My son is in 4th grade. He always tests at grade level, but rarely, if ever, picks up a fiction book to read unless forced. He will only read non-fiction. I figure as long as he’s reading, that’s what counts. His teacher disagrees, and insists that his independent reading be a chapter book. He just can’t seem to follow the plot, and most books have characters that he just doesn’t care about.
If I read out loud to him, he loves chapter books. He just won’t read them. Is there an underlying reading problem to this, or are there kids who just never take to reading non-fiction?
I know lots of boys who strongly prefer non-fiction.
However, if he loves them read aloud to him, and he can’t follow the plot (or “care about the characters”) when he reads himself, it strongly suggests that he’s missing something when he tries to read them. It might be a simple as having him pretend he’s reading the story to himself, silently — with expression, etc., as you would. Can you have him take turns with you on the chapter book?
Some kids test at grade level and are fine; others test on grade level on those standardized tests ‘cause they’re smart enough to have strategies to compensate for missing pieces in their skills (and unfortunately they usually can’t do it after fourth or fifth grade).
The mental skills for reading fiction adn following character and plot are worth developing.