Non-Fiction Assigned Readings

I have started collecting good reference books on various subjects when I first decided on homeschooling. Some are encyclopedic or gives snippets of information as in Dorling Kindersley (DK) style and are not books that children will naturally pick up to browse. However, they do contain a lot of information and most have gorgeous pictures. All I need to do is tempt my boys with a few pages and that will normally set them reading through more pages.

I have recently started giving my boys assigned readings. This is partly to free up read aloud times. I am starting out with short reads of say a two pages spread of our Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (corresponding to the chapter of Story of the World we are reading) or DK Horse (in line with our Horse Unit study) book a day.

I use a lined index card to write down any assigned reading I want my boys to read. They initial next to the assignment when they have completed it. This card is displayed in a highly visible location. They have to complete this assignment within the day in their own free time. Ideally, I will ask for an oral narration after that but on some days, this gets slipped off.