Reluctant Readers

[dkt320]

My DS is 8, (2nd grade) and I am having a difficult time getting him to do silent reading. He has the skills, but just resists. What books have you used for boys this age?

Donna in Texas

DS 8
DS 6
DD 21 months

[Michelle T]

My DS wasn't too enthused about reading either at that age. But his first Geronimo Stilton book had him sitting on the couch and reading it straight through! He read around 20 books in the series before tiring of them and moving on to other things.
Michelle T

[kRenee]

It could be that he just doesn't like reading, but please consider the idea that his vision may not be helping the situation. My ds is 9. He COULD read extremely well when he wanted to, but after a vision evaluation we found that he had poor tracking and convergence which would make reading tiring and quite a chore. Now, after some vision therapy, it seems his reading is easier and his handwriting has improved just a bit.

Regular optometrist - checks for eyesight accuity
Develpmental optometrist - checks for vision issues

[Ellie]

JMHO of course, but I wouldn't worry about it. Make sure he has lots of books of all sorts easily available (in our house, that meant weekly trips to the library), and lots of free time so that he can choose to read to himself if he wants to.

[Closeacademy]

Same boat here. My oldest can but doesn't like to read. She does read Ricky Ricotta books and non-fiction books about animals and other science subjects. :)

[macilustr8]

I have been there as well and my 8 year old has finally stopped complaining about reading time . I have found that finding the right books does help. If he really likes the book, he will read it during assigned reading time as well as on his own. Right now he really likes Barkley's School for Dogs, MTH and the Spiderwick Chronicles.

One thing I noticed that helped him transition into silent reading was just reading with him a lot first. So we would curl up and take turns reading to each other. I have assigned reading time, so he must read whether we read together or he reads silently, but I am finding that he is starting to opt to read to himself. Another thing I have tried is to break up the time into smaller chunks so he is only reading a chapter or two at a time, 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes later in the day or evening.

I hope this helps!
Amy

[Mogster]

I have/had a son very much the same. He was adamant about not being "a reader" when he was 6. He wanted nothing to do with reading. We started doing read alouds every night from books such as James and the Giant Peach, Danny Champion of the World, Harry Potter, and countless others. Dad did the reading and he and his sister just sat back and listened. We also did about 20 minutes of oral reading 4 days per week (working up to about 40 minutes). He read to me while I helped him along. I tried to choose books he would find interesting. Some of his earlier favorites included:the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel, Henry and Mudge books, The Boxcar Children, all of the Flat Stanley books, Magic School Bus chapter books, Classic Start books (White Fang was his favorite), and the Warrior books by Erin Hunter. I tried to have him do about 5-10 minutes of oral reading from a book below his reading level to increase fluency. The rest of the time was devoted to books that were more challenging. Slowly but surely, he is becoming what he said he would not...A READER! Fast forward to the present -- now, after our lessons, he will continue to read through break time, he brings a book to read at his sister's basketball games, and he even reads in the car! He gets excited about what he is reading and wants to share it with everyone. He and his sister have even formed theor own book club. It is all about persistance and making reading as fun and stress free as possible. And hitting these boards for advice always helps. I know I could not have accomplished what I have if not for the amazing moms on this board. Good luck!