Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

Tagged: Assigned reading, read alouds

This topic has 14 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Tecrz1.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

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June 3, 2012 at 2:13 am
Andrea 3b1g
Member
My boys, aged 7 and almost 9 most often love to read. Occasionally the eldest rushes a bit, just so eager to knwo what happens next (!) but overall, I am blessed with 2 enthusiastic readers.
My question is this: For their respective ages, what is the right amount to be giving in the way of assigned readings?
At present, I am giving only one or two chapters as “assigned” for science (Burgess’ “Adventures of…” series”). No assigned readings for history at this point though much of their leisure reading is Little House and the like from pioneer days. (we plan to begin mod 1 next year). I wonder whether I should/could be assigning more as independent (since they both love to read) but I hesitate because I question whether they skip unknown words and rush a little when on their own. I do have them narrate and the narrations seem ok to me, though I must say, I find it harder to form an opinion on the quality of their narration when I haven’t just read it aloud to them. I suppose that comes with more experience?
For the record my first choice would be to read aloud MORE often versus less. Our challenge is that getting even 3 minutes of reading aloud done when our 2 year old is awake is almost impossible. Fortunately she loves to nap, lol! But still, unless it is early morning before 2 yr old wakes up, or mid afternoon when she naps, our read alouds are a real struggle.
Lots of questions, sorry for my ramblings…
Any help so greatly appreciated, Ladies!
Blessings, Andi
June 3, 2012 at 2:33 am
amandajhilburn
Participant
I’ve done lots of reading aloud so far too. Mine are ages 11 & 9. I am trying to decide if and how I should begin giving them control of their lessons.
I have no good advice but wanted to hitch a ride on this thread so that I can glean from the wiser ones who respond to your questions 🙂
June 3, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Tecrz1
Participant
For my ds7 I assign a chapter a day in a literature book ( like Little House or Black Beauty) and then an assigned reading in one of the history books in the 1-3 level of the history module. He is finishing 2nd grade technically. Last year he has only one assigned reading per day. Next year in 3rd I am planning to assign more. His sister will be 6 so I will need more time with her. I will most likely
have him doing his own science readings too. I balance these because we often have 2-3 read alouds a day too.
Tara
June 3, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Andrea 3b1g
Member
Tara, thank you. Now, when you assign a reading to a child of 2nd-3rd grade, I’m assuming you have them narrate each assigned reading to you?
Have you found it to be extremely important that they give you the narration immediately following the completion of the assigned reading?
Does anyone else ever wonder/worry about the difference between what a child gets out of an assigned reading versus a read-aloud?
I guess I am hung up on this a bit because, much as want my kiddos to be taking on assigned readings a little more (and they welcome it), I don’t want them to “get less” out of the reading. Perhaps this is all about whether a child is totally solid in their reading skills? It makes me crazy when my DS7 and DS8 read fast or skip words … missing some of the deeper meaning or thought provoking stuff or even “miss out” on some of the truly funny lines in there.
I still have my kiddos read aloud to me and in this setting they do perfectly well.
Anyone else having this experience?
Blessings, Andi
June 3, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Evergreen
Member
Andi, it’s an interesting question you ask. I noticed big differences when I started asking my two 11-year-olds to do more of their own history reading this year. One boy had always appeared very “dreamy” while I read them their history books, and had a hard time retaining information and keeping track of things. I was amazed to find that when he read his history books himself, he retained tons more and his interest level rose dramatically! The other 11-year-old, who had always remembered everything I ever read to him, really struggled at first, and had to be taught to slow down, making sure he understood each paragraph before proceeding to the next.
For this reason, I find it’s important to transition to having them read more of their own work with plenty of guidance, to make sure they’re really “getting” it – their narrations will tell you. You may have to shorten the assignments as you work through this, until they’re more adept at reading attentively in this way. Even with my older guys reading their own history lessons, I always have a read-aloud going and it gives lots of opportunity for good discussion.
In terms of what they “should” read on their own: I’m not sure, but I thought I read that CM advocated them reading more of their own material starting in about 4th grade. My 3rd grader this year read his nature readers on his own, with narration given soon after the reading. We also chose several pieces of literature for him to read on his own through the year. I read his history lessons, poetry, and other literature selections aloud, and sometimes we’d take turns reading to one another (it helps him pay attention!).
Blessings,
Aimee
June 4, 2012 at 1:22 am
Andrea 3b1g
Member
Thanks Aimee! I am intrigued by the comment “their narrations will tell you”.
It makes me wonder this: do all you experienced CM moms read every “assigned reading” on your own…prior to your child reading it? Is this what’s necessary to give Mom the best ability to know the quality of their narrations from assigned reading?
I am sometimes reading/skimming the assigned readings only during my planning stage (sometimes a few weeks prior to the child reading it) and it’s not always super fresh in my mind on the day they read it. Is the answer to actually read all the assigned selections myself every morning??
Please help! I might have a lot of reading to do by morning… lol
Blessing, Andi
June 4, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Tecrz1
Participant
I let my son have one “free read” with no narration. He usually would end up running in and telling me about it informally anyways lol. My son is a strong reader and I do not worry about his comprehension. I have given him a book before and he brought it to me and asked for it to be a read aloud because it had too many hard words. We have discussed this so he knows if he is not understanding to talk to me. He does retain very well if I read aloud. He definitely leans toward auditory learning.
He needs to narrate fairly soon after he reads. He can wait until his sister is done with phonics or something but usually wants to narrate right away.
I agree some children learn better reading on their own. My daughter often reads the chapter I just read for herself later or will follow along. She likes to see the words.
I do not preread all books. Sometimes I skim through for the gist, or because I think they look interesting.
My son narrates better if he thinks I have not read the book. 🙂 Then it is more like telling me about it and less like a test I guess. As log as I get a decent amount of info (not one or two tepid sentences) and hear interest and thoughtfulness in their narration I am happy.
Reading ability matters a lot in this area. You know your own children and this is an area to personalize.
Tara
June 4, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Andrea 3b1g
Member
It’s so interesting to me, Tara, that your son has ONE free read going at a time, with no narration. Maybe that’s part of my problem. My boys tend to have 3 or 4 “free reads” going at a time. They tell me about what they’ve enjoyed from time to time but it’s certainly not a structured narration. While these free reads are all from an “approved by me” list, perhaps the fact that they are into them so often in the day is taking up a disproportionate amount of their overall reading time? (these free reads are selections such as Millers, Moody Family, Bible short stories, Moffats, Misty series…all decent – not twaddle – but not really classics, well Little House would be a classic I think….but they spend HOURS on these each day).
I’m intrigued by Gina’s mention of having detailed lists, complete with order of what’s to be read when. Maybe I need to move to this, to structure my boys’ reading a bit. So far I’ve just been so thrilled that they love to read that I’ve held off on major structuring.
I think about CM’s quote, “the child should have no book that is not a classic”
Will my boys want to read LESS if I begin to be more firm on this? Should I care? Or should I be happy to have them reading less overall if it means more time spent on only-the-best literature? Again, I don’t feel we’re on twaddle, but we’re somewhere in between “decent quality” and “classics”. Am I splitting hairs here?
Would love some comments from those who have worked on this balancing act. I think my answer will be found in getting better on my book lists and assigned reading structure, but I’d still love to hear your experiences!
Thanks in advance to all. Blessings, Andi
June 4, 2012 at 4:32 pm
sheraz
Participant
If you had them read what you are calling a “classic”, what would it be at this age?
June 4, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Andrea 3b1g
Member
That is a good question that I have been asking myself since I came onto CM 6 months ago! Now I’m calling it everything on the SCM literature list gr 1-3, the AO 1 and 2 lit lists and free reads, and the literature selections from Mater Amabilis. Adventures of series by Burgess would be here as well.
My kids are reading/listening from these lists for perhaps 15 minutes 2 times in a day as I assign it or read-aloud. Narrating this as well.
“Free read” choices are usually in the category of Beverly Cleary, Misty series, or reading a Little House book 7 times over. Also, the Moody series by Sarah Maxwell. Some Geronimo Stilton too.
Reading is the activity of choice for both boys during our homeschool break times, early morning, before bed, after chores etc. so it’s often upwards of 2 extra hours in a day with these books.
June 4, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Tecrz1
Participant
Andi-
Yes, I assign only one literature free read at a time. Our usual rule is one chapter a day. This is usually read in the afternoon during quiet time or early before school if he feels spunky. He has a daily checklist with his independent reading and activities like piano practice. He can do it anytime as long as it all gets done.
My children read a lot. All day here and there. The free read I am speaking of is the one that I assign with no narration. My son just finished On the Banks of Plum Creek. He has been working his way through the Little House series for his free read. I let him pick his free read from my list. He chose Black Beauty to do now. The purpose of the free reading is to encourage him to read excellent books with enjoyment, and assigning it makes it get done.
I also assign a history read with narration. We do one at a time here also. It just seems to work better for him to concentrate on reading one book slowly. Breaking the books up like AO does and reading a chapter a week made him frustrated.
We also have read alouds with narration following. We usually have one literature book going steady and then spread out our others a bit more. We may have 6-8 other books going at once and these are more broken up. Books like Burgess Animal Book and history spines lend themselves to stretching out, but a good literature or historical fiction book seems to demand we read it continuously to flow correctly for my younger children.
But these are just assigned books. We have a large basket of books in our living room full of library books for unassigned free reading. My daughter likes to have 3-4 books going all the time. My son tends to live with his book constantly for a few days instead.
So my words “free read” only mean assigned for school but free from narration, but not leisure reading. I think my meaning may differ from what others are discussing.
Tara
June 4, 2012 at 11:39 pm
amandajhilburn
Participant
It really amazes how much all of your children love to read. I MADE my 2 read for 30 minutes today (we are on summer break) and you would have thought I’d tried to kill them. I also began a read aloud and again…whining and complaining because we are “supposed to be off of school”. So much complaining that Dad stepped in with a warning.
They are 10 and 11, a girl and a boy, and neither of them love reading. I’m really tired of trying to encourage them and have just started making them read whether they like it or not. I know the books I give them are great ones. I know they do not have any learning disabilities. I know that one of them is just lazy and the other one does not like to be told what to do 🙂 So…no more Mrs. Nice MOM. LOL! I really am going to make them read daily when we are at home in the afternoons for at least 30 minutes at a time. I am also going to require that they finish one book and not skip around “looking for a good one”. I am just really tired of trying to think of ways to help them love it. I LOVE reading so this is so frustrating to me.
Just needed to say all that 🙂
June 5, 2012 at 12:35 am
Tecrz1
Participant
That would be really frustrating! Were your children hsed from the beginning? Reading has never been synonymous with school here. Reading aloud was a treat before naptime, and books were right beside the toys.
I have seen a lot of children hate reading because they equate it only with school. Perhaps you could try to find a book they would find interesting on audio and listen to it in the car because “YOU” want to hear it…and let them get sucked in. Or read a book and at an interesting point exclaim “listen to this!” and read a few paragraphs…ending it quickly and then ignoring them and reading silently again. Perhaps it would entice them to want to hear more. Having them do copywork of exciting passages might make them curious. A love for reading makes educating children a whole lot easier. It’s worth it to invest some serious time and sneaky tactics in accomplishing it. 🙂
Tara
June 5, 2012 at 12:47 am
amandajhilburn
Participant
They have been homeschooled from the get go, but reading for fun has not happened a lot at our house. School time has been reading time and summers meant tv, games, and computer time. That is my fault and I know it. Another thing is that books that their friends are reading are not always what I would approve of and that snuffs out a flame, too. They ask if they can read _____________, and I have to say no because of different problems that the book or series may have. Maybe I’m beeing too picky. Maybe I should just turn them loose in the library!
June 5, 2012 at 1:12 am
Tecrz1
Participant
I’m going to say this and then run…lol
I let my children pick out a set number of books at the library…and sometimes it is straight up twaddle. BUT to be honest sometimes I like a good frivolous fun read too. So they get a certain amount of picks, then I fill in the rest. I toss in a couple easy readers, interesting picture books, some picks from the “classics” or cm booklists, and anything that catches my eye.
My daughter is fond of Disney princess books. Secret: So am I! My son likes Junie B Jones (hate them and their incorrect grammar). Chapter books about fairies and superheroes…yep, they read them.
We read so many good books for school. Also, they blow through the twaddle fast and end up chewing on my choices the rest of the time. I think over time they figure out a difference. My son asked me to help him find a book like the Chronicles of Narnia ” you know, the kind that makes you want to keep reading?” …sounds like the definition of a living book to me 🙂
I do censor for appropriate content like language, sex, or other bad influences. Other than that I keep my hands off their personal choices.
You also might try shooting a bit below their age level to make the reading easier. Many of the history books listed for younger children would be an easier read, yet not babyish.
Limiting TV and video games does help a lot. Boredom is a fantastic motivator.
Tara