S/O on reading fluently...Building stamina

[nature girl]

My DD started reading on her own before she was 3, and can read pretty much anything fluently (with good comprehension), but she rarely picks books up on her own to read, even when she's absorbed in the story. When we read together, she never wants to read more than a page before insisting I continue. She adores books, but that's not enough to motivate her.

 

I've tried telling her that a certain hour is her reading hour, where she's responsible for reading to herself while I do chores, or even sit next to her reading my own book. But she'll sit with a pile of books, and just flip through the pictures.

 

When I was her age I devoured books on my own...I just don't know how to get her to that point. Is this something that will eventually develop on its own? Is there something about children's eyes at this age that makes it harder to focus and track, so makes them tire reading smaller print? Or is there some other level of fluency that she'll develop over time that will make reading feel like less of a chore (even though when she reads aloud she reads smoothly?) Or is this just her personality, and she'll never actually want to make the effort to read on her own?

 

(ETA: I want to make clear that I know she's still quite young so I'm not worried at all. Just curious what might be holding her back. :) )

Edited July 2, 2016 by Anna's Mom

[maize]

Does she enjoy audiobooks? If so I might give her free rein with those. Eventually she may discover that she has more control and can progress through a book faster when reading on her own.

 

At age six I really wouldn't worry about how much book reading she is doing, it is great that she is reading fluently and I don't think there is much to be gained by pushing her to read more than she wants to right now. You could get her eyes checked, most children this age are a bit far sighted so it is possible that getting reading glasses for her would make a difference.

[EKS]

Two ideas...

 

The first is to have her eyes checked, preferably by a developmental optometrist.  My younger son ended up needing glasses and then vision therapy in order to progress with his reading.

 

The second is to tell her that she can read in her bed past her bedtime.  This worked with both of my kids because they thought they were getting away with something.

 

ETA a third idea:

 

Gradually build stamina by having her read aloud first one page, then two, then three, and so forth until she can read aloud easily for 20-30 minutes.  This will probably take a while (like several months to a year).  But it is important that before doing this you get her eyes checked.

Edited July 2, 2016 by EKS

[Arcadia]

Print size - we borrow large print classics from the library for our kids. They are at the adult/senior section of the library

Cuddle time - my oldest did not like reading alone so he plop on my lap or sat leaning on me. He basically wanted contact

Moving while reading - my youngest needed to move. He was walking or swinging his feet while reading.

Trips to B&N - the library doesn't have the newest books fast enough for me and our kids so we make regular trips to bookstores. We made weekly trips to Borders or B&N since our kids were babies. It's just our normal

Choosing books - we let our kids borrow as many books as they want from the library. At first they read about half because some choices turn out uninteresting. Now at 10 & 11, they rarely choose something they won't read.

Books I want them to read - those are assigned.

[OneStepAtATime]

Agree with all of the above.

 

1.  Eye exam through a COVD to check for visual acuity and developmental vision issues.

 

2.  Popcorn reading to help her build up to reading longer passages on her own.

 

3.  Accepting that she may just be too young developmentally to read for long periods yet.  Different kids develop at different paces.

 

4.  Give her audio books above her reading level so she can get exposure to more advanced vocabulary/grammar/stories/concepts.

 

5.  Give her time to mature.  Some kids don't get interested in books until they are much older.  

 

6.  Large print.

 

7.  Start a story with her then go do what you need to do.  Tell her you will finish the story later.  Leave only the one book there.  She might be interested enough in the story to try finishing it on her own.

[nature girl]

Thank you all...

 

She absolutely loves books, so that's not the issue, it's the one thing she'd sit through for hours if I'd read that long. (She was the only 2 year old I knew who could sit for over an hour listening...When she was later diagnosed with ADHD I was absolutely shocked because of it.) We do listen to audio books, in the car and during lunch, and she's able to follow reasonably complex language and plotlines.

 

You have some fantastic ideas...Letting her stay up late to read might really work. And there's a Notebook of Doom book that was just published, which she's been dying to read, I may just bring her to B&N as a special treat for that and any other book of her choice, with the stipulation that she needs to read them on her own.

 

As far as the COVD...I guess I thought the fact she was an early reader, and can read fluently, meant there probably weren't any convergence issues. I realize that she might not realize if she's seeing double if it's always been that way, but would she be able to tell me if it was straining her eyes to read, or could it be that she's so used to it that she doesn't even realize it's wearing her out? She's never told me that her eyes are getting tired.

[Arcadia]

DS10 complained about eye strain by saying his eyes are tired or hurting. The astigmatism was obvious because he would adjust brightness on his ereader and laptop. The tracking was missed until last year. The tracking is so mild that he does not qualify for VT but it does contribute to the eye strain.

[EKS]

Thank you all...

 

She absolutely loves books, so that's not the issue, it's the one thing she'd sit through for hours if I'd read that long. (She was the only 2 year old I knew who could sit for over an hour listening...When she was later diagnosed with ADHD I was absolutely shocked because of it.) We do listen to audio books, in the car and during lunch, and she's able to follow reasonably complex language and plotlines.

 

The ADHD could be part of the problem.  It's not that kids with ADHD can't pay attention to anything, it's that they can't pay attention when it is something difficult or that they don't want to do.  Perhaps she isn't yet able to enjoy reading on her own because it isn't easy enough yet (even if she is able to decode fluently, she may still have trouble with producing a "movie" in her head when she reads herself).  What is her reading speed?  Even if she is reading quickly for her age, it may still seem too slow to her.

 

As a side note, I have been teaching a 14yo who is gifted and has ADHD Algebra I for the past many months.  After a few months I finally figured out that to get him to pay attention was to *significantly* speed up my delivery.  When I talk and write literally as fast as I can, he is able to pay attention enough to get it.  Anyway, possibly something like that is going on here.

[OneStepAtATime]

Thank you all...

 

She absolutely loves books, so that's not the issue, it's the one thing she'd sit through for hours if I'd read that long. (She was the only 2 year old I knew who could sit for over an hour listening...When she was later diagnosed with ADHD I was absolutely shocked because of it.) We do listen to audio books, in the car and during lunch, and she's able to follow reasonably complex language and plotlines.

 

You have some fantastic ideas...Letting her stay up late to read might really work. And there's a Notebook of Doom book that was just published, which she's been dying to read, I may just bring her to B&N as a special treat for that and any other book of her choice, with the stipulation that she needs to read them on her own.

 

As far as the COVD...I guess I thought the fact she was an early reader, and can read fluently, meant there probably weren't any convergence issues. I realize that she might not realize if she's seeing double if it's always been that way, but would she be able to tell me if it was straining her eyes to read, or could it be that she's so used to it that she doesn't even realize it's wearing her out? She's never told me that her eyes are getting tired.

Does she have a way to choose and listen to audio books on her own?  Like, is there a Kindle with age appropriate audio books loaded and a set of properly sized headsets (I found the kids do better with noise canceling headsets, not earbuds) she could have access to?  If she was able to grab it up and listen to what she wanted, maybe that would be enticing to her.