Awful reading rut
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Anonymous
| My 7 year old second grader has never liked reading - at all. He is very smart, but is just on grade level for reading, because he does not try. I have tried to find books that interest him and have come to the conclusion that there really aren't any. I have to make him read for at least 20 minutes a day, because it is both required by school, and necessary to ensure he does not fall behind. He really doesn't try during these sessions, and whines a lot. He also refuses to keep his finger under the text, and keeps losing his place because he is not paying attention, and whines. This is becoming a miserable experience for both of us. Over the summer it was a bit better because we would alternate reading pages of a book (he's do one and I'd do one) which he found more tolerable, but his teacher asked us not to do that for his assigned reading this year. |
Anonymous
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My reluctant reader loved non-fiction books with lots of pictures when he was in second grade. Even though there are pictures, the vocabulary can be quite complex and the reading was more interesting for him than the typical "Captain Underpants, "Magic Treehouse", etc. types of books. Even though some of these would be above his grade level, my son enjoyed reading them. I believe it was because the text wasn't so dense, and the pictures helped give him additional context to what he was reading.
In particular, he enjoyed: The "You Wouldn't Want to Be Series" http://www.scholastic.com/tbw/quickSearch.do?N=0+$&fq=Series:%5EYou+Wouldn%27t+Want+To...%5E&Ntk=TBW_QuickSearch_SI#cart/cleanup Eyewitness Books - http://www.dk.com/uk1/eyewitness/index.html Good Times Travel Agency http://www.kidscanpress.com/series/good-times-travel-agency He loves legos, so books like this were also a big hit: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lego-star-wars-simon-beecroft/1117006699;jsessionid=95D39761E1C20342905607EC1C82780F.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=9781465419217 |
Anonymous
| Ignore the teacher on this one. Your son isn't going to become a better reader when he views it as a chore that he hates. |
Anonymous
| If you're at that much of a stalemate, maybe just read to him in the evening. Find some books that you both enjoy and make it a fun ritual before bed. |
Anonymous
Thanks, that is definitely above his reading level, but seems like something he might enjoy having me read to him. |
Anonymous
| Op my ds was the same. Then i started getting a variety of graphic novels which he consumed and then chapter books on the same kind of subjects. Last week he (now 9'years old) read 135 pages before sleeping (he was up late!) of a complicated chapter book. Give it time. |
Anonymous
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Have you tried the Nathan Hale graphic novels?
Joke books? Reading together (you read a page / he reads a page) |
Anonymous
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Try getting a blank paper the size of a bookmark and have him hold that under the sentence he's reading.
Also, not to defy the teacher, but I would keep up with the alternate page reading. Seriously reading half the amount is better than none at all. Track his progress on the calendar. Reward with $5 or $10 Barnes & Nobel cards at the end of the month--to buy a new book! Personally, I loved the Edward Eager books as a kid. Also, Mercy Watson books are wonderful. They are funny and they also have wider spaces between the lines which helps my struggling reader. |
Anonymous
My DS was also the same, except we never found anything he liked. We let his reading time be anything he wanted, which wasn't much. We also alternated (though his teacher said it was fine). I worried so much about it. Then one day in 3rd grade (he was 9 that september) he came home reading a Percy Jackson book from the school library. He read the whole series. He is still very picky about what he reads (unless it is assigned) but he can read half a book in a day when he is into it. 7 may just be too young for it to have "clicked" yet. |
Anonymous
| Have you tried the captain underpants series? That was a big hit for my son around 1st-2nd, and were easy to read. |
Anonymous
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Audio books?
Boy and Going Solo, the Roald Dahl autobiographies? Graphic novels? Tintin? Calvin and Hobbes? |
Anonymous
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My similar kid loves the My Weird School series.
Another vote for ignoring the teacher. Making reading fun is going to pay off more than following arbitrary rules. |
Anonymous
| My reluctant reader loved Mercy Watson. Lots of white space. |
Anonymous
I agree with this. I ask my son to read the first 2-5 pages, depending on reading level and age, and then I read to finish out a half hour. He's enthralled with the stories. And we listen to audio books, too, as a supplement, not a replacement. Plus, he will develop fond memories of having relaxing, fun time with his mom while reading. My son is 9 now, and I've been doing it forever. He's one year above grade level in reading ability. There are many kids in his class who are much better, but I think this is pretty good for a kid who really doesn't enjoy reading that much. Some boys like magazines better. And I'd get different levels, some easier, to help boost fluency and confidence. And don't be afraid to let him read the same things over and over. |
Anonymous
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Forgot about Tin Tin - I think that was closer to 3rd grade.
Definitely check out My Weird School AND - poetry How Swallowed Harold is something my 2nd grader enjoyed |