book's pacing. And, perhaps it will help DS develop some perseverance and endurance of reading longer books that he can't develop by reading such short bites and switching. Just a thought! :)

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Lori D.

[shawthorne44]

Have you thought about an e-reader?   They all seem to come with a dictionary and you can click on a word to see its definition.  I don't remember if a pronunciation guide was included, but I would guess it just depended on the dictionary you had loaded.   Even as an adult I find myself using the e-reader dictionary when I wouldn't consider using a less convenient version.   

 

Maybe get one that can do whisper sync.    It would seem that looking at the words, while listening to them being said would be helpful.  

[tm919]

      I was talking to him a little bit this morning about his reading choices, and he told me he doesn't like the books that  I pick because it takes too long to get to the action.  Maybe I need to find some books that start out exciting right at the beginning to hook him in.

 

 

This is probably cruel, but I used to start a read-aloud, get the kids excited, then "forget about it." Sooner or later, my older daughter started reading it herself to save her sanity.

 

It didn't work with my younger daughter though.

Edited April 11, 2016 by tm919

[Arcadia]

What books does he pick? That might help us suggest similar interest books.

 

Also check the print size. My DS11 had to read classics in large print when he was much younger.

 

Don't forget magazines as a choice for leisure reading. Magazines like Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Scientific American are good for vocabulary building too.

[Bluegoat]

If he is reading the books he needs to for school, I wouldn't worry excessivly.  Though you could put some limits on trash books, especially maybe some types.  There are levels of entertainment reading.  Non-trash at a lower reading level might be satisfying and faster-paced. 

 

What I would not assume is that all kids will figure out on their own that there is a difference between light and other kinds of reading.  Many educated adults think that if they can read and understand the words, a book that they find difficult must be poorly written.  In truth, reading takes practice even beyond the ability to comprehend grammar and vocabulary.  Being able to be patient while the story builds, and to see why that is the way the author has written, is a skill in itself.  Possibly one that is not encouraged by a lot of popular entertainment forms.

 

 

[Lori D.]

...reading takes practice even beyond the ability to comprehend grammar and vocabulary.  Being able to be patient while the story builds, and to see why that is the way the author has written, is a skill in itself.  Possibly one that is not encouraged by a lot of popular entertainment forms.

 

:iagree:

[chocolate-chip chooky]

What books does he pick? That might help us suggest similar interest books.

 

Also check the print size. My DS11 had to read classics in large print when he was much younger.

 

Don't forget magazines as a choice for leisure reading. Magazines like Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Scientific American are good for vocabulary building too.

 

I agree with this comment about print size.

 

Have you ever opened a book and felt overwhelmed by how many words are all smooshed on the page? Classics seem to often have smaller font, narrower margins and closer line spacing, making it hard to even want to start. They also seem to often be printed on a different (cheaper?) type of paper, which is darker, making it even harder to look at and feel positive about.

 

 

[caedmyn]

Someone else already mentioned it, but I'd also suggest looking into stealth dyslexis because of the difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words. My 10 yo has a terrible time with unfamiliar words though she reads well above grade level. I was looking at the list of dyselxia symptoms at www.dys-add.com because my 7 yo can't read fluently and was a bit shocked at how many of the reading and spelling symptoms 10 yo had. She hasn't been formally tested, but we have started a reading program that gets good reviews for dyslexia (Abecedarian). Seeing how much difficulty she has identifying the sounds (primarily vowel combinations), I really have no idea how she managed to learn to read so well.

 

She also started out "ahead" (reading fluently before she turned 5) and has seemed to slip back in ability in the last couple of years, I suppose because work difficulty has increased and she isn't able to make up for her skill deficits anymore. And she reads very little twaddle, so that can't be a factor in her case.

[Janeway]

Junky books harm a person's grammar because they get used to hearing it wrong. Plus, certain topics seem to be easily obsessed on in an unhealthy way and then it gets harder to steer back to anything.

[Wheres Toto]

 

 

 

Another thought -- instead of 1 chapter in each of 2 books per day, perhaps have DS read 2-3 chapters a day (say, 30-45 minutes) in the same book, and stick with that book until he finishes it, and then switch over to the other book and read 2 chapters a day in that one. Breaking up a book into such short chunks might not allow DS the ability to get a reading rhythm and get used to the book's pacing. And, perhaps it will help DS develop some perseverance and endurance of reading longer books that he can't develop by reading such short bites and switching. Just a thought! :)

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

This is what we do.  My kids read for an hour a day from assigned reading - a classic, something I think they'll like but might not pick themselves, something related to history or science.  They both HATE reading just a chapter or two and stopping for a different book.  That would drive me crazy as well, its one of the reasons I avoid all the literature-based curriculum.  They all seem to follow this pattern.

[Tanaqui]

Junky books harm a person's grammar because they get used to hearing it wrong.

 

On the contrary, being familiar with multiple dialects can only be a boon in learning the prestige dialect, in the same way that it's beneficial to speak multiple languages.

 

[Bluegoat]

On the contrary, being familiar with multiple dialects can only be a boon in learning the prestige dialect, in the same way that it's beneficial to speak multiple languages.

 

Bad writing isn't quite the same as dialect.

[Tanaqui]

Bad writing isn't quite the same as dialect.

 

I'd like to agree with you, but experience has taught me that I should get examples before agreeing to wide-sweeping statements on language. Often, what other people identify as "bad" or "wrong" language/writing really IS simply dialectical - or, often, common usage in SAE that the speaker wrongly condemns.

 

The person I was replying to talked about grammar and how kids "get used to hearing it wrong". This does seem to imply they're discussing dialectical variation and not, say, really odd sentence breaks and "cutesy" language from child protagonists.

[Guest]

IME with a sample of 2, it's completely subject-matter related. My kids can OBSESS over something like you would not believe. And yes it is VERY harmful to their studies, such as they are (and everything else) because they are always 80% thinking of that thing they love right now. Twaddle in and of itself has a place, I think. Everyone in my family gets their fair share! But when you have kids with self-control issues you have to be on top of what they do with their time like white on rice. Not to be a dictatorial school-marm, but to nip obsessions in the bud.

[Bluegoat]

I'd like to agree with you, but experience has taught me that I should get examples before agreeing to wide-sweeping statements on language. Often, what other people identify as "bad" or "wrong" language/writing really IS simply dialectical - or, often, common usage in SAE that the speaker wrongly condemns.

 

The person I was replying to talked about grammar and how kids "get used to hearing it wrong". This does seem to imply they're discussing dialectical variation and not, say, really odd sentence breaks and "cutesy" language from child protagonists.

 

Well, she might have meant that, but I wouldn't assueme so.  I was thinking first for example of something like the Twilight series.  Kids who read a lot of that stuff can get used to seeing and hearing that kind of writing, and it comes to seem normal.

 

I'm not sure how much popular kids literature is actually written wholly in dialect?  The writing that includes examples of it, done well, tends in my experience to be very good writing overall.  Handling dialects well in writing takes some talent.

 

Although I do think that with younger kids, when the goal is to use a lot of their reading as a model for writing, using a lot of dialect based texts might cause some issues with learning standard forms.  Perhaps especially with visual people.  If the person was mostly going to be writing in their dialect that wouldn't be an issue but for many that won't be the goal.

[Hilltopmom]

In the families I know that have decided to limit their kids to only reading "high level, good literature, no fluff", the kids tend to just plain NOT read at all for pleasure. Not our goal, at all.

[Tanaqui]

I'm not sure how much popular kids literature is actually written wholly in dialect?  The writing that includes examples of it, done well, tends in my experience to be very good writing overall.  Handling dialects well in writing takes some talent.

 

 

All of it. Because everybody, everywhere speaks a dialect, and the prestige dialect (Standard American English in the US) is still a dialect, even if it's really widespread.

[RootAnn]

While I agree that a diet of twaddle can hurt a kid's overall reading level, I don't think that keeping them from being able to snack on twaddle is bad enough to keep them from it. (And some people's twaddle is another's gold mine of great info. I've heard some people refer to Calvin & Hobbes as twaddle. No way!) 

 

It sounds like your son isn't completely comfortable with reading right now -- judging from the way he is guessing at new words & preferring to skim rather than read deeply. Echoing others ideas to take him in for a COVD vision assessment & perhaps shore up the reading instruction for higher level comprehension.

 

My only natural reader (the one I didn't have to spend 3-4 years instructing in phonics before she took off reading fluently) still wasn't picking up books to read for fun until she was 8 or 9. Now, you find her with a book a LOT. She was a fluent reader, but it wasn't easy enough for her to choose to do it until she had a couple of years of practice & instruction under her belt.

 

I'd definitely work on word-attack skills during spelling or another LA time. 

 

My ultimate goal is that they want to read & are able to read whatever they want to read. (This is where the food analogy completely crumbles. My kids don't have any problem not wanting food.) I don't restrict free time reading for that purpose.

[TriciaT]

Thanks so much for the advice. We're doing WWE3 to help build comprehension. He also does at least 1 written or oral narration (usually written) a day. Right now we are on a week-long break. Next week, his assigned reading will be By the Great Horn Spoon and The Four Story Mistake. He'll read a chapter of each daily until they are finished.

 

I already do add to his library picks. He has a room filled with chapter books we've gotten for him for birthdays, Christmas, etc. We have a huge bookshelf stocked with many non-fiction books. He will glance through these, but does not really read them. Most of the time, when not reading for school, he reads what I'd consider junk. He used to listen to audiobooks at night, but now he says he'd rather read-and guess what he's reading :( As a family, we always have 1 or 2 chapter book read alouds going (right now, they are By the Shores of Silver Lake and Alice and Wonderland). He loves to be read to.

I was talking to him a little bit this morning about his reading choices, and he told me he doesn't like the books that I pick because it takes too long to get to the action. Maybe I need to find some books that start out exciting right at the beginning to hook him in.

 

Good idea about getting him out to more interesting activities. It's been hard this year with a toddler.

 

Thanks everyone for all of the wise words!

 

You are doing so well! You can relax about this. You are doing read alouds as a family, his dad is partner reading with him, and he is reading quality books as part of his education! Wow, look at all the ways you are already filling his ears and eyes with excellent and challenging literature.

If his preferences are different from what you would choose for him, that's ok! Sometimes the things kids like and love can seem meaningless to us. Just like my love for Downton Abbey will never be understood by my husband[emoji5]ï¸.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[theelfqueen]

If he likes the Star Wars Encyclopedias maybe try the Jedi and Sith handbooks... they're written in a more narrative format and would discourage skimming. Also there are many new Star Wars novels coming out that are part of the cannon. I wouldn't discourage his interests, if your concern is the encyclopedic format there are definitely more narrative format books in the genre.

[vonfirmath]

Thanks so much for the advice.  We're doing WWE3 to help build comprehension.  He also does at least 1 written or oral narration (usually written) a day.  Right now we are on a week-long break.  Next week, his assigned reading will be By the Great Horn Spoon and The Four Story Mistake.  He'll read a chapter of each daily until they are finished. 

 

I already do add to his library picks.  He has a room filled with chapter books we've gotten for him for birthdays, Christmas, etc.  We have a huge bookshelf stocked with many non-fiction books.  He will  glance through these, but does not really read them.  Most of the time, when not reading for school, he reads what I'd consider junk.  He used to listen to audiobooks at night, but now he says he'd rather read-and guess what he's reading :(  As a family, we always have 1 or 2 chapter book read alouds going (right now, they are By the Shores of Silver Lake and Alice and Wonderland).  He loves to be read to.

      I was talking to him a little bit this morning about his reading choices, and he told me he doesn't like the books that  I pick because it takes too long to get to the action.  Maybe I need to find some books that start out exciting right at the beginning to hook him in.

 

Good idea about getting him out to more interesting activities.  It's been hard this year with a toddler.

 

Thanks everyone for all of the wise words!

 

 

My 8 year old complains The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit (we are listening to this one through Audible.com) is not exciting enough. (Slow start). But he picked up a book about King Arthur and his knights lately and is devouring it. And then added Sherlock Holmes this weekend.  I've been trying and trying to get him to read Encyclopedia Brown. But until he found SHerlock Holmes on his own, he wasn't interested. Now he wants all things mystery.

 

SOmetimes... They just have to discover the good stuff for themselves.

 

ETA: Both the King Arthur and Sherlock Holmes books that he picked up to read on his own are some form of "Illustrated Children's Classics" -- I don't have a book to compare the King Arthur too but the Red Headed League story in the Sherlock Holmes book is pretty much the same story in our Annotated All Sherlock Holmes, All the time book (A few words changed. But not vastly simplified or anything) written in larger type, more whitespace/fewer wordson the page, and a few page-size illustrations scattered throughout the book.

Edited April 12, 2016 by vonfirmath

[Bluegoat]

All of it. Because everybody, everywhere speaks a dialect, and the prestige dialect (Standard American English in the US) is still a dialect, even if it's really widespread.

 

Anything written in standard English is hardly going to give them trouble with standard English though, so that seems rather beside the point.

 

Off the top of my head, the one book I can think of is the one about Greyfriar's Bobby, but any non-Scottish child who can get through that at a young age is talented with language anyway.

[Tanaqui]

Anything written in standard English is hardly going to give them trouble with standard English though, so that seems rather beside the point.

 

Yeah, but virtually everything has some nonstandard usages in it. I really think a lot of people don't realize how very regional some of their regionalisms are.

 

At any rate, I'm not in the mood to derail this thread further today. I've got a shedding cat to comb, and iZombie to watch.

[sewingmama]

I wouldn't worry about it. My DS was reading fluently at 4. Now at 8 he can read just about anything. His favourite books to read in his free time are the Magic Treehouse books which take him 30 mins to read the entire thing.

 

I don't care so long as he is reading for pleasure. Just keep working on comprehension in school time.

 

Oh and I don't see Star Wars encyclopaedias as junk. Its hobby related reading. My boys read Lego and Minecraft manuals daily. It enhances their personal interests and the technical vocabulary is challenging.

 

I spend half my free reading time browsing sewing magazines and just looking at the pictures. It doesnt mean I cant also read my University texts. Its relaxing, entertaining and inspirational.

 

If I want my kids to read something I think might be challenging for them...I get the audiobook so they dont see reading as an arduous chore. They recently took Standadised tests and both scored above 95% in reading comprehension...my son 99% which is amazing considering he spends his time reading beginning chapter books and Lego/Minecraft books.

 

My daughter scored 95% for her grade...again great ...considering she has mild dyslexia and rarely ever is able to finish reading a book herself and relies a lot on audiobooks. She was still able to read and comprehend the test samples just fine.

 

Don't sweat it.

Edited April 12, 2016 by sewingmama

[AimeeM]

Hmmmm  Maybe my expectations are too high, then.  Or maybe half-magic is a bad example.  I think my problem is that I felt like he was really ahead for a long time, and now he's...not.  Maybe it's Mom that needs to adjust her thinking.  Thanks guys!

There is a lot to the stats that say early readers eventually "even out." It's true, they do. Eventually they (often) simply simmer down - or they come to a place where there's no more "up to go," so to speak. 

 

Please do not restrict his free time books. I loved to read as a child and if my parents had restricted my free time books it would NOT have led me to read "better" books - I promise; it would have only made me resentful and I simply wouldn't have read (at all) for pleasure.

[jkl]

 

 

 

Trouble sounding out words can sometimes be a sign of "stealth dyslexia", so you might look into that.

 

Megawords, a spelling program, teaches syllabication and breaking long words into bite-size chunks for spelling, but we found that it also helped our DS slow down and sound out for reading, as well.

 

Daily together out loud reading also helped, but you are already doing that with the nightly reading with DH. :)

 

 

 

 

This is wonderful you were able to have this conversation with him!  Perhaps he's in the midst of a transitional stage of reading and hasn't quite hit the maturity yet to enjoy/appreciate works that unfold more slowly. Books with adventure right off the bat sound like a good idea -- By the Great Horn Spoon is a good one! :) Here's a list that has some more good books in the gr. 4-6 reading range: Newton K-12: Best Books for Boys in 4th and 5th grade.

 

Another thought -- instead of 1 chapter in each of 2 books per day, perhaps have DS read 2-3 chapters a day (say, 30-45 minutes) in the same book, and stick with that book until he finishes it, and then switch over to the other book and read 2 chapters a day in that one. Breaking up a book into such short chunks might not allow DS the ability to get a reading rhythm and get used to the book's pacing. And, perhaps it will help DS develop some perseverance and endurance of reading longer books that he can't develop by reading such short bites and switching. Just a thought! :)

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

 

Thanks for the link to the book list.  It looks great!  I used to have ds do 2 chapters from 1 book and 2 from another book the next, but he asked to do 1 cp of each every day????

 

This is probably cruel, but I used to start a read-aloud, get the kids excited, then "forget about it." Sooner or later, my older daughter started reading it herself to save her sanity.

 

It didn't work with my younger daughter though.

Great idea!

 

In the families I know that have decided to limit their kids to only reading "high level, good literature, no fluff", the kids tend to just plain NOT read at all for pleasure. Not our goal, at all.

Hmmm  Exactly what we're trying to avoid!

 

You are doing so well! You can relax about this. You are doing read alouds as a family, his dad is partner reading with him, and he is reading quality books as part of his education! Wow, look at all the ways you are already filling his ears and eyes with excellent and challenging literature.

If his preferences are different from what you would choose for him, that's ok! Sometimes the things kids like and love can seem meaningless to us. Just like my love for Downton Abbey will never be understood by my husband[emoji5]ï¸.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for this!  I feel like we spend so much of our school day reading good literature.  I guess I just thought he'd just naturally seek it out in his free time as well.

 

Thanks everyone for the comments.  i think we've decided to take a combined approach by limiting (but not banning) the junky books that come into our home and making more of an effort to help him pick out good books that will interest HIM, not just ones I want him to read.  I love the idea of reading the first part aloud with him and then turning the rest over to him to read on his on, so I think we'll try that too.  I'm going to make more of an effort to ask him about the books he's reading (he loves this) and maybe share some of the things I'm reading with him as well. :)  I'll have to do some thinking about the stealth dyslexia/vision part too.  Thanks again for the help!

[EKS]

If he's having trouble with unfamiliar/multisyllabic words, you might want to run through REWARDS Secondary with him.  It has 20 or 25 lessons.  The first ten or so take maybe a half hour, and the rest take maybe an hour (I split them into two sessions).  It can help solidify decoding skills very quickly.