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Advice/this might be dumb

HopeforthebestHopeforthebest member
in Blended Families

Ok ladies. Please tell me your thoughts.

We are doing a lot of reading over our Summer with the SKs. SS has been having additional help this past school year with reading, so we are trying to continue that.

I looked up books for his age group and honestly, other than a couple of them, they seem a lot more mature than he is.

Anyhow, sorry this might sound dumb...but how do you help a child mature? Not sure what exactly what I'm asking.

Maybe it is more important to help him learn a love of reading. He has to spend so much time and effort with reading the words I think he is missing some of the comprehension part and therefore not really "getting into" the story.

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Re: Advice/this might be dumb

  • SigirSigir member
    I don't think it is about maturity, its reading comprehension (at least that is what it sounds like to me.). If he can't comprehend it, he won't enjoy it.... I say step him down a level as a trial, and see if a lower level book works better for him. There is nothing wrong with that! I had to step my dd down a level, and you could see that it was the best for her.
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  • Mrs.H.Mrs.H.
    I think Sigir has the right idea. If he has to struggle to read he is NOT going to enjoy it. 
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  • fellesferiefellesferie member
    Picking books by grade level is kind of a tricky proposition. How old is he? Maybe we can give you some ideas?

    DS's principal told me that I should count how many words DS struggles with on a page. You want the child to know 95% of the words on the page, and anything less than that is going to cause the kiddo to get frustrated. Once he's frustrated, it's game over. 

    There are lots of articles on the internet about how to try to get boys to love reading. 

    I take my kids to the local used bookstore and essentially tell them to get anything they want. I've never spent more than $35, and we leave with more books than they can carry. 

    Another thing that has worked well with DS is that if the book interests him but it's a little too hard, we trade off reading pages. His principal likes this because he a) gets the confidence that he can handle the book, b) listens to a fluent reader reading aloud, and c) going every-other-page gives his brain a chance to rest and wards off frustration. 

    All that said, DS does not like reading at home. He would rather clean toilets with a toothbrush. 
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    Erin's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)
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  • HopeforthebestHopeforthebest member

    He is almost 9 and going into 4th grade.

    We went to the library this weekend and I picked a lot of books for him, because he was picking baby books. I let him get some of the ones he picked but brought home some of the ones I picked too.

    I got the Diary of Wimpy Kid books, and some others that I had seen on the Barnes and Noble list of age suggested titles.

    We JUST started doing like you suggested with trading off pages and I noticed he was a little more excited the next time to read after trying that.

    He IS a less mature child. I don't want to enable that but I DO think he needs to feel confident. It is definitely a tricky balance.

    Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

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  • 2chatter2chatter member

    I let DD read whatever she wants over the summer.  She's reading above grade level, but at this age, the books take a really sharp dive into "more mature" material, IMO.  When you get beyond Dork Diaries type books the material IS more mature, and it's not something I am on board with.  So I asked a friend who is an LPC who works with development issues in children (for three local counties, she's kind of a big deal).  She said let DD read whatever she wants as far as level goes, that it's reading that is valuable, not progression in the way we think about it.  When DD gets more comfortable reading at HER level, she will gradually move onto more advanced books.  I was skeptical.  So I let her read these Fairy books that were great in second grade (other than the fact that they are brain numbingly redundant), not so great beyond that.  She actually read like 10 of them, tired of them, and moved on to Dork Diaries and Dear America books.

    Which, leads me to what might be my point.  The Dear America books might be right on target for your SS; they are OK for fourth grade, too IMO...  Also, all the boys in DD's class read the series with the owl - it's a movie - I cannot remember the name....ah, Guardians.  You might try those?  He might have to read material a year or so behind until he tires of it.  It worked here.

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  • fellesferiefellesferie member
    Scholastic's website is pretty good for decoding reading level information. Here's the Diary of a Wimpy Kid link: https://www.scholastic.com/browse/book.jsp?id=1208600

    DS's school uses guided reading levels. He's 8 and starting 3rd grade next week. Right now he's reading at an "M" level and DoaWK is an "S" level. Right now he's reading A to Z Mystery books (https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/absent-author). 

    A couple more ideas:

    You could also try nonfiction. DS can sometimes get into nonfic in a subject that interests him. I've also read that sometimes boys can get into reading books that teach them how to do something.
    my read shelf:
    Erin's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)
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  • CurlieWhirlieCurlieWhirlie member
    I totally second Captain Underpants! We have three boys in the house, 4, 7 and 9, and they all love those books. The 4 year-old is obviously not reading yet, but loves the story and toilet humor. The 7 year-old just finished first grade and has been having a really hard time with reading, so a lot of work has been done on that. The 9 year-old is an advanced reader and going into 5th grade, but he still loves Captain Underpants, Dear Dumb Diary, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the latest one he's gotten into is one of my favorites from childhood, Indian in the Cupboard.
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  • Banana44Banana44 member
    My SS is 10 - going into 4th grade and hated reading.  Last summer I noticed that he was not comprehending the books he picked (I read the books he reads so we can talk about them).

    I got him into Judy Bloom last summer and he flew through the books.  He loved loved Freckle Juice (read it in a day!) and the Fudge books and tales of a 4th grade nothing.  It made him enjoy reading!
    He also reads all the Wimpy kids.  We started the Box Car series last summer and he still loves those!
    I found that once I got him books that were his reading level we enjoyed reading much more.

    Also - I bought him Stranded a few months ago.  It was written by the guy who hosts Survivor (I can't remember his name).  Its about step-siblings getting stranded on an island.  My son finished that in 2 days.

    Last suggestion - my son also like Ripley Believe it or Not books.  Light short stories that are sometimes gory!  He loves it.  He likes to read them to me to gross me out and I always play it up.  Any reading is good reading - doesn't have to be a story!
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  • Littlejen22Littlejen22 member
    If he does not like the book it will be like you are torturing him. And one thing I have experienced is that just because everyone else likes the book does not mean my kid will. Do you know his lexile level or another level? He should be reading books below his level at home, so if his lexile went up to 600 he should be reading a book 400 or lower. Hoe far behind is he in reading? Also, when you say something is a baby book what do you mean? If he is struggling then get him to enjoy easier books. Easier books repeat words that he needs to know in order to understand harder words. If he struggles then go easier. And when you said he is not mature are you worrying that the content of the recommended books is beyond his interest or that he cannot understand it or that he is not able to read it?
    Jen - Mom to two December 12 babies Nathaniel 12/12/06 and Addison 12/12/08
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  • Littlejen22Littlejen22 member
    One more thing, if he is struggling then don't do any books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid that misspell words on purpose because it does not help.
    Jen - Mom to two December 12 babies Nathaniel 12/12/06 and Addison 12/12/08
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  • HopeforthebestHopeforthebest member

    image This is one of the books he picked out. I'm not sure of his lexile level. I know it was bad enough the school put him on an intervention program for reading where he got extra help before school a few times a week and during class would leave to go to the reading tutor.

    As far as the maturity, I'm worried about both that he is not interested in the content AND that he will not understand it.

    I did not realize the Diary of WK had misspelled words. We are about 20 pages in and I hadn't seen that yet; at least in this particular one. Thanks for the heads up.

    I know he has read some of the Underpants ones in school. I will have to do a better job of using the resources you guys suggested here and reading ahead before he gets his hands on it to check things out.

    Thank you all for all the input. It has been very helpful. I've been browsing all day (between working) and these are fantastic suggestions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

     

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  • 2chatter2chatter member
    Have him read several of those books.  DD's reading really jumped way ahead when I let her take the lead on what she read.  She read books like that to her sister for a while and it DOES count for "summer reading" type programs.  Reading is reading is reading....he will build the skill reading those books too, and that will pave the way for the chapter books you are reading together to be read independently.  Just my opinion, I have no formal qualifications!
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  • BakerMommyBakerMommy member
    I used to teach fourth grade. Some of my immature, lower reader boys really enjoyed A-Z Mysteries and Magic Treehouse. Plus, if you can get him hooked on a series, it's pretty easy to find new books for a while.

    I second the recommendation to look on Scholastic's website for reading levels. However, don't go by what they say is "grade level". It's rather arbitrary, and what a fourth-grader is reading in one district could be different than what one is reading in another. Find a book he can read and understand well, and look up what level it is. Then you might want to go one below just to be sure.

    Also, I would teach my kids the five finger rule. Have him open a book go to a random page, and start reading. He puts a finger down every time he sees a word he doesn't know or can't read. If all five fingers are down at the end of the page, the book is too hard.

    Books on CD can be great for fluency. Have him listen to the book and follow along in his copy. Our local library has lots of books on CD that come in bags with a copy of the book.
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