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8th Grade ind. lit. reading for ds OR is leisure reading ok??
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My ds likes to read first thing before he starts other academics. I allow him to do this because I kind of do the same thing, plus I don’t want to squash his love for it.
My problem is this: Choosing literature for him is kind of difficult. He’s a bit old for some lit (even if he hasn’t read it yet, so maybe I could still have him read them, or would that be torture??) but not quite interested in the Lord of the Rings type either. Should I let him read a leisure type book for the morning time and schedule what would be considered “real” literature for later in the day?? I wouldn’t make him read either of them quickly and I could have him read the lit I choose 2 x a week or something like that.
Currently he is reading:
Uncle Eric books
Practical Happiness
Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt (and whatever else will be scheduled for Mod. 1)
(just finished) Black Beauty for the 2nd time
We are finishing up The Singing Tree and just started The Great Turkey Walk for a fun read aloud.
He chose another Gary Paulsen book but I told him it looks more like a leisure read than literature. He understands the difference but may be overwhelmed if I add another book.
Any suggestions?? Am I over-thinking this??
Any book suggestions that he may like?? He’s not quite interested in the Redwall series or books like that, but I wish he was, I have all of them!
Thanks in advance.
No, he hasn’t…I will look into those. Thank you.
He does have on his “try it” shelf: The Bronze Bow, A Marguerite Henry book, Incident at Hawk’s Hill, Robinson Crusoe, Adam of the Road, and The Canterburg Tales (is that the title?). We’ll see.
Thanks again.
I’m not sure I’m addressing your question but here’s my 2 cents (hoping it adds something helpful) –
My children (9 and 11) read voraciously on their own and are aloud to choose any books they like. I don’t let them go below their level and I keep a watchful eye over their choices but so far no problems with twaddle or subject matter. They pretty much know what I’m encouraging in this area. And they read very fast in these books. Sometimes more than one a day, if they really get the bug or find it too good to stop. We visit the library at least weekly and they can get as many as they want to. We have books with us everywhere – car, purses, bags, meetings, grocery stores, doctor’s visits, you name it.
Literature is a totally different deal. I choose that book and they read from it daily in usually chapter length amounts (unless they’re very long) and then narrate in some form. I can’t remember how many I’m doing but I school year round without scheduled breaks so maybe it wouldn’t be relevant anyway.
In addition to these two sources they read an independent History chapter book and sometimes Science and Geography books too – these being less novel and more informative or subject/area based. They narrate on these.
Hope that helps?!
We do the same as Claire. Dd11 is in 6th grade and loves to read on her own. Often I discover she’s already finished a book I had planned to schedule. No worries as there are plenty to choose from. Her literature for this year includes Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary sutcliff. Both are historical in nature but are preparatory for a trip she’s taking. Others include A Christmas Carol by Dickens, The Prince and the Pauper by Twain, Animal Farm by Orwell, eight Cousins by Alcott, and I forget the rest from the top of my head. These she will read ~1 ch per sitting 3-4 days per week. She has assigned history reading and science, too. A few things we do together. I do think scheduled lit which stretches and challenges without discouraging is important.
Btw, Little Britches is terrific. A fave here. We’re on the last one and have enjoyed them all!
Hmmm…
Maybe I’ll approach him with the idea that his leisure reading can be his choice (out of the ones that we own that I’ve already pre-chosen, LOL) and I’ll choose the literature. And, he will read them both throughout the week. Which seemed to happen in Mod. 6 since there were so many more books per grade level, but there doesn’t seem to be as much from Ancient Egypt to count OR I’m missing it.
He has read, or has been read to quite a bit but I’d like it to pick up a bit more. He’s not against any of it, but can feel overwhelmed at times with all of his subjects. Plus, he’s not a voracious reader, just one that enjoys it at certain times of the day, nor does he read very fast. On the other hand, I could read all day…my dc could not do that, no matter how much they liked a book.
Thanks for all your suggestions.
I just wanted to caution my3boys on the Little Britches series- We’re on the second book. LOVE the authors style. He can really paint a picture. My kids are 11 years old. I wouldn’t want them reading these books on their own, because there is quite a bit of words like “hell and damn” in the cowboy’s gargon. We’ve been doing these as a read aloud at night before bed. It’s been fun for us to share this together, and I can skip the words that are not appropriate. Just something to consider! 🙂 Oh, and the ending of the first book was really emotional- we weren’t sure we wanted to read any more of the series, but decided we had to because we sure didn’t want to end on that note! We love the books. 🙂
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