I Read a Great Story

As a reading teacher, I get tongue tied when a parent asks me what books do you suggest for me to get my son/daughter to read.  The tongue tied part comes from my brain when it processes the bit of information that a child does not like to read.

It should not surprise me in today's world where instant gratification is there at the click of a button.  We are all guilty of playing games and having fun on the computer.  There is nothing wrong with it, that is just where our world is heading.  However, we have to try to find a happy medium. I saw a little bit of that compromise on a commercial for Kindle, where the parent puts a timer on and it shuts down the child's play after so long, then the next scene is showing the kid playing outside.  I do wish that the content on the Kindle was a book and not a game. But, that is just me.

Back to the question at hand.  What would I suggest for a child to read?  It all depends on what the child likes to begin with, and I would start there.  In class, I would survey the child about their interests with a reading survey.  If it is just a quick snap shot, or an in depth survey depends on the what the parent is asking for.  A quick inventory is what I would use first. 

1. What do you like to do outside of school?
2. What do you like to learn about?
3. Where do you get the information for the things you like to learn about?
4. What is your favorite school subject and why?
5. What would you like to learn more about this school year?
6. What do you want to be when you grow up?
7. What kind of things do you like to read?
8. If you were going to start a movie/tv club, what kind of movies/shows would your club watch?
9. Where is your favorite place to read at home? At school?
   Complete these sentences:
10. The best book I’ve read is _________________________________________.
11. The best book someone read to me is __________________________________.
12. When I hear the work reading I think of ________________________________.
13. Tell me three words that describe what reading feels like.

__________________  _____________________  ____________________

1. Please circle the topics below that sound interesting to you.

Animals                       Sports              Funny stories               Science            Fairy tales        Historical stories      People your age           Poetry              History            Math                Famous People            Mysteries      Health             Adventure Stories       Music              Fantasy            World Cultures           Scary Stories         Cooking          Art

This survey can be found in a variety of websites, and it is just a quick look at what the interests of the child are, so one can provide a few choices of books to give to the child.  A hint to those that may try this, do not give more than three choices at a time, to many choices make it a daunting task, especially to those that are reluctant to read.