My child and reading......teachers feel free to chime in

My daughter has been struggling with a language processing delay and absolutely hates reading. She is very good at math and enjoys it. At the end of the school years, she tested at a high second grade reading level. She just entered the 7th grade.

My struggle is finding books that are at a low reading level but interesting for a 13 year old. On the advice of the children's librarian, I ordered some books called "low level, high interest" but they were really, really not interesting at all.

I don't have advice for the OP but have tons of empathy.
 
Yes, your son's favorites are books! My own (generally reluctant) reader loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and it got him to practice (which he desperately needed when he was younger). He also liked the "I survived..." series.

Definitely encourage non-fiction, too. What I was always told (and wholeheartedly agree with) about teaching advanced readers is to provide them with fiction on their emotional level and non-fiction on their academic level.

I've heard of (but haven't checked out yet) a two-volume biography set called Mathematicians are People, Too. I'd look for that for him.

Here are some more options: (Some of these are geared younger, but some look like they might be right.)
https://selfsufficientkids.com/math-books-kids-children/

And this one looks perfect:
51yCR87brvL._SX309_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

"Lulu and Elizabeth are two girls who love to play with numbers, words, and (on occasion) toy swords. Join them on a grand adventure, where classic math and logic riddles lead the way through a world inspired by Lewis Carroll's poetry."

The teacher who doesn't like the "almost comics" style might be won over by the Lewis Carroll connection!
 
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My daughter has been struggling with a language processing delay and absolutely hates reading. She is very good at math and enjoys it. At the end of the school years, she tested at a high second grade reading level. She just entered the 7th grade.

My struggle is finding books that are at a low reading level but interesting for a 13 year old. On the advice of the children's librarian, I ordered some books called "low level, high interest" but they were really, really not interesting at all.

I don't have advice for the OP but have tons of empathy.
You may want to seek out a Direct Instruction tutor. Direct Instruction was invented by Siegfried Engelmann, and has been scientifically proven to be the most effective means of reading instruction. I’ve been teaching DI for over twenty years and have been able to bring kids (including those with learning disabilities) up to level in a matter of months. The program your child needs is called Corrective Reading. Take a look at the National Institute for Direct Instruction website to get a handle on the programs and philosophy. Your daughter can absolutely be a great reader given proper instruction.

https://www.nifdi.org/
 
57 yo successful engineer, never read a complete book till I was 50. I hated books (still not a book guy). However I was/am a voracious reader of anything technical. As long as he reads something, why does it have to be a "book"?
 


I think both are beneficial and both have a place in the 4th grade cirriculum. Children should be leisure reading 30 mins a day. They should also be reading for education and comprehension, and the book reports absolutely help to accomplish that. It doesn't have to be either pleasure reading or assigned reading, kids can do both.
Evidence does not support homework outside of school for elementary school age students.
Reading what they want for 20-30 minutes a night at home and studying for tests is just as beneficial.
Book studies including essays and discussion can be done in class.
 


D&K "Eyewitness" books are lovely--lots of pictures, interesting topics. They have over 100 on various non-fiction subjects, from Dance to Electricity. Someone gave my DD their science encyclopedia, which has 2 pages each on several dozen science subjects, from volcanoes to nuclear power. The encyclopedia might be a little above your son, but the point is to get him interested in reading so he can learn about fascinating subjects--he might surprise you!

And I have to disagree a bit with the PP--I would be the first to say the "busywork" type homework, such as worksheets or, God forbid, family projects (shoot me now!) are not helpful to students. But, it's really important for kids to read every day. This goes double and triple for children with any type of special need, whether a learning disability or an English language learner, whatever. Even engineers and scientists need to be able to read manuals and communicate their ideas.

I also agree that you should push back on the teacher's objections to the Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants books. At least he's reading! My DH has a learning disability, and he learned to read--in the 4th grade--by reading Dr. Seuss. I know some teachers don't care for Dr. Seuss, with his made-up words and silly animals, but it was what DH liked, so he was willing to put in the work to read it.
 
D&K "Eyewitness" books are lovely--lots of pictures, interesting topics. They have over 100 on various non-fiction subjects, from Dance to Electricity. Someone gave my DD their science encyclopedia, which has 2 pages each on several dozen science subjects, from volcanoes to nuclear power. The encyclopedia might be a little above your son, but the point is to get him interested in reading so he can learn about fascinating subjects--he might surprise you!

And I have to disagree a bit with the PP--I would be the first to say the "busywork" type homework, such as worksheets or, God forbid, family projects (shoot me now!) are not helpful to students. But, it's really important for kids to read every day. This goes double and triple for children with any type of special need, whether a learning disability or an English language learner, whatever. Even engineers and scientists need to be able to read manuals and communicate their ideas.

I also agree that you should push back on the teacher's objections to the Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants books. At least he's reading! My DH has a learning disability, and he learned to read--in the 4th grade--by reading Dr. Seuss. I know some teachers don't care for Dr. Seuss, with his made-up words and silly animals, but it was what DH liked, so he was willing to put in the work to read it.
Nothing wrong with Dr Seuss—he was a huge help when my daughter needed to work on speech. Go Dog Go helped her master her initial g and initial d sounds. I’m very grateful to Dr Seuss.
 
Hey! Not a teacher but a librarian here....the idea that "quality" books are the only ones worth reading has come and gone, reading period is the important thing, so if he likes Diary of a wimpy kid and captain underpants let him read those. Other series books that come to mind are Goosebumps or Narnia, Hunger Games or if he likes math why not read some nonfiction books that have to do with math or any other topic he is interested in. The important thing is reading isn't a chore.
Teacher/Mommy here. I agree 100%.

My DD had better things to do than read. Regardless, I read to her and with her every night well into middle school. We eventually got into chapter books. Junie B. Jones in second grade. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 7th grade.

She wasn’t interested in reading on her own until she discovered Harry Potter. Since then, she reads voraciously every day. The trick is finding the right genre and authors that your child finds engrossing.
 
D&K "Eyewitness" books are lovely--lots of pictures, interesting topics. They have over 100 on various non-fiction subjects, from Dance to Electricity. Someone gave my DD their science encyclopedia, which has 2 pages each on several dozen science subjects, from volcanoes to nuclear power. The encyclopedia might be a little above your son, but the point is to get him interested in reading so he can learn about fascinating subjects--he might surprise you!

And I have to disagree a bit with the PP--I would be the first to say the "busywork" type homework, such as worksheets or, God forbid, family projects (shoot me now!) are not helpful to students. But, it's really important for kids to read every day. This goes double and triple for children with any type of special need, whether a learning disability or an English language learner, whatever. Even engineers and scientists need to be able to read manuals and communicate their ideas.

I also agree that you should push back on the teacher's objections to the Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants books. At least he's reading! My DH has a learning disability, and he learned to read--in the 4th grade--by reading Dr. Seuss. I know some teachers don't care for Dr. Seuss, with his made-up words and silly animals, but it was what DH liked, so he was willing to put in the work to read it.
Dr. Seuss teaches rhyming in a fun way. I always teach a two week unit on Dr. Seuss around the time of his birthday.
 
Reading is reading. Comics, silly humor, kid drama...whatever it is, it's important that the child is reading. Period. I would not allow anyone to give me grief about what my kid read. I remember arguing with my dad when I was a teen about letting my brother read comics. By contrast, I was reading a wide variety from Stephen King books (which I somehow came across in middle school) to the "classics," but I firmly believed there was nothing wrong with my brother's interests. My feelings on the matter remain the same.
 
I have a fourth grade girl who is a voracious reader and a second grade boy who has to be cajoled into doing his 30 minutes of required reading every night. He loves audiobooks and loves it when I read to him, but fights doing independent reading, so I totally sympathize. Part of my struggle is finding good books for boys. I'm not looking for great literature, but just books that don't encourage violence, rudeness or disrespect. We've done Magic Treehouse, A to Z Mysteries, Bailey School Kids, Hardy Boys, Geronimo Stilton (this one is borderline for me, as Geronimo is kind of a selfish jerk). I've banned the kids from reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kids books because Greg is always disrespectful to his parents and mean to his friends; I just can't find anything redeeming about those books. I don't love Captain Underpants, but I let them read it. My daughter's fourth grade teacher is having them read some of the Weird School series this year, as a lighthearted alternative to some of the more heavy literature. Another idea to look at are graphic novels, like El Deafo. My daughter loves those.
 
Hey! Not a teacher but a librarian here....the idea that "quality" books are the only ones worth reading has come and gone, reading period is the important thing, so if he likes Diary of a wimpy kid and captain underpants let him read those. Other series books that come to mind are Goosebumps or Narnia, Hunger Games or if he likes math why not read some nonfiction books that have to do with math or any other topic he is interested in. The important thing is reading isn't a chore.
Thanks for some of the great ideas! In the end the priority is to have him enjoy reading and not think of it as a chore )like youbstated)
Thx! I appreciate it
 
My daughter has been struggling with a language processing delay and absolutely hates reading. She is very good at math and enjoys it. At the end of the school years, she tested at a high second grade reading level. She just entered the 7th grade.

My struggle is finding books that are at a low reading level but interesting for a 13 year old. On the advice of the children's librarian, I ordered some books called "low level, high interest" but they were really, really not interesting at all.

I don't have advice for the OP but have tons of empathy.
Thank you, glad that someone understands my struggle lol
 
I’d fight the teacher on that. He has to like what he’s reading, otherwise he’ll dread it.

Try breaking the 30 minuets down into smaller sections like 10 minutes after school, 10 before dinner, and 10 after bed.

Also... Try A Series of Unfortunate Events. My kids loved those at his age.
Ok I’ll get some of them thx!
 
my son is in the 4th grade, he is crazy about math! Everything math all the time, has been since he discovered it at age 3. At his 1st conference in 1st grade I was prepared for his teacher to say he is ahead in math and behind in reading, nope she asked to put him in 2nd grade math and reading.
Last year he found reading the Diary of the wimpy kid and Captain Underpants series tolerable lol. His teacher wants him to read 30 minutes a day, of course he dreads it but then He just got a couple books in those series that he hasn’t read yet. However his teacher says these are not books! I have spent money on Harry Potter, Ronald Dahl, James Patterson (kid ones) and he has no desire to read them at all. I have even tried to read with him - boring, he will actually ask if we can do math. Of course I’m scared to teach him anymore because they changed math. He loves negativite numbers, division lol
So what do you think? Is diary of the wimpy kid a book? Captain Underpants?
What should I do?
Any ideas on what a good series would be great too - thx
I'm a teacher and understand that the teacher wants him to read regular novels rather than semi-graphic novels for his daily required reading. She wants him to read something more challenging than his old favorites, and that's fine. It's for school and he's supposed to be challenged and exposed to new things, rather than always falling back on his old favorite things. Your child should follow the teacher's instructions on what to read for the assigned nightly reading. Then he can enjoy reading Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid in his spare time.

I'd like to add that my son never wants to read anything that isn't required by school. He just isn't a reader, despite all the years I spent reading stories to him, which we both enjoyed. I'm glad that he gets strict reading requirements, so he has to read, and read good books. He admits enjoying them and learning from them afterwards. He would just never pick one up by choice. So I'm glad his teachers have standards about his nightly reading requirements. He's really learning.
 
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My son, who did not like to read much, was hooked on the Artemis Fowl books. My daughter, who enjoyed reading, liked the Percy Jackson books. They even read some of the books more than once.

Both are series books so it could keep him interested for awhile if he finds one he likes.
 
I am a homeschooling mom of three and am a huge reader. My opinion is similar to many others as far as let them read what they enjoy and maybe they will expand their horizons. My 10 year old son LOVED the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. We own the books and he has quite literally read the entire series probably 20 times. When he was 8 and 9 he would finish all 13 books and then start over. He probably did that for almost a year. I would try to encourage him to read something else, but that is always what he chose. Fast forward to now and he is a more comfortable and fluent reader. He has read the entire Lemony Snicket series, the fantastic series by Suzanne Collins of Hunger Games fame called Gregor the Overlander series (this one is truly wonderful and not talked about as much), the Secret Series, and many more. He has also read many more of the comic/novel hybrid books such as the Origami Yoda series. My point is, let the kids read what they want, and hopefully they will learn to enjoy reading. While reading is not my son's favorite activity, he still does it and enjoys picking out new books and reading before bed at night.
 
The first book... real book... that I read to my kids was "What the Dickens." It was written by the guy who wrote Wicked and the kids would ask if we could go out onto the deck so I could read it to them. It's about a rogue tooth fairy.

After that, they saw that books could be fun and interesting, too. I read the Twilight series to them and a few other books. We'd do that in the summer when we could sit outside.

When we were inside, they saw me reading books, so they knew that I lived behind what I preached. Do you have the time to devote 1/2 hour to reading with your DS each night? If you read your book and he reads his, you can always discuss what you've read when the 30 minutes is up.

Like others have said, it's all about liking what you read. If I'm not interested, I don't want to waste my time reading, either. Life is too short for bad books. Sports Illustrated Kids is also an option for short articles that may interest your DS.
 

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