Yes. My daughter is in 3rd and has been reading whole books since K. They do studies on fiction, non-fiction, etc.

They have also been writing essays since 2nd. They’ve been required to engage with various types of writing, including narrative, “how to” manuals, non-fiction guides, etc. They follow a prescribed research and writing process.

We’ve been extremely happy!

Yes, my 7th grader in private began reading whole books last year in 6th grade.

So far this year, they have read INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN MY LIFE AS A CACTUS and have now recently started REFUGEE by Alan Gratz.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the challenge with reading books is the slowed reading speed and comprehension of many kids, since they do less reading and way more short form brain rot.

Throw in AI that can easily summarize and provide resources and surface level interpretations of any texts/books thrown at them, and keeping kids really working through things is getting harder and harder.

They are using genAIs way more often and in way more ways than most teachers realize, offloading as much work as possible.

My kids do a lot of their reading in class, laptops closed. I guess they could sit there and sleep with their eyes open and offload to generative AI - maybe their classmates are doing so?

One of the teachers was even playing the audiobook in class for at least one period.

Anonymous wrote:Which dcps middle schoool is assigning book? Deal 8th has no books for middle school ELA! It’s insane! She reads a ton on her own, and has very advanced taste and comprehension. The assignments seem very AI generated. Disturbing. But it seems late to apply to prove (and wasn’t in the budget), but we may have ti find a way!

Washington Latin Public Charter Schools. Per a teacher I talked to there, their English reading list is disappointingly modern (Persepolis is the one I remember off the top of my head), but at least it exists.

Anonymous wrote:Part of the challenge with reading books is the slowed reading speed and comprehension of many kids, since they do less reading and way more short form brain rot.

My kids are at a classical school, so they've been scaffolded into reading stacks of books since kindergarten, and tend to have parents who have specifically chosen the environment, because they are readers themselves.

Anonymous wrote:Part of the challenge with reading books is the slowed reading speed and comprehension of many kids, since they do less reading and way more short form brain rot.

Throw in AI that can easily summarize and provide resources and surface level interpretations of any texts/books thrown at them, and keeping kids really working through things is getting harder and harder.

They are using genAIs way more often and in way more ways than most teachers realize, offloading as much work as possible.

My kids do a lot of their reading in class, laptops closed. I guess they could sit there and sleep with their eyes open and offload to generative AI - maybe their classmates are doing so?

One of the teachers was even playing the audiobook in class for at least one period.

Yes, St. Mary's in Alexandria - middle schoolers just read The Call of the Wild, and before that, The Outsiders. They're currently working their way through a book of O. Henry short stories, and have just finished a collection of Frost poetry.

My fourth grader is reading an assigned book about Jamestown, and before that, he read a historical fiction book about Patrick Henry (it's a very Virginia history-heavy year for them).

They're also trying out a new program where the kid gets to receive their physical copies of each book as a "gift" from the school at the end of year for their personal collection.

Both kids had 2 full books assigned for summer reading, with the requisite essays/assignments.

MS ELA teacher- each grade reads three while class novels, two choice books but the genre varies by grade. in addition to short stories, poetry, and news articles. We read excerpts of a play. We write extensively and have at least one graded writing assignment each week.

Now that mcps is using the CKLA curriculum, I'm hoping they read more whole books. Previously it was only honors English that did that.

Part of the challenge with reading books is the slowed reading speed and comprehension of many kids, since they do less reading and way more short form brain rot.

Throw in AI that can easily summarize and provide resources and surface level interpretations of any texts/books thrown at them, and keeping kids really working through things is getting harder and harder.

They are using genAIs way more often and in way more ways than most teachers realize, offloading as much work as possible.

Which dcps middle schoool is assigning book? Deal 8th has no books for middle school ELA! It’s insane! She reads a ton on her own, and has very advanced taste and comprehension. The assignments seem very AI generated. Disturbing. But it seems late to apply to prove (and wasn’t in the budget), but we may have ti find a way!

For publics, it’s very school dependent. Everyone should be asking the Principal, English department chair and English teachers if/when they tour high schools. Put the pressure on!

The public school my children attend has students reading 5-7 full books per year - similar to what I was assigned in high school.

Anonymous wrote:You know what best teaches kids to read whole books? Seeing their parents reading a book!

Of course - we all read in front of our kids - but that’s not the question: yes all the privates my kid attended read multiple whole books per year across subjects (even biology, history, foreign language).

You are smart to be concerned about this issue, OP.

Catholic middle schooler is currently reading Huck Finn. They read several books per semester, and lots of shorter works. They also memorize poetry (currently a Shelley poem).

Yes- Catholic HS and the read multiple novels each semester and I think they read 3 or 4 over the summer.