Reading is so important and key to our successes in our futures! As some of you may know, I have been working one-on-one with an 8th grade boy who is reading at about a 1st grade level. It has been a wide eye opening experience for me. I have been working with him for approximately 2 weeks now. Our daily meeting place is the library of his junior high. In the past, he has taken the initiative to go around the library and choose books that he thought would be good for him to work on his reading. Unfortunately, many of the books that are at his reading level are not at his age level and appeared very "babyish" and somewhat embarrassing for him to read. So, I went on a mission to the internet and a visit to Borders books. At Borders, I went straight to the children's book department and told an employee of the task at hand. I need a "high interest book at a low reading level". She was unbelievably patient and very much interested in helping my "8th Grade Reader". We agreed on (amongst a couple of other shorter books) the widely popular story, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. We began reading the book yesterday and so far, it's a success. He was reading and laughing. There were some words that were easy for him (some of the basic sight words, "the" "it" "boy" "tell" "smart" etc.) and some more challenging words (such as "through" "handsome" "childhood" "journal" "diary"). He did well! He was laughing and liked the cartoon drawings and was so far, able to follow the story nicely on his own, and sometimes with a little help. I think it has a nice balance of ease (so as not to discourage) and challenge (to grow).
As promised, we will keep you posted with future updates on his progress.
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