<p>DS loved math and disliked reading (other than goosebumps). We just indulged him as much as he and we could take it in math/science/programming/chess. He still doesn’t care to read, but he’s in a great tech program, enjoying it, and interning in the west coast in a comp sci/EE position. So my advice - give him as much support as you can in the areas he enjoys and try to make him truly exceptional there. BTW, for DS, ACT worked out much better than SAT, so you may have him do trial runs in both.</p>
<p>PS - try to get him in math competitions such as AMC, and possibly AIME and USAMO, team competitions such as ARML, Harvard/MIT Math tournament, and so on. Have him go through artofproblemsolving.com site, etc.</p>
<p>Stephen D Krashen has a book-long essay “The Power of Reading” that every mom with a non-reader kid should work her way through. To sum up: It doesn’t matter much what they read. </p>
<p>What is important is the number of words they read each year. If the kid likes sports, let him read about sports. There are articles about how the game is played. There are books analyzing different aspects of the game’s strategy, history, coaching methodology, training regimes, and more. Too much of HS reading is Literature - with a capital L. In real life, most of what we need to read and analyze is non-fiction. It is perfectly OK if this kid cuts his teeth on materials that more closely resemble what he will need to analyze once he is out of school.</p>
<p>oooh I have a good author- Chris Crutcher- He writes young adult fiction that my son and I both enjoyed (me as an adult) The stories are generally about teenagers and sports, tend to have a little bit of a dark twist or a challenge to be overcome (kind of not goody-goody, the characters are hip and realistic.) One example is Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes see the review</p>
<p>Not sure what good audiobooks would do for his skill levels. Also, lots of modern popular fare is very poorly constructed and probably does more harm than good as far as teaching good language usage and form. If you are not sure about the value of something read it yourself first, or ask at the school or library. I have been appalled at some of the stuff passing for literature these days (don’t get me started).</p>
<p>As others suggested try audio books. Both my kids are good readers but also got hooked on audio books when the first Harry Potter audio book came out. You can google audio books for young adults/boys etc. Our library has a great selection and you can even download them onto an ipod or mp3 player. </p>
<p>I agree with some of the other suggestions, find books he likes. I visit the library 1-2X a week and take out many,many books each time for both my kids. They only read a few of them, but that’s OK, they are reading and because I take out so many they have choices.</p>
<p>There is lots of good advise above for book recommendations. It brought back some happy memories of my kids reading. (In our family, the problem was actually prying the kids away from the book). </p>
<p>I’ll address the test score issue. The “SAT question of the day” (invoked via College Board website) sends daily email questions. It is a great way to get a taste for some kinds of questions. And there are ways to study test strategy etc. </p>
<p>I think the bigger concern though is readiness for college caliber work. Even math/science majors will require courses with reading (mostly technical, but some humanities too). A kid with a little ADHD already has a challenge in college for organization issues. Along with more reading, trying to also encourage things that will help on the organization/attention issues too. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ew…Two of my kids had to read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and hated it for attempting to be “hip” contemporary teen fare. Sorry, but I read it and it didn’t seem like it was a classic in the making.</p>
<p>This week, being the end of the school year, I am busy with assessments. I’m the reading specialist for 1st and 2nd graders. In 1st grade, I’m testing kids on how accurately they read “high frequency” words. In second grade, I’m testing kids on nonsense words (to ascertain their phonetic and word attack skills). Throughout the year, we measure fluency. Reading comprehension is, of course, important, but the other skills (fluency, phonics, automaticity) are also critical towards understanding too. </p>
<p>You might want to ask your son to read a passage aloud, to listen for those skills. Studies have shown those foundation skills are important markers for reading ability and enjoyment later in life. It could be that your son has a weakness in one of these areas.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your great advice. I have even ordered some of the books you all suggested. I made him a deal that for every three books he reads he can buy a new video game. He agreed. We designate just a half hour most days to read. The other day I told him his time was up and that he could stop if he wanted but he continued to read for another half hour. I thought that was a small miracle in itself!</p>
<p>While we’re mentioning specific books…my S discovered “I, Robot” by Asimov and then proceeded to read his way though just about everything the library had by him.</p>
<p>Similiarly with the Terry Pratchett Discworld series. These books have a sly humor that appeals to teenage boys.</p>
<p>Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…Ender’s Game…Eragon…Cat’s Cradle…Artimus Foul by Cofer…</p>
<p>These are some of the books my kids loved. They liked them so much that when I refused to buy them, they read them in a bookstore over a few days, until the end. (I’m a bad mother and didn’t want to buy the newly released hard cover.) They also read every Calvin & Hobbs in our library and got the magazine Popular Science when they were little.</p>
<p>Woo Hoo!! I created this thread just over a week ago and now my son just walked into my room and announced that he had just finished John Green’s Looking for Alaska! He also stated that it was the best book he’s ever read in his life and that he loved it. Wow – all coming from a kid that refused to read before. I kind of had to twist his arm by making him do timed sessions at first but before long he was reading it on his own. Now he’s worried that he’ll never find another book that he likes as much. Hope we can keep our momentum going!</p>
<p>That’s great. He should try out John Green’s other books, they are all great (though honestly, it’s hard to find something as great as Looking for Alaska) and they are all very very different, but they share fascinating, original, character driven stories where teens are the leads, but it’s not over-done. I hope this opens the door for him that reading can be something you like, not just an obligation. Maybe he should try Catcher in the Rye next if he’s being ambitious. Holden Caulfield is one of John Green’s inspirations, and Catcher in the Rye always reminds me very much of Looking for Alaska (er, I guess that should be reversed). </p>
<p>Also, if your son is into YouTube at all, John Green and his brother Hank are also professional vloggers, and they have an amazing YouTube channel called the Vlogbrothers, where they communicate on all kinds of issues, including raising awareness about how normal people can fight what they term “World Suck”.</p>
<p>I try to place reading material strategically…meaning restrooms
You will be shocked at how much absorbtion takes place there…
My bathrooms are full of old newspapers and books without covers…</p>
