Posted on 07/21/2010 9:39:17 AM PDT by Daveinyork
They are not the most well written books, but that is a seperate issue.
They are good stories (my opinion, of course) that managed to get kids to turn off the TV and read for leisure. Huge victory.
A few months ago he was out of books since we hadn't gone to the library that week. He dug out some of my old classics compilations and read the whole thing. The Lottery, The Time Machine, etc.
We just have to get that spark lit and feed it. The results can be great.
its not that its not “allowed,” a child can’t be forbidden to read a book. its just that reading it doesn’t count for credit, and can’t be used in a book report- and is not likely to be found in the school library.
Yep, some of the old classic literature has it all. Remember, Shakespeare was considered writing for the man of the streets when he was writing. It certainly wasn’t for the upper class. He had to compete for his play attendees with bear-baiting. And then there is Rabelais. He wrote with an earthy sense of humor too. He also criticized how education was done in his day, so there is nothing really new here, except perhaps the emphasis on educating women.
My son didn’t like Tom Sawyer.
His favorite book is “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card.
My son loved the Harry Potter series and Artemis Fowl series.
He isn’t reading as much now as he is in high school. He hasn’t found a type of book that engages him much. We’re trying to get him to read The Hunt for Red October. We think he’ll like Tom Clancy books.
(His reading level is very high, so we’re not too worried about him.)
Yes, the story line was well done, but Harry Potter wasn’t allowed in my house for my daughter.
How about the villain Native American Person Joe?
That’s a shame. We read both Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer in school.
We also read To Kill a Mockingbird, but I think Huck Finn is a much more powerful book.
Mockingbird is a bit more PC, I guess.
The Philosopher's Stone (dumbed down for American audiences to The Sorcerer's Stone) wasn't well written.
Rowling vastly improved with practice.
It would never be in my secondary school classroom.
Your classes' loss.
The Order of the Phoenix is practically a manual for overthrowing unjust authority. That just might come in handy at some point in their lives...
Hey - I’m a female engineer. I’m better at math than my husband.
My daughter is one of the best in math at her middle school.
On her 7th grade Stanford Achievement tests, I think she only got 1 wrong in the math section, and that puts her in the top 1% of all students in the nation taking the SAT. She’ll be starting Geometry this next year.
My other daughter is also good at math. She has a brain injury that has mainly affected her speech and reading. Unfortunately, there is some carry over to math. She only scores in the top 10% of all students taking the SAT test.
My son is good too, but I think 1 of his sisters is the best in the family.
My 8 year old grandson loves to read and has become hooked on books by Rick Riordan. He has a series of books called the” Kane Chronicles”.
When he was given his summer reading list I was very disappointed to see how many books had to do with the environment.
We use to have farting contests in class. We would try to squeeze out a fart just loud enough so the teacher would not hear it....eventually, someone would cut a fog horn fart and we all ended up in trouble.....
My 13 year old twins loved the Shy Little Kitten. I think we still have that book.
The first Harry Potter is simplistic and geared for younger readers.
Each book gets more complicated and geared for older readers.
I didn’t like the first book, and just skimmed over it. I saw the movie, so I knew the story line. However, the last book is very entertaining. I couldn’t put it down, and my kids were complaining because the housework suffered while I was reading it.
Boys do tend to like fart jokes. How To Eat Fried Worms was probably my favorite kids book, of course I was already a reading junky long before then. Couldn’t hurt though, they’ll either give kids something they want to read or not.
Reading, Massachusetts or Reading, Pennsylvania? Most boys will try anything to catch girls.
Reading, Massachusetts or Reading, Pennsylvania? Most boys will try anything to catch girls.
Zatso? You shoulda told that to my 2nd grade teacher who forbid me from reading a book on space exploration because it was a 6th grade book.
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