Hit a wall!

[3sweeties]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone else has had a problem with their child hitting a wall with reading and refusing to try more challenging/longer books? My DS 7.5 went through a time period where he would read anything he could get his hands on (I would say he is able to read at a 3rd/4th grade level). I have never pushed him with reading, he has just done it on his own. The problem is, he will only read books now that are really too easy for him. He finishes them in about 45 min.-1 hour at the most. They are usually no longer than 100 pages. He has read longer chapter books in the past, but now he seems to have no interest. Should I just not worry about this and let him work it out in his own time? We are doing DITHOR 2/3 (level 2 books) this year for school. Will that help him gain confidence and challenge him a little bit in this area? Just wanted some input! Thanks so much!

[Daisy]

My children do this. It is just cyclical. It gives them a chance to take a break from the challenge and shore up fluency skills. My daughter is going into 5th grade and read huge 500 page books at the beginning of this summer. She devoured them. Now in the dog days of summer she just wants to read American Girl quizzes. I'm not worried about it. My 7yo son reads at 3/4th grade level but still wants to laugh at his AtoZ Mysteries.

We all want an "easy" read every now and then.

When school starts back, the rule in my house is that you must read books on your reading level for Pizza Hut Book-It credit (they are currently registering for that if you haven't signed up). You can read all the fluff books you want but they don't count. I usually see a shift back towards reading-level books at that point.

[3sweeties]

Thanks so much, Daisy! That does make me feel better about it! Great idea to have a goal for the Book-It program. I will register for that today.

My DS LOVES A to Z mysteries!!! I think he wishes there were more letters in the alphabet so he could read more of them!

[Sheila in OK]

Yes, I agree this is very common. Both of my dc have gone through stages where it seems like their reading level is not improving at all, then suddenly it takes a giant leap forward. I have a similar policy as Daisy--for the summer reading program, they have to read books at their current level of ability to get credit. Other than that, they can read whatever else they want. For example, my 11yo dd still picks up a Boxcar Children book occasionally even though her reading level is way beyond that. Not all reading has to be overly challenging!