reading help

[jwright]

Jason is 8 yrs. old and in 2nd grade. He was reading before kindergarten and loved books and reading. Now, he doesn't like to read and will skip over words. I think it is affecting his grades too because he has to read a short story and then answer 3 questions about it and he gets most of the questions wrong. Any ideas on how to get him interested in reading again? He complains that he can't read the book - he can read anything. I wonder if it has something to do with all the book reports he's had to do this school year (doesn't like them either). I have a hard time getting him to read the book before doing the report, usually he will just flip through the book to find the answers (and not read the entire book).

Janell

[AmyB]

Maybe the books just don't interest him. Does he get to pick the book or does the teacher just send something home for him to read?

[~Tara~]

Ugh.

Yeah. Um.

If he doesn't have a choice in the books he reads, that can make a huge difference. At this age it should be about fostering a love of reading, more so than 'read this this and this for credit' And the book reports would turn anybody off. I don't think many book reports should be assigned at that age.

But, see, I home school and have a choice/say in the matter.

The only thing I can think of is allow him to read more "fun" things in his free time and don't expect ANYthing from it. No reports. Nothing. Just ask if he enjoyed that book. And what he would like to read next.

Reading is a fact of life. Ya gotta learn to read. Sometimes you have to read things you don't necessarily care to. But in 2nd grade!?! Come on! They should be encuoraged to read for fun, not making a huge project out of each and every thing they read. Eww that would turn me off FAST and I couldn't imagine doing that to my kids, who also learned to read well early and LOVE their books. If I had them write a report after every (or even every third) book they read, oh my goodness, I can only imagine how much LESS reading they'd be doing.

Sorry I'm of no help...I just continued ranting for you

[RhysMom]

I have a question...do you and your DH do a lot of reading? I am almost always seen with a book in my hand. If I have a doctor's appointment or just don't know what kind of extra time I will have on my hands. Rhyanne always sees me reading and as such she loves to "be like mommy."

I agree with others who said to make sure he has a chance to read books he enjoys.

Sara

[jwright]

For the most part, he can choose the book. There have been times though where he has to read a nonfiction book or one about an animal, etc. I think he is struggling with moving from younger kid books up to books that are more age appropriate for 2nd grade - instead of Clifford books, it's simple chapter books. Guess he misses all the colorful pictures but even then he sees all the words and thinks its too much and that he can't read it. He can read anything, just too lazy to do it (I think).

DH and I are big readers, we love to read. We also read one book to each of the boys at bedtime although we try to get Jason to read to us at that time. Sometimes we have to take turns reading pages - he'll read a page then I will, then his turn again. Whatever works, right?

Janell

[danou]

I don't have a huge amount of advice to offer... but he may be finding the transition into more complex stories difficult in that he may need to rely on strategies he's never used before ie: fewer pics to support comprehension... therefore he's having to work a little bit harder. If reading has always come easy for him, he may a bit perplexed as to why he has to work on it. Also, was he reading for comprehension previously? I have observed, as a teacher, that in grade two many kids who have wonderful fluency in reading don't always have matching comprehension skills.