I have a question for ya'll. I am new here and have been dying to find out what you use for reading for a 6th grader student? In fact, it could also be for any middle school age student, 6th to 8th grade. I purchased Bob Jones reading for him but it is kind of dry. He reads a book every few weeks, and I require him to do different kinds of activities to go with the book. I feel like that is enough at this age, but the former public school teacher in me won't let it go:roll:. Please, help!
We do the same as you - they read books that I set for them, and study them, write about them etc. I don't use a 'reading' curriculum as such. My 2 are 6th grade & 7th grade. So far this year (meaning since January), we have studied the Indian in the cupboard trilogy, Cinderella stories from around the world, the Secret garden, Charlottes web, the deltora quest series & an author study on Paul Jennings. ATM they are working on Bridge to Terebithia & The Spiderwick chronicles. I reckon just vanquish that PS teacher and relax!
My daughter is reading books from her Sonlight Core. We're finishing Core 3 and starting Core 4 soon. She also reads books from the library. You might look at Sonlight.com and look at the many wonderful books they use for their history cores. You don't have to buy them from them. Many are award winners and available through your library system or interlibrary loan. My 3rd grader is using BJU Reading 4 this year (last year we just read random books). BJU works well for her because she's just not a lover of books (yet) so it's helping make sure she is progressing forward. If you child likes to read, I'd keep that going with "real books" versus "excerpts". Or read the excerpts and ones that really grab him, get the entire book.
I recommend the classics! Treasure Island Huck Finn Tom Sawyer The Prince and The Pauper Oliver Twist The Story of King Arthor Where the Red Fern Grows Old Yeller Swiss Family Robinson Gentle Ben Robinson Crusoe The Jungle Book Those are a few I thought of for boys. My girls love the classics!
This is our first year for literature (6th grade as well) because we've been doing Pathway reders since kindergarten. So far he's read: Short stories to learn about the elements of a story. This included The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson. The Man in the Ceiling, by Jules Feiffer. It is about a boy who wants to be an artist. (My son wants to be an artist!). I had him do this one so he could get used to reading longer novels. We just finished The Call of the Wild and are in the process of writing a paper on it. Next is Where the Red Fern Grows, then Big Red, then I am the Cheese. I am the Cheese will definately be the most challenging. I look for elements that will hold his interest. Seriously, I can't imagine making him read Treasure Island or the Three Muskateers because when I read those as a kid I was bored to tears. I don't like outdated language very mush, so 1900 is just about my limit for what I will read myself. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn we can handle I think (thought he language thing again...it bothers me to no end), but I make my literature choices based on what he will like first and foremost. And he does like some of the modern classics like Lord of the Flies (His sister read that and then got the movie, so he's watched the movie) and To Kill a Mockingbird, again from his older sister's schooling. But I just feel that it is hard for me to justify him reading a dry, boring book when there are so many that will engage him instead. We do audiobooks with our reading if they are available and if there is a good movie about the book, we watch that too. Literature, for us at least, isn't just about reading anymore. It's about stories that mean something and for me that includes film.
We try to combine our reading with history. Thus it helps to bring more meaning to the literature and livens up the drier history. We are currently reading "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" about Puritian life in New England. Next we will be reading "Johnny Tremain" written with the start of the Revolutionary War as the back drop.
I guess it just all depends on what constitutes dry and boring to each of us. We love the classics at our house and do not find them dry or boring in the least. We love the rich literary language. That is why I recommended them but of course each of us will have our preferences. Aurie The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a great book! We read that one a few years ago. This summer we read Miracles on Maple Hill which was also really good.
We are fortunate to have a Tween Book Club for homeschoolers. I use that as literature for my ds12. The drawback is that the books are a little below ds's reading level (The Indian Captive and Charlotte's Web so far this year) and the teacher will not let them move up to the teen club until they are 13. He loves to read, so I just assign extra books for him to read. DD9 is in the Club, too, but we do it as a read-aloud, since reading is a struggle for her. She also does Beyond FIAR at home, so she gets in more reading. We've done The Boxcar Children and are working on Thomas Alva Edison, Young Inventor. I guess those would be considered twaddle for the strict CM approach? I need to assign Where the Red Fern Grows for ds. That is such a great book!
Wow, what great ideas. As I read through each of your responses I was amazed at how I have used each of your ideas at different times. I have always used Sonlight as a guide line for making my booklist each year. I even use it for my dd (6). I offer ds choices that include almost all the books mentioned by MonkeyMomma and ColoradoMom. I too have to offer books that are written using modern language, however we have enjoyed classics too. Last year we read Johnny Tremain and loved it. I agree with rmxc5 that you can use the curriculum, just pic and choose what interests you. I have begun doing that and I think it works for my ds. BJ Reading 6 has an version of The Jungle Book that worked out perfect to go along with our SOTW. I am planning a unit on the Civil War in the spring and our reading will include Across Five Aprils and The Red Badge of Courage. I also plan on adding biographies of famous people. So thank you all for reassuring me that I am on the right track. I second guess myself so much I need another opinion to settle me down. And I agree with AussieMum, the ps teacher part of me needs to chill.
Tiffany, I love your list!!! I do so want to do "Where The Red Fern Grows" this year! (I actually took it away from Faythe, because I wanted her to wait for me, lol!) I wouldn't do "The Three Musketeers", and I can't imagine "To Kill a Mockingbird" for 6th grade, but that's just me. "Around the World in 80 Days" was a much better read than I thought it would be. We've also done "Rascal", "Black Beauty", and "The Secret Garden", plus a good many already mentioned. You might want to check into a Progeny Press guide or Total Language Plus.
My DD isn't in 6th grade yet (but she has read many of the books on the list), so I may be off in my estimates but in terms of similar books to those mentioned - I didn't see the "Childhood of Young Americans" series mentioned. These run the gauntlet from historical (Washington, Lincoln, Barton) to political (JFK) to sports (Babe Ruth), and seem to be very engaging but, like I said, she is younger so there could be differences. There are several books about "true dog/horse/dolphin" stories for the animal lover; these are longer books but shorter stories or parts of stories that may draw your child into the actual book. (I didn't see "My Friend Flicka" or the Black Stallion books, either.) Some of the "dryer" books, you might consider as read-aloud. We just finished Peter Pan, which may be a little "too" young in subject, but maybe not. I have a "Best Books for Kids Who Hate Reading" sitting here, and flipping through, a few that stood out as "good" (ie not "icing") IMO were: The Whipping Boy, Little House on the Prarie Books, Roald Dahl books (hmm, maybe a little icing there, but I think they have some good points, too), On My Honor, The Kid Who Only Hit Homers (I haven't read but looks like it has some good messages), Tuck Everlasting, Because of Winn-Dixie, Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, the Incredible Journey, Pippi Longstocking, The Borrowers, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (again, maybe a little icing), the "My Name is America" series (historical fiction), the Chronicles of Narnia, Ella Enchanted, The Princess Academy (or any other book by Shannon Hale [I haven't read her other YA books, but this one has some awesome strong-girl/woman lessons]), If You Lived at the Time of...books, The Phantom Tollbooth, Holes, Julie of the Wolves (note: there is a rape scene that gave me nightmares when I read this as a kid, so read with that warning), Hatchet, The Cay, Jacob Have I Loved, Abel's Island, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boys War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War, Martian Fossils on Earth? The Story of Meteorite ALH 84001, Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor, Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter, Harriet the Spy, The Outsiders (contains violence and death, but always one of my favs), Ghost Liners: Exploring the Worlds Lost Ships. Hope that helps, LOL. SG
I am no help here, but we started Robinson Crusoe. I've never read it before and DS wanted me to read it with him. There is a period about every paragraph or so. It's almost like he said "oh! I haven't used one in a while. I might as well end the paragraph with one!" LOL! I love classics, but am having a difficult time with this one.
I post our yearly reading lists on my website (the familyd.50megs.com site) if you want to look. I have our lists for both 6th and 7th grade. Then we used study guides either with our lesson plans, free from online (Glencoe has a great selection of online study guides for lit) or pruchased from rainbow resource. But we only use the guides with 4-5 books a year. Then we do 1-2 book reports a year, and the rest are fun reading that we just talk about. best of luck!
Scottiegazelle your list was quite impressive. I many of your books are on my list too. I have to say my ds is a reluctant reader. Jen, I agree Crusoe is hard to read. I don't think we will take that one on this year. Gwenny99, I am going to check out your site. Like you I use literature guides with some of our books, others we just read. I am feeling empowered to set that BJ Reading text on the shelf.
Hi, Bella! You may be aware that there is a lot of research on boys and reading, and they can definitely be tough! Of course, you don't research to tell you that. One strategy that the experts recommend is offering your child a variety of reading materials in the home (these comments aren't even ABOUT homeschooling families, so it's interesting to me that they specifically say "in the home"!) So, fiction, non-fiction, magazines, comic books, joke books, whatever, and also include online reading material you've checked out and approved. There are some good sites with stories and worksheets, and for this generation, the computer is often less intimidating than sitting down to a book. I guess this approach is the same as saying, "We have broccoli, carrots, and green beans tonight. Which two do you want?" They are choosing, but you have pre-selected the choices! Also, does your son see other guys reading in the home? Hope that helps! Jennifer
We don't have a set reading plan. My oldest (in 6th) is an avid reader, and goes through 5-6 books a week at times. (And I'm talking about 300+ page books, often 1000+) She also loves historical fiction. So I pretty much give her free reign in reading. I'm going to require that she reads some Shakespeare, some Greek mythology and some classics at some point, but I doubt I'll have much trouble getting her to read them. My trouble is just keeping her in books The other two younger ones are a little harder, and I see that I'll have to push them towards some meatier reading soon. My biggest trouble is expecting too much from them. I forget they aren't as advanced in reading as my oldest was. (She read the entire Harry Potter series when she was 7)
Actually no, my hubby doesn't read a book hardly ever. He reads magazines. I am the avid reader. I do offer my ds a lot of choices, our home is full of books. I have found that if I really love a book he tends to get interested in it. I don't stress the quality as long as he is reading something. He just really doesn't like the Bob Jones reading curriculum I bought, that much is clear.
April, I envy you. I am like your daughter. I love to read. I have a hard time understand anyone who doesn't love to read. My ds likes it okay, but it isn't his favorite hobby.
