What got your 8th grader back into reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not an essential life skill. I have not read a book for pleasure since elementary school. Maybe middle school. I have college degrees and a career.

Yes, but it will help immensely with the ACT and SAT.

[Anonymous]

Sad that people stop reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not an essential life skill. I have not read a book for pleasure since elementary school. Maybe middle school. I have college degrees and a career.

Yes, but it will help immensely with the ACT and SAT.

If interested in SAT/ACT then focus on magazine articles. Wired, The Atlantic and New Yorker were recommended.

[Anonymous]

What about books like...
The Pillars of the Earth
The Clan of Cave Bear
The Promise of the Wolves
My kids do not like the YA/dystopia stuff.

Recently, they also liked...
Across the River
The Book Thief
The Memory Police (though I guess this is dystopian)
A Time to Kill and The Firm
Life of Pi
A Walk in the Woods

[Anonymous]

My 8th grader has enjoyed the Inheritance Games series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not an essential life skill. I have not read a book for pleasure since elementary school. Maybe middle school. I have college degrees and a career.

Yes, but it will help immensely with the ACT and SAT.

I don’t disagree with you but you can’t force a love of reading. As a teen, that wouldn’t have mattered to me to read for enjoyment.

At a certain age, they will read in their leisure time because they enjoy it and that’s it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I buy my kid with dyslexia a small junk food treat if he reads 15 minutes a night every night for a week (in additiontolisteningtoaudio books). Just a thought.

15 min? This should be at least 45 min if over 10 yrs old. Especially if they are getting rewarded

Dyslexia means reading is harder and frustrating for the kid.

[Anonymous]

DS has a 30 minute window to read before bed. He can choose to lay in his bed and do nothing, turn out the lights, or read. That is when he reads. It is not a preferred activity for him and that is ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS has a 30 minute window to read before bed. He can choose to lay in his bed and do nothing, turn out the lights, or read. That is when he reads. It is not a preferred activity for him and that is ok.

Time like this and a max daily time limit on the phone/ipad helps lead mine to books. After 90 minutes a day, 2.5 hours on weekends, the phone turns into a brick, so that can be a good time to open a book, sadly.

[Anonymous]

I'll start by saying that reading for pleasure is a gift, and you should trust your instinct to encourage your DD to do it.

So much YA fiction is not only bleak and depressing, but also poorly-written . . . which may be turning her off as she matures. I'd suggest pointing her toward classic YA novels and adult fiction that's more interesting.

Some quick thoughts:

• Jacob Have I Loved
• The Secret History
• The Book Thief
• The Color Purple
• Anne of Green Gables
• Mexican Gothic
• Never Let Me Go
• I Capture the Castle
• Empire of the Sun
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Giver

[Anonymous]

I bribe my 8th grader to read at bedtime. She doesn’t enjoy reading so I literally don’t care what she reads. Sports and animal related books, over coming obstacles type books for teens too.
I have a small bag with drinks in that she likes that I don’t normally buy ( world market) or things from five below. And she gets one for every chapter book read.

[Anonymous]

Stephen King
Danielle Steel
James Patterson
All authors who can hook a kid and have basically unlimited material

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not an essential life skill. I have not read a book for pleasure since elementary school. Maybe middle school. I have college degrees and a career.

Yeah, but kids aren’t reading books for school (or hardly) anymore either. So if they aren’t reading at home, and school isn’t making it part of curriculum- then they just aren’t reading period

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not an essential life skill. I have not read a book for pleasure since elementary school. Maybe middle school. I have college degrees and a career.

Yes, but it will help immensely with the ACT and SAT.

If interested in SAT/ACT then focus on magazine articles. Wired, The Atlantic and New Yorker were recommended.

Yes, don’t sleep on periodic articles. They can be great for teens. I think the real benefit is that it makes you a much better writer which helps with more than just the ACT and SAT.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried magazines? We get The Week Junior and my 7th grader really likes it.