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How many books per term for lit. for 8 y/o?
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O.k., I’m in the planning stages and I’m on ‘Your Term’. I’m figuring out the plan for literature.
Wanted to see how many books we’d need for 12 weeks. I was planning some H.C. Andersen one week, Aesop the next, then Kipling the next then i thought I’d go for a whole book and I chose Heidi. From the library info and the bookfinder info. I found it has about 265 or over 300, depending on which version. (hopefully the one at the library is unabridged. It doesn’t say ‘adapted’ so I’m assuming it’s unabridged). So I figured 5 pages a day….20 per week….not enough time in 12 weeks.
My question is, what are some of the ways you’ve divided up your 12 weeks? Do you use one whole book the whole time? Do various authors as I’ve mentioned and not get to a whole book? (or not finish it)
I was just a bit surprised we would need a whole term to finish one book. I now see the beauty of really doing the planning. Othewise, i would have lined up quite a few books that we never would have gotten around to reading!
So! what has been/ is your experience with prepping your lit for one term?
I do things a bit different. I don’t plan by terms so this will probably not be of much help. But I think you’re talking about personal literature books, not the ones needed for say history etc. That said I with my 8 yr old will pick say 5 books I want him to read over the course of our school year. If they are going fast (he’s really enjoying them or reading more than ever) he can add one in here or there of his (I should say “our”) choice. But the 5 books have to be done in the year. Does that make sense? Misty
That was my question – is this books you want your 8yo to read on their own, or books you are reading aloud to the 8yo? My answer is very different for each possibility.
1. If it is for your chld to read on their own choose an amount they can comfortably do each day. My just turned 9yo is a reading machine, so she can fly through 350 pages in two or three days if she likes it. Another child may only get through 20 pages while enjoying it in a day. It also depends on how difficult the level of the book is related to their ability. (Yes, I’m not a lot of help).
2. If it is a book you are reading aloud to your child we try to always read by chapters, it is easeir to keep track of our spot that way. So a 15 chapter book would take us 3 weeks generally, maybe 4. We read Heidi in 4 weeks with my then 8, 5, 4, 2, and 1yo and enjoyed it. We also found an audio book version for part of the time when I was sick and couldn’t read aloud. Then we still listened to just a chapter at a time. We also don’t limit ourselves to reading only one chapter book together at a time, so we usually are reading aloud from 1-2 hours a day. It is wonderful!
We spread our books out over the term but have several going at the same time. This term my daughter and I are reading The Wizard of Oz and The Courage of Sarah Noble. My son and I are reading Treasure Island, and he is reading The Indian in the Cupboard and Swiss Family Robinson. We only read a few chapters each week of each book. That way they can savor the story. I read somewhere (and I don’t remember where) that when you read a book you think about it during the times when you aren’t reading the book. When you read it more slowly, it gives your brain more time to think about the book. If you read through a book quickly, the less time your brain has to mull it over. I found this to be true when I read. If I blow through a book in one weekend (you know when you’re reading a really good book and can’t put it down?
), I find that I don’t remember the details of the book as much as when I ready bit by bit. Kind of like savoring a little nugget of chocolate. Yes, these are the personal lit. books, not any other subject.
Dd is reading fine but we haven’t tackled something like Heidi so I think I’m going to be doing most if not all of the reading. (when she sees a big book, lots of pages and not many pictures, she gets intimidated)
I figured 5 pages to be able to ‘savor’ the story as krommama and others have mentioned, as well as being able to stick to the 20 min. per subject allotment. (I like that so it’s not something I see as being a ‘slave to the curric.’ type of view. it’s a good thing)
Looks like what makes sense is to carry over to the next term.
Thanks ladies!
Sometimes, we are enjoying a book so much, that we might read it on the weekend and holidays. Your book might not last until the next term.
Another thought: If you daughter feels intimidated by a more challenging book, you can alternate reading paragraphs or pages. That way you aren’t reading it all, and she works her way into feeling comfortable with the book.
I mainly thought I would comment on which Heidi to choose from, as there are several. Our library thankfully has one of the best and most complete versions; look for the one illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith from 1922.
Also, we did it for our Lit. this past year and it took two terms, as the chapters are long and it definitely must be savored and read through at a slower pace to enjoy. I have two 9 yr. olds. and they enjoyed it and a couple of times, one or both of them took it with them to their rooms during rest time to finish the chapter that I had not.
By the end, I’d say the last 5 chapters, I let Librivox do the rest for me as time ran into my preparing for my surgery, so they heard the rest from the recording from Librivox, which suited them just fine. They told me all about it!
Rachel
), I find that I don’t remember the details of the book as much as when I ready bit by bit. Kind of like savoring a little nugget of chocolate. 
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