It's never good to compare kids, especially siblings. As a mother, I do it, and I catch myself doing it, and I make excuses that it's just human nature to do it. But of course it's not right. I know because in parent teacher conferences, I have heard, "Now I know it's not right to compare him to his brother, but...[Insert euphemistically veiled negative comment here]."
My firstborn is a reader. I worked hard to make it that way, and it's not easy. He will devour books. This doesn't mean it's not a challenge to get him to value quiet time for reading outside of bedtime. This week on spring break he hasn't been reading very much. Some picture books here and there, or a read aloud chapter each night. But eventually he will close the door to his room and devour a book in one or two sittings.
My second appreciates rich illustrations, and that's what gets him interested. Some of his favorite books of all time are narratives told primarily in pictures. He's a slow reader. He stops and asks a lot of questions. Sometimes, he bird walks. All of this is evidence of his passions and curiosities, but it makes it tough to finish a book at times. This year, he started to latch on to the Magic Treehouse series, and I could see that it gave him confidence. There were certain patterns and routines he knew were in place. His fluency and expression improved notably. There was a little problem: that series bored me after the first few books (sorry!). I also felt in my gut that even though this was a series my child could read, it wasn't one he loved.
So I reached out to my PLN. In one Voxer group, I explained my son's situation and described his personality, then received abundant recommendations, one of which was the Mr. Pants Series, which he's reading here.
Yes, he has sat for a while with books before, but not like this. Here, he's lying on the couch reading this book after his bedtime, after a day spend mostly outside playing with friends. He's physically exhausted, but when he found out that Mr. Pants #2 had come in at the library, he forced himself to stay awake. Of course, I love to see this, but I also worry about what he can read next! All suggestions welcome.
Kids' reading preferences are constantly changing, because kids are constantly changing. The titles I recommend may be perfect -- or not. With my own child, it took a lot of time, dedication, patience and (dare I say) grit.
And that's with one child. My child.
So, what of the 110 students I have in my five sections of high school English? How do I not get discouraged when I recommend titles I know they would love if they would just abandon the one they just like? The titles that are perhaps geographically desirable on a bookshelf at home but not really, truly their books?
Conferring with my students about abandoning a book is like dancing the cha-cha. In fact, it's like the actual steps of the Cha-Cha. One, two, cha-cha-cha.
One: assess how it's going with the book they have.
Two: challenge them to change their thinking and take a chance on a new title.
Challenge, change and chance: What every kid, no matter the age, needs to get to the books they'll love.
One, two, cha-cha-cha!
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