Literature With My 10-Year-Old

LiteracyCurriculum

Jan 8

Written By Sarah

Our literature routine is pretty solid at this point. Since my oldest finished his foundational reading program, we have focused on novel studies with a side of vocabulary and word study for the basis of his reading instruction. Each year, I pick a selection of books I would like to work through with him for a literature focus.

How to Choose Books for Literature

There are many factors that I consider when selecting a book for a novel study:

Instructional Level Reading: This is highly dependent on the child. My 4th-grade, 10-year-old is an advanced reader. However, age-appropriate content is a priority for us as well. I look at various book lists and select books I think are important for his literature education — typically a balance of old and new classics.
Book Series? Sometimes, there is a book series that I think my son will enjoy, but he might need a push to get going. I’ll select the first of the series together as a novel study, and then he can read (or listen to) the rest independently.
Seasonality: I often think about a book’s seasonality. For example, we recently read The Vanderbeekers of 141st right before Christmas.

Literature Routine

Now that my son is fluent and has solid comprehension, I aim to read with him three to four days a week. We typically have reading time in the morning for about 20 minutes. We discuss the pages from the previous day’s reading and literature notebook. Then, I have him read to me for about 10 minutes before sending him off to finish his reading assignment independently. We use Novel-Ties literature guides as the basis for our novel studies. Check out my literature highlights over on Instagram for a more detailed walkthrough Novel-Ties, our literature notebooks, and routines.

My son also participates in monthly literature discussions on Outschool with Mary Hanna Wilson. These are a great way for him to discuss books with his peers.

In addition to our literature studies, he is expected to read at least 20 minutes a day of his choosing, which is rarely a problem. He typically reads about an hour or two daily — everything from magazines to books to graphic novels.