Too much reading homework? | ADHD Information

My son (8 yrs) reading homework has become quite frustrating for both of us. He has 3 books of which about 5 pages is allocated to read in each book. Three times over!!! That amounts to 45 pages a day. For an 8 year old?

The first time took almost 3 hours and I was so distressed for my son I allowed him to only read each book once the next day. Especially as all his other homework usually takes up to an hour anyway.

It is actually going a bit better now. He reads each book once to me and the other 2 times to himself but his boredom and agitation are palpable. (He is an above average reader).

I have spoken with the teacher about it and her response was that it really wasn't that much reading as the pages were short (sometimes) and that "the children must just do it".

Where I am from there are no special programs or any other forms of assistance for ADHD kids. They should just fit right in with the rest of the class. I am not trying to suggest my son should get less homework than the entire class, but my goodness - is all this reading really necessary?

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Wow! That's a lot of reading for an eight year old!!! How long has the teacher been teaching? What is her reasoning behind having the children read things three times ?

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She has been teaching for about 30 years!! She taught my brother-in-law who is now 20!

I cannot fathom her reason on reading the same thing three times over as when I asked her she simply said, it is not much - it helps the kids - and they should just do it. It is obvious she has never been a mother to an ADHD child, for she would know how difficult this is. I am not even going to request that this rule be altered - I am simply going to watch my son's reading skills closely and monitor it from there.

My only concern is that my son mgiht feel that I am defying the teacher, or that I am being dishonest. I don't want to teach him the wrong principle or appear over protective.

Amylee,

That does sound like an inordinate amount of reading for an eight-year old. To encourage reading in our students, our elementary school assigns different #'s of minutes of reading for homework for each grade level -- for pleasure ! It works from 10 minutes each night in 1st grade (ages 6-7, and it can be out loud or parent reads to child), to 20 mins in the 4th grade (ages 10-11). I'm lucky my boys love to read -- they do more than that in most sittings and both love to read in the car. (Ugggh -- I get so sick trying to do that I can't read a map in the car !) But they do not have "reading" homework where they have to read textbooks or anything. That should come in middle or junior high school. I think your son's teacher has an unrealistic idea of homework time.

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Wow! That's a lot of reading for an eight year old!!! How long has the teacher been teaching? What is her reasoning behind having the children read things three times ?

lillian38820.3043865741

Hi!!

My son is ADHD and I understand. I am also a 3rd grade teacher with a master's degree. My thesis was on homework and how much you should give your students. The general rule is no more than thirty minutes a night for the younger students. Grades 4-5 should be no more than an hour. All of the homework is suppose to be material that they need no assistance with. (Review material.) With my ADHD students, I give them their assignments the weekend before so they can manage a better schedule for the week. I also have a rule of flexability. As long as it gets done before Friday, then that is OK if they do not complete all of an assignment. Good luck!!

Since the school year is almost over, I would be tempted to have him read 30 minutes, then if there is any reading left, have him follow along while you read it. I say this especially since he is already above reading level. This summer, help him find books he likes, because adders can really focus on the books they like once their reading takes off! Make sure he reads every day this summer, and it sounds like his level will be fine. Just watch that reading progresses as it should, because he should eventually be able to read for pleasure.

Sometimes teachers don't seem to realize how long things can take to do. Since you've already tried to talk to her about it, I would just do what I thought was best, making sure he comprehended the material. I don't know how many times I've helped color maps, do word searches and helped with mind benders that they were overwhelmed with - so that my children could feel good about completing their work and still be able to have down time, go to choir, scouts, etc.
Best Wishes!

Our school year is only 3 months in - and we're heading into winter. The longest vacation is only in December - so I have the rest of the year to work with him on his reading. Be that as it may - I do feel that as he is above average with reading (and reads so much for pleasure) that there is no harm done if he doesn't always finish.

Having posted - I feel better about it now - thanks so much.

I can read for about 30 Min's then I'm done - audio books help and having other read to me was a good things. I use a light blue marker to under line and keep track of what someone is reading to me. Have him read out loud an help him fast with a word if he stumbles- he will lost content if he has to think about it to much.

The real question is making reading fun- so he can educate himself on anything he wants.