Chapter TWO and Struggling Readers

Not being in the classroom leaves me at a disadvantage at times. It can be tough to accomplish these research assignments. I often use my wife’s students or my children as my examples. For this assignment I used my son.

I’ve talked about my youngest before; he can be a reluctant reader to say the least.  At times his protestations sound more like we’re punishing him than asking him to read; even reading 5 pages can be a monumental task.

I should take this opportunity to go on record and state that he does have (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) ADHD and he is still learning to work within it's constraints. I also have ADHD and had a hard time in my early school career. This gives me a perspective others may lack. I was diagnosed with ADD and Hyperactivity when I was a child, the name was not combined yet. I was even placed in Special Education (SpEd) for 2 years (mid 2nd - mid 4th gr,). Times were different in the 70’s and any student who was less than perfect was quickly lumped with SpEd. I took medicine, I learned to focus, and I improved as a student.  Some adjust sooner than others, though.

My son is 14 years old, 4 years older than I was when I was starting to learn to cope, and still has difficulty. One of the symptoms of ADHD is that your focus can go in one of two directions. The student will either trail away or become distracted if disinterested or hyper-focus to the point of being oblivious to surroundings if really interested. Many of the topics covered in school and home readings do not interest him so it becomes a burden to focus in class or, even worse, focus at home on reading assignments. At home he is distracted by pretty much everything from cats to people to music  or messages on his phone to TV shows in the background to random people walking past his door, the dining room table, or the couch, basically, wherever he is working. He can and will focus on anything other than his work.

Keeping these things in mind I gave him two surveys. I felt the differences in information would help paint a better picture of his likes or dislikes.

Based on the gathered information the student will do the best when reading sports stories/biographies, history/historic biographies, action/adventure stories, and humorous stories.

Some of his favorite recent readings included Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Based on these criteria I recommended:

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Historic, adventurous, and told from the eyes of a child. It can be sad but it is also a tale of other cultures and anti-bullying. All of these are things that I know as a student interest the reader.

Break Barriers (Positively for Kids Books)

An honest tale of struggle and success of a sports hero. The story is geared toward slightly lower than his reading level and up and it is also his favorite sport and position.  

Eragon

Recommended on a DC Library reading list it fits his age range and criteria. It is similar in topic to Percy Jackson.

Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is another similar in style to Percy Jackson and because of the movies popular in the student's age range. My wife cannot keep it on her shelf in class.

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is another similar in style to Percy Jackson and because of the movies popular in the student's age range, especially with the next installment due to start playing very soon.

Understanding September 11th:

 Answering Questions about the Attacks on America 

 Another sad topic but an informative text geared toward his age level. I know he has personally watched documentaries and YouTube "conspiracy" videos so I know it is a topic that holds his interest.

Bibliography:

Boyne, J. (2006). The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Young Reader's Choice Award - Intermediate Division ed.). New York, NY: David Fickling Books.

Collins, S. (2009). The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Dashner, J. (2009). The Maze Runner. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Frank, M. (2002). Understanding September 11th: Answering questions about the attacks on America. New York: Viking.

Gagne, E., & Brown, G. (2004). Break Barriers (Positively for Kids Books). Kirkland, WA: Positively For Kids.

Paolini, C. (2003). Eragon. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.