When first meeting "J" I was a little worried about his reading level because he walked in with "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", a book that I knew was below a 4th grade level. However, I also feel that if a student desires a certain genre of book and it doesn't fit their level, then so be it because it is more important to get that student to develop the love to read. Yet, when speaking with "J", he told me just that: that he doesn't really like to read except for this book, which he has read over and over. He said that his mom has tried to get him to read the Percy Jackson series but that he didn't like it. We spoke some more and I began to mention other books that I knew were similar to Wimpy Kid, like the "Dork Diaries".
Our next meeting he was excited to tell me that he had placed a library hold on the "Dork Diaries", I was happy to hear that he was venturing on, but soon realized when I heard him read that this boy needed to be in a far more higher level. He read fast and at the end, looked at me with a smile and said, "Did I miss anything" This boy knew that he was being timed and checked for errors, of which he made none. My partner said he did great but that her only advice was that he slow down at the end of sentences because he doesn't stop. She made the fabulous analogy that it was like running a stop sign and crashing into the next sentence.
During the week I felt bad that I had recommended such an easy book for him: "The Dork Diaries" so I went to the public library and used their website. If you click on the KIDS section you can put the name of a book, I used "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", then click BOOKS LIKE IT, then I clicked a higher reading level and out comes a list of the suggested books. I quickly printed this out and brought it to him for our next meeting. When I handed him the list, he glanced at it and them help up a Nancy Drew book, saying that he was reading this now. GREAT, I thought! However, I noticed the following week that he hadn't read very much in the book, so I'm not too sure how much he is loving it.
Overall, "J" is on a great path to becoming a reader. He needs to slow down a bit when reading a loud, but I think that he reads fast mostly because he knows he is being timed. Our goal is for him to expand his reading genres and to say, "I love to read!" At this time we will concentrate on EALR 3: 3.1. Read to learn new information, and 3.4. Read for literary experience in a variety of genres.
Firstly, I love your student’s analogy about running the light and crashing into the next sentence! That was brilliant!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I agree with your persistence in trying to encourage him to read other books. I will be borrowing your idea about printing out the library book list and showing it to the student. I think kids get overwhelmed sometimes with the thousands of book options. Hopefully this will encourage him to dive into the world of books.
I am particularly optimistic about your EALR 3:3.1-Reading to learn new information. I feel if he starts learning new and interesting information from books, it will get him to read other books besides “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” Speaking of this book, could his fascination with it be as a result of the movie that came out? Have you tried having him read a book that’s a higher reading level, but that also had a movie made after it? I know it may sound weird, but perhaps he likes those books because he can associate characters to it. Or, could he associate himself with one of the characters? For example, I asked my fourth grade buddy to choose one of the four books I took for one of our sessions. He chose “The Invisible Boy.” When I asked him why, he said he chose it because it’s about a boy, like him. Children are very visual. Have you asked him if his liking of those books is because of the movie?
I did a little research. Check out this link: http://www.kidsreads.com/features/books2movies.asp
It’s about books that have been turned into movies. There are a variety of levels to choose from. This can be turned into a lesson, like a book report, where he has to compare the two (book and movie). You can also look through a particular book and look for an exciting moment. Have him read this part aloud, giving you the opportunity to see if he’s running through periods, and inadvertently he may become interested in the book.
Great post! I think you have chosen great goals for your buddy, and you are targeting areas that are crucial for his learning.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteDo you know what your buddy likes to do? What are his hobbies? What kind of pets/sports/things is he interested in? Knowing his interests will help you find/recommend a book that he will enjoy reading. When he chooses a book, you can let him know that you'd like him to tell you about what he has read the following week, (because you're also interested in whatever topic he wants to read about) which might help him be motivated to stay with the book and also allow you to assess his comprehension skills when he gives you the summary. This way, your buddy will read nonfiction and meet the EALRs that you are trying to achieve (3.1 and 3.4).
I hope that he will soon begin to learn to love reading with you to guide him along!
What a great discussion! Book selection seems very important here. Another suggestion is to weave a reading comprehension strategy into the lesson, not because he has a deficit in that area, but because this may help him engage with the more difficult material. Asking questions or making inferences are examples.
ReplyDeleteThats such a great idea to help your student enjoy reading. I think that a student that likes to read will have more of a chance on improving as a reader.
ReplyDeleteEven at times for me I found it to be hard to step outside one genre that I like into one that I do like. If you are able to help him with this now, he will likely be able to have this help him for a long time.
How do you think you are going to get him to read books that he thinks that he won't like? Do you think he will trust you enough to crack open a book you suggest? How will he be able to find new genre of books once this is over?