Parent Power!
Helping You Make Sense of Schooling Today

1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 204
Washington, DC 20036
1-202-822-9000 1-800-521-2118

parentpower@edreform.com
www.edreform.com

Published by
The Center for Education Reform
Jeanne Allen, President

To share a unique experience as a parent educating your child or comment about this newsletter, please contact Parent Power by phone or email.

What’s Your Child Reading?

If you were handed a summer reading list at the end of school last year, you were probably relieved to have a guide and some support in encouraging Susan to read this summer.   Most parents know how challenging it can be to beat the peer pressure over television, movies and video games.  But are the books the school – or even the library – recommended the best picks for your child?

        A glance at some summer reading lists sent red flags up among some parents we talked to.  First, there was the issue of whether the books were well-suited to the child’s reading level.  One second-grade reading list recommended single theme picture books for these seven and eight year-olds, rather than the more appropriate chapter books that many of them can handle.  Then there’s the issue of content.  A fifth-grade mother was shocked to find her local library recommending the book Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade, a story about girls who taunt each other, dislike school and have a miserable year.  Why introduce such negative thoughts to children whose eyes are still bright and hopeful about their school experiences?

        But for every book that might be unfulfilling or filled with negative messages, there are thousands that would challenge, excite and help build a lifetime love of reading for even the most reluctant child.  Many parents are happy to see their child reading and do not bother too much with the specifics. Like us, though, children want to like what they’re reading, and contrary to popular belief, they do not need material dumbed-down to suit their current interest.  Works like Treasure Island, Gulliver’s Travels, Little Women, Sherlock Holmes, Robinson Crusoe and Huckleberry Finn have fascinated children for generations.  While the language in some of these books might challenge the average fifth- or sixth-grader, good abridged editions are available.

        Parents of ten-year-olds might consider one of the seven Chronicles of Narnia, that transport children to another land to solve mysteries, build friendships, and learn of good and bad.  Parents can and should make substitutions or supplement traditional reading lists.

        Your choice of books must also be based on the appropriate reading level for your child.  Children given books below their reading level are just as turned off to reading as those who get overwhelmed by far too difficult reading material. If much of the language is over your child’s head and the chapters are longer than her attention span, your child is going to gain little from reading it.  Books for younger children often have suggested ages on their covers to help parents choose appropriate books.  Most bookstores arrange books by reading level, too.  While this may provide some guidance, those levels are often based on artificial averages.  Just because your child is eight years old, does not necessarily mean that she reads at the second-grade level. 

        A better way to determine if the book is appropriate for your child is to have her read the first page from the book aloud.  How many unknown words does she encounter?  If she encounters five or more words she cannot read without difficulty, the book is over her head right now.  On the other hand, if she flies through the passage and understands everything, she is ready for a greater challenge.

        You don’t have to navigate the rows and rows of bookstores and libraries alone.  There are organizations like the Great Books Foundation which offers excellent recommendations for younger children in its Junior Great Books series.  For high-schoolers, look at Introduction to Great Books.  You can check out the Great Books website at www.greatbooks.org.

        Another place to look for good reading material is a book entitled Books to Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource for Parents and Teachers.  This easy to use reference recommends great pieces of literature, good readings about history and geography, visual arts, music, science and mathematics, all indexed by grade.  If you inspire your child now to books that last a lifetime, your child will be always be drawn toward reading.