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RE: Trying to define "reluctant readers"
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From: Donna German <donnagerman_at_sylvandellpublishing.com>
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:17:14 -0500
I would have defined my eldest daughter as a reluctant reader when she was in elementary school. She would read what SHE wanted to read but simply refused to read books she didn't want to. When she started fourth grade, sh e came home with a list of books that she had to read throughout the year for Battle of the Books. I just knew that she would not want to read some of th e titles so I sat her down and discussed that this was a school assignment an d she had to read the books whether she thought she would like them or not. I confess that I suggested something that some of you might find horrifying...I told her that we would get the book AND the book on tape (yes, before CDs) and that I would sign that she had read the book if she read it as she listened to it. She did so for the first 2 or 3 books and then "announced" to me that she didn't need the tapes anymore. She started reading and then fell in love with Lurlene McDaniel books over the summer and became a voracious reader. It was as though she became an avid reader overnight (and still is). I have never figured this tape thing out and the Lurlene McDaniel books wouldn't have been something that I would have selected but it sure grabbed her attention. In some ways I wonder if listening to the tapes gave her a confidence she lacked or helped increase her speed/sounding out words. I'll never know. She is now a middle school math teacher in Texas.
My middle daughter would read anything and everything (and still does). I'v e often wondered if her sisters were "reluctant readers" because they felt intimidated by her reading...if that makes any sense.
However, I tried this same reading/tape technique on my youngest daughter and it didn't work. As a young child, the only thing she would read for fun was non-fiction (mostly about marine animals). That pretty much holds true for her today (she's in college now).
What works for one child, won't necessarily work for another.
Donna German Editor
Sylvan Dell Publishing 612 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite A2 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 843-971-6722 (off), 877-243-3457 (toll free), 843-216-3804 (fax) Science and Math through Literature
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From: Meghan McCarthy
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 2:14 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
But what is better? A kid who reads SOMETHING or a kid who reads nothing at all? Because sometimes that's the choice you have. If you read what I went through with my attention difficulties - I actually developed a tick due to the stress of trying to keep up with the rest of the class. You can't FORCE reading. All you will end up with is an adult who wants nothing to do with literature at all.
meghan
_____
From: Claudia Pearson To: Meghan McCarthy ; "Boagjohns_at_aol.com" ; gmkruse@wisc.edu; ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: Fri, February 4, 2011 2:00:20 PM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers" I am somewhat opposed to the whole idea of finding books a "reluctant reader" is willing to read. Reading is not supposed to be just about what a kid already knows, but about expanding horizons.
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:17:14 -0500
I would have defined my eldest daughter as a reluctant reader when she was in elementary school. She would read what SHE wanted to read but simply refused to read books she didn't want to. When she started fourth grade, sh e came home with a list of books that she had to read throughout the year for Battle of the Books. I just knew that she would not want to read some of th e titles so I sat her down and discussed that this was a school assignment an d she had to read the books whether she thought she would like them or not. I confess that I suggested something that some of you might find horrifying...I told her that we would get the book AND the book on tape (yes, before CDs) and that I would sign that she had read the book if she read it as she listened to it. She did so for the first 2 or 3 books and then "announced" to me that she didn't need the tapes anymore. She started reading and then fell in love with Lurlene McDaniel books over the summer and became a voracious reader. It was as though she became an avid reader overnight (and still is). I have never figured this tape thing out and the Lurlene McDaniel books wouldn't have been something that I would have selected but it sure grabbed her attention. In some ways I wonder if listening to the tapes gave her a confidence she lacked or helped increase her speed/sounding out words. I'll never know. She is now a middle school math teacher in Texas.
My middle daughter would read anything and everything (and still does). I'v e often wondered if her sisters were "reluctant readers" because they felt intimidated by her reading...if that makes any sense.
However, I tried this same reading/tape technique on my youngest daughter and it didn't work. As a young child, the only thing she would read for fun was non-fiction (mostly about marine animals). That pretty much holds true for her today (she's in college now).
What works for one child, won't necessarily work for another.
Donna German Editor
Sylvan Dell Publishing 612 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite A2 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 843-971-6722 (off), 877-243-3457 (toll free), 843-216-3804 (fax) Science and Math through Literature
eBookSiteLIcenseTestDrive-Blue-SD Faceboo k Twitter
From: Meghan McCarthy
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 2:14 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
But what is better? A kid who reads SOMETHING or a kid who reads nothing at all? Because sometimes that's the choice you have. If you read what I went through with my attention difficulties - I actually developed a tick due to the stress of trying to keep up with the rest of the class. You can't FORCE reading. All you will end up with is an adult who wants nothing to do with literature at all.
meghan
_____
From: Claudia Pearson To: Meghan McCarthy ; "Boagjohns_at_aol.com" ; gmkruse@wisc.edu; ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: Fri, February 4, 2011 2:00:20 PM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers" I am somewhat opposed to the whole idea of finding books a "reluctant reader" is willing to read. Reading is not supposed to be just about what a kid already knows, but about expanding horizons.
---Received on Fri 04 Feb 2011 03:17:14 PM CST
