Question from a teacher about your kids...

[Anonymous]

Hi! It’s me, the high school English teacher. Gearing up for another year back. I’m playing around with my curriculum this year and thinking I will do no whole- class texts this year and instead give the kids a genre or general requirement and then have them choose a book within those parameters. So, for instance, if I say a book by a BIPOC author, they can choose any book that interests them as long as it was written by someone who is Black, Indigenous, or otherwise a person of color. All our mini lessons, essential questions, tasks will revolve around that type of book so what they are reading specifically won’t matter- they’ll be able to apply it all to their individual text.

Here’s my question to you: can you tell me honestly if your kid actually read for pleasure this summer and if so, what they read? Don’t be selective about answering only if your kid did, it helps me to know if they didn’t as well. Getting kids to read for pleasure is a huge struggle and I’m tailoring my curriculum to hopefully help them do more of that without the whole “we are going to read this tedious old book from 1945 and beat it to death” thing. It’s a good jumping off point for me to know whether the kids are reading books of their choice when they’re able or if they’re not reading at home either since getting them to think of reading as a valuable pastime they should consider doing for enjoyment is, well, hard.

[Anonymous]

My DD and many of her friends read Good Omens because of the Amazon miniseries.

[Anonymous]

My DS is in MS-- he read some, but not as much as I would like. I was pretty happy with some of the books he selected-

1. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime
3. Jurassic Park
4. The Uglies series

It was a good combination of adventure, non-fiction, scifi. The way to get him to read was to give him total control over his choices but to structure screen-free time for reading. That's probably harder the older they get. It's already a challenge at home.

I think teens are like us- they enjoy a variety of reading. Right now, DS picked up something easy and fun, the same way I go for a mystery or romance after I've read something "serious."

[Anonymous]

My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

[Anonymous]

My DD (rising 9th grader) read a series by Elena Ferrante and Little Fires Everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

As long as you have suggestions I think it is fine - what we have struggled with is my son being given choice (whatever he wants to read in a genre/theme etc.) but he has no idea what he’ll like, takes the first thing he sees/is suggested because he thinks he’ll hate it no matter what, so why care, and then, big surprise, he hates it. If you have some way to help reluctant readers find books they like I think that would be a great help toward reading for fun. Offering choice is great, but for reluctant readers it isn’t enough to get them to read, in my experience. Maybe my kid is just extra resistant, though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

As long as you have suggestions I think it is fine - what we have struggled with is my son being given choice (whatever he wants to read in a genre/theme etc.) but he has no idea what he’ll like, takes the first thing he sees/is suggested because he thinks he’ll hate it no matter what, so why care, and then, big surprise, he hates it. If you have some way to help reluctant readers find books they like I think that would be a great help toward reading for fun. Offering choice is great, but for reluctant readers it isn’t enough to get them to read, in my experience. Maybe my kid is just extra resistant, though!

He might be extra resistant but that’s not atypical. When they don’t read for choice they literally don’t know how to choose a book. Obviously that’s a skill we will work on and I have ways of showing them how they can gauge a book’s value to them, figure out what they like, etc. Suggestions help and for some kids they just need to know which books could fit this particular genre, but giving them the freedom to figure that out and make a choice is part of hopefully giving them the tools to be lifelong readers.

[Anonymous]

My son will not read for pleasure. But last years teacher was able to get him interested in what they were reading. I don’t know how. I will miss her.

I make him read one book a summer. I was trying to push over to audio books but that didn’t work.

Books he likes when forced, which often happen to be by black authors about black kids and other kids of color.

Dear Martin
Ghost by Jason Reynolds (didn’t like the sequel much though)
Anything by Kwame Alexander
Any decent ghost stories. He’d LOVE more ghost stories.

He did not like Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson or Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. He did not like Hatchet. (I know that’s not by a BIPOC.)

He also needs some help picking a book. He will naturally pick a book about sports, but that’s not necessarily what appeals about a book to him. I think he likes the struggles the protagonist/other kids face and (mostly) overcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

OP there are a lot of crossover books- I mentioned earlier that my DS is in MS. He reads everything from MS, to YA, to crossover adult fiction. The books are written at all levels - everything from literature to a th grade reading level with a more mature theme.
I suggest that you provide a written list of options for students who want a list. My DS has ADHD and has a lot of trouble narrowing his choices, making decisions, etc. He is a student who benefits from some help and gentle direction. The other thing is *please* (unless it's an assigned book) don't make the kids take notes while they are reading-- DS has teachers who do this and destroys the flow and enjoyment of the book. Just completely ruins the experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

OP there are a lot of crossover books- I mentioned earlier that my DS is in MS. He reads everything from MS, to YA, to crossover adult fiction. The books are written at all levels - everything from literature to a th grade reading level with a more mature theme.
I suggest that you provide a written list of options for students who want a list. My DS has ADHD and has a lot of trouble narrowing his choices, making decisions, etc. He is a student who benefits from some help and gentle direction. The other thing is *please* (unless it's an assigned book) don't make the kids take notes while they are reading-- DS has teachers who do this and destroys the flow and enjoyment of the book. Just completely ruins the experience.

I know you’re being helpful but trust me, I know all this. This (literally) what I’m trained to do and have advanced degrees in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son will not read for pleasure. But last years teacher was able to get him interested in what they were reading. I don’t know how. I will miss her.

I make him read one book a summer. I was trying to push over to audio books but that didn’t work.

Books he likes when forced, which often happen to be by black authors about black kids and other kids of color.

Dear Martin
Ghost by Jason Reynolds (didn’t like the sequel much though)
Anything by Kwame Alexander
Any decent ghost stories. He’d LOVE more ghost stories.

He did not like Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson or Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. He did not like Hatchet. (I know that’s not by a BIPOC.)

He also needs some help picking a book. He will naturally pick a book about sports, but that’s not necessarily what appeals about a book to him. I think he likes the struggles the protagonist/other kids face and (mostly) overcome.

These choices make sense. My own students love anything Jason Reynolds, some like Kwame (they think he’s a rip-off Reynolds if they don’t), Dear Martin was popular. I love Louise Erdrich and assume the teacher was trying to include an indigenous author but can see how that wouldn’t be a great fit for a young teen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

OP there are a lot of crossover books- I mentioned earlier that my DS is in MS. He reads everything from MS, to YA, to crossover adult fiction. The books are written at all levels - everything from literature to a th grade reading level with a more mature theme.
I suggest that you provide a written list of options for students who want a list. My DS has ADHD and has a lot of trouble narrowing his choices, making decisions, etc. He is a student who benefits from some help and gentle direction. The other thing is *please* (unless it's an assigned book) don't make the kids take notes while they are reading-- DS has teachers who do this and destroys the flow and enjoyment of the book. Just completely ruins the experience.

I know you’re being helpful but trust me, I know all this. This (literally) what I’m trained to do and have advanced degrees in.

pp here- I know you do, but you would be surprised at the number of trained language arts teachers who assign a book and a pack of stickie notes to go with it-- along with the admonishment that they are not allowed to read past chapter six and must write a summary every few chapters. Seriously, it happens. It's especially hard on kids who already have trouble focusing and rely on "flow" to get into a book.

[Anonymous]

My rising 10th grader didn't read and is now in the process of picking a book off the summer reading list posted by the school. I prefer if teachers assign specific books. When he was younger I had an easier time recommending books to him. He doesn't like picking book and prefers recommendations because he feels it's more likely to be a decent book if someone "in the know" recommends it. Last year (9th grade) his teacher let the students select their books. He ended up "rereading" books he had already read. I'm pretty sure he just skimmed them to refresh his memory enough to answer the questions posed by the teacher. I'm hoping that when he gets to his AP "English" classes in 11th and 12th he won't be able to just "phone it in" and still get a high A average every quarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader does not read for fun - he is dyslexic, but won’t even read audiobooks for fun unless there is literally nothing else to do - can’t swim, play ball, draw, or use a screen. He has found he falls asleep better if he reads before bed, so he often does, but only for 15 minutes or so.

He reads dystopia for fun - reading Gone now, loves Hunger Games and Divergent. He really liked Unbroken and The Hate U Give. He generally dislikes books suggested by librarians and teachers - not enough action and violence, too much text describing how people feel about each other. Whether teachers aren’t aware of new/popular YA lit and so don’t recommend it, or feel like kids must get their fill of it and so suggest something else I don’t know, but we have a really hard time finding books my son might actually want to read.

I’d suggest keeping your list very wide - The Hate U Give might qualify for your list, no? - and reminding kids that audiobooks are books, and that they might like them better than eye reading.

That’s the thing, I have no “list.” It will be whatever the kids want. What I will do is provide suggestions if they are like “I don’t know any books about a social issue” but I have no list they must choose from. I keep up with/read/purchase a lot of current YA and have those in my classroom library as options they can choose from. Some kids like YA and some don’t- the ones who don’t often see it as too juvenile.

OP there are a lot of crossover books- I mentioned earlier that my DS is in MS. He reads everything from MS, to YA, to crossover adult fiction. The books are written at all levels - everything from literature to a th grade reading level with a more mature theme.
I suggest that you provide a written list of options for students who want a list. My DS has ADHD and has a lot of trouble narrowing his choices, making decisions, etc. He is a student who benefits from some help and gentle direction. The other thing is *please* (unless it's an assigned book) don't make the kids take notes while they are reading-- DS has teachers who do this and destroys the flow and enjoyment of the book. Just completely ruins the experience.

I know you’re being helpful but trust me, I know all this. This (literally) what I’m trained to do and have advanced degrees in.

Fellow teacher here. If you know all this and are literally trained to do this with advanced degrees then why ask? You asked for input based on their individual children. She is telling you her feedback based on her child's education experience. No need to be rude.