Moving to independent literature

[Sarah0000]

DS is six and reads well and often, talks about what he reads, can narrate ok for his age if not creatively during our read alouds, reads aloud to me with expression, and can read passages and answer corresponding questions. I have two younger kids, one who is asking for more and more school time of his own, and I thought maybe my six year old could now have independent assigned literature...? Would this be silly at this age, or perhaps normal for an accelerated kid?

There have been times where we'll start him reading aloud to me but I'll have to walk away for something and he has no problem continuing on his own then I just ask him what happened in the story, so I know he's capable of focusing on text that he doesn't choose (in his spare time he mostly chooses twaddle novels or picture books and fairytales). If assigned independent literature sounds appropriate for him, is there a book list you'd recommend for starters?

Also, we'll still continue our subject based read alouds and our family read alouds and he'll still read aloud to me passages in his writing programs. 

[SKL]

Why not?  What are some examples of books he has chosen to read independently for fun?

[Sarah0000]

On his own he reads anywhere from 2-4 hours a day, and it's mostly Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Hilo, Lego related graphic novels or character novels, Minecraft novels, Mrs Piggle Wiggle, science encyclopedias. He wants to read our adult science fiction novels so he'll sometimes read bits of those but he doesn't have the endurance and I doubt the necessary comprehension for those.

He'll happily listen to the standard novels for early elementary, like Charlotte's Web, Harry Potter, Little House but he doesn't pick them up on his own and read straight through.

Now that I'm typing all this out I realize I probably need to invest in chapter books that aren't twaddle but aren't classics either. Science fiction and fantasy would probably be best for something he'd choose to read on his own. There needs to be an Asimov for kids author out there...

[Sarah0000]

Oh and he'll pour over things like Dungeons and Dragons manuals and World of Warcraft manuals and the writing can be quite dense in those but he seems to have good comprehension. I think I need to look for children's books in his preferred genre.

[wendyroo]

My 6 year olds start reading independently for about 15-20 minutes every morning from a book from their book bin.  I fill the bin with literature, non-fiction, biographies, poetry, etc.  I aim for books that are manageable and not overwhelming, but do have one challenging element: reading level, length, subject matter, etc.

During that first grade year, they orally narrate to me each morning after they read.  After about a year of this they are ready to transition to sentence-long written narrations a la WWE 1, ie  "What is one thing you remember about what you read?"

Wendy

[Sarah0000]

Oh that's a good idea Wendyroo. They still get the choice but it's within your bounds. I could start with books like what he's currently reading on his own then gradually shift them to more varied types.

[purpleowl]

I think my girls were about 5.5 and 4.5 when I started assigning them independent reading. 

As for what I assign - a mix of decently written things that I'm pretty sure they'll like (sometimes I'm wrong) and things that I want them to read even though they may not be in line with their preferences (sometimes we end up finding something they really like, and opening up new possibilities). 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

On 7/28/2018 at 9:24 AM, wendyroo said:

My 6 year olds start reading independently for about 15-20 minutes every morning from a book from their book bin.  I fill the bin with literature, non-fiction, biographies, poetry, etc. During that first grade year, they orally narrate to me each morning after they read.

I wonder if this would be a good approach for my DS. ?

He’s 5.5 and he *can* read at a 2nd-3rd grade level... he just... doesn’t. Very rarely chooses to read anything in book form, only occasionally flipping through them. He enjoys listening to stories at bedtime, but doesn’t have the patience to listen to books longer than ~150 pages (over the course of about a week).

I’ve been having him read half a chapter to me from a book of his choosing a couple times a week. He reads it fluently, but never without complaint. 

[Pegs]

My child prefers to read books he's already enjoyed as audiobooks or readalouds. That's been the key to helping him enjoy his independent reading time.

[katilac]

12 hours ago, Expat_Mama_Shelli said:

I wonder if this would be a good approach for my DS. ?

He’s 5.5 and he *can* read at a 2nd-3rd grade level... he just... doesn’t. Very rarely chooses to read anything in book form, only occasionally flipping through them. He enjoys listening to stories at bedtime, but doesn’t have the patience to listen to books longer than ~150 pages (over the course of about a week).

I’ve been having him read half a chapter to me from a book of his choosing a couple times a week. He reads it fluently, but never without complaint. 

 

Your son is very, very young. Just because he can read at a 2nd-grade level doesn't mean he has to do so, or that he is developmentally ready to read chapter books or listen to you read for sustained periods of time. Academically capable does not mean developmentally ready. Everything you describe is developmentally appropriate for a 5-yr-old. 

Bring back the joy. Snuggle and cuddle and read to him, stopping before he loses interest. Let him flip through books as he wishes, or not. Instead of having him read to you and complain about it, consider reading to him (in addition to the bedtime stories).  Don't make reading be a point of contention, something he is forced to do, a chore he complains about. Consider backing off on all formal instruction and practice for a while - he's 5 and he already knows how to read, he isn't going to forget how. 

My oldest started reading at 3. She didn't read her first chapter book until she was six and a half. Why? Who the heck knows? She wasn't ready, did not have the interest. She went on to perform very well academically in spite of this and is currently in college. It's fine! You don't have an 8-yr-old who can't decode, or a 10-yr-old who has never read a chapter book. You have a 5-yr-old with strong reading skills who likes to listen to stories. That's awesome, enjoy it! The time will come soon enough when there are truly things he has to do and places he has to be. Enjoy this time while you can. 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

2 hours ago, katilac said:

Don't make reading be a point of contention, something he is forced to do, a chore he complains about. Consider backing off on all formal instruction and practice for a while - he's 5 and he already knows how to read, he isn't going to forget how. 

Never will he “snuggle up” for a story - he’s always moving, climbing, bouncing, spinning in circles. I don’t care, as long as he enjoys the story. I read to him several times throughout the day, both picture and short chapter books, but he listens best at bedtime when his body is tired. We’ve tried longer books & he didn’t care for them, so I shelved them. 

A big part of his resistance with reading himself is that I did “back off”... and now it’s harder for him than it was when he was in the habit of reading a little bit each day. He read happily before our break, then we went overseas & he didn’t read much for about 6-8wks. Now books he remembers enjoying reading are challenging & he’s frustrated. 

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Expat_Mama_Shelli said:

Never will he “snuggle up” for a story - he’s always moving, climbing, bouncing, spinning in circles. 

 

 

Ha, yes, that works too! 

[mumto2]

At 6 both of my kids loved Greek Mythology.  So things like Usboune and Padraic Colum were part the assigned/ read aloud for my oldest.  She loved it but my son did not enjoy the hard books.

 A wise friend who had done HE before me saw that I was ramping things up at 6 and gave me a recommendation that I have always bee grateful for.  At 6 .....reading needs to be fun no matter how high a level your kid tests into.  In order to be fun it needs to be relatively easy at 6 for much of the time.  Let the child choose except for a short period during school.  A bit of twaddle during free time is fine.  She purposely steered her kids towards easy books for independent reads.....below ability by a level or two. ?. This advice worked best with my son and I think helped keep me from completely killing his enjoyment in independent reading.  We used Sonlight for our main curriculum at that time so through those read alouds and many others chosen by me literature was well covered.  He loved being read to.

 Btw he loved the Usbourne Book of Greek Mythology and carried it with him for his book for about a year.