Do you allow your kids to read ONLY the books from thier particular lit/history module?

I would try maybe putting away all the “school” books and giving them each a pile for free reading of quality literature. AO has a

Free reads list for each grade level

I usually separate the books too, or my son will read them.  I hate to tell him NOT to read a book, so I’m going to just hide them from now on.  He goes through them so quickly that I worry that he’s just skimming, or even flat out skipping parts.  I may be wrong, but I dont see how you can enjoy a book when you go through it as quickly as he seems to. 

I, too, require free readings all year and more so in the summer. That is when they are unleashed on anything on one set of bookshelves and a large basket at home. Also, there is the library readings they do. Kindle reads must be pre-approved by me. I use AO’s free reading suggestions, Sonlight’s book lists, and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle book list by Nathanel Bluedorn for ideas for books to purchase and stock up on that shelving set and for borrowing from the library.

I keep books specific to the coming year or term’s readings on another bookshelf. Look but don’t read, I tell them!

I, myself, have been guilty of skimming or as I like to refer to it – gulping instead of savoring a book. I am always sorry later. Just as when I over eat!! I have had to discipline myself. I think for some, it is an issue that they will have to work through.

Maybe you could make it a “habit” to cultivate with her. Is there a habit in Laying Down Rails that might somewhat apply that you could work on over the course of 8 – 12 weeks? This may be a way to help her rid herself of that habit by replacing it with another in her reading. If you use the format in Laying Down Rails you would be doing so in a positive way – not “alway telling” as Charlotte said. It will help your daughter to develop her own resolve in this area.

Also, I have found that “narrating” what I am reading either to my husband or with a friend,

( we pick a book every few months to read and then meet for lunch to discuss) I slow down and savor the book. So be sure there is a lot of narration going on. That accountability may slow her down. It has certainly helped me.

I read very quickly, so does my dd.  But we don’t skim or skip parts.  We are just fast readers.  We can devour books while still savoring them.  And we enjoy them enough to usually read them over and over, too.  (I do slow down on the more difficult books or things I am actually studying – but free read types are “free” for a reason.)  That said, I do separate school books from their “go at it” books.  School books get savored slowly according to the schedule, free reads I don’t care how fast or how many they read.  They are still good books, and a voracious reading appetite will not be squelched in my house.