thoughts on reading by genre?

[mollie]

Visiting lots of friends this holiday season and noticed many had lists from school that they are to read 4 biographies, 3 historical fiction, 10 non-fiction, 1 science fiction, etc. (Public school 4th graders must read a book a week at least.) I love how classical education focuses on going deep rather than cramming in a lot. I do wonder, however, if I should be adding in some of these genre studies so they are familiar with a wide range of literature?
Thanks!
Merry 4th Day of Christmas!
Mollie

[tanya]

Hi, Mollie.

It's certainly a good idea for students to read more than the books we do in the curriculum. For example, our 6th graders read Johnny Tremain and Carry On, Mr. Bowditch in addition to their curriculum. As we finish up our read-aloud book selection, we will have more selections to choose from that would be good classic books. For example, our 4th grade read-alouds include books like Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and The Princess and the Goblin. I will attach Martin Cothran's reading list for you here. He made this list when his children were young, and it includes his favorite classics.

Enjoy!

Tanya

[mollie]

WOW! That's a great list! What does "MIN MAX MIN MAX" mean? Are those minutes per day or how many days to read it or...? Just curious!
Thanks for sharing

[tanya]

Min/Max is the age level that is appropriate for students reading independently.

Tanya

[mollie]

He must have very good readers that young!
thank you!!

[tanya]

Well, he has 4 children, so I'm guessing they were all different. You are looking at the min/max columns F & G, right? D & E are "read-aloud" ages, and F & G are "read alone" columns.

Cheers,

Tanya