Exploring the Concept of Suspense with a 7-Year-Old
Reading Journey To The Center Of The Earth by Jules Verne to a 7-year-old can be challenging. Follow this story to learn how the author tried to explain the concept of suspense to his student.
Kris
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An example of something I recently started doing...
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023
I'm reading Journey To The Center Of The Earth by Jules Verne to my almost 7 yr old.
Written in the 1800s, the writing style is challenging.
So I read a bit, then I "translate" into more natural language for him. -
I've explained to him that if he reads the books he's able to read and I read this book to him (instead of him trying to read it himself, which he was trying to but I have 0 confidence he's understanding) the combination will give him "magic"
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023 -
I try to create some mystique around reading because I want him to think reading gives him special powers. Because that's a fun thing to think of course (and we probably should think about more things in such ways bc it helps us notice the joy in like being alive and sht)
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023 -
Anyway, last night we got to the end of a chapter and it ended in a suspenseful way. And I tried to explain the concept of suspense to him (to his and his teacher's credit he mentioned that when they read in school they pause to try to predict what will happen next in the story)
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023 -
So with the idea of suspense established, I just ask him to come up with suspenseful sentences. I've never asked him to do that and he didn't reply with anything substantive but that's ok whatever...
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023 -
(i did give him an example: "The boy thought he locked the door but then he saw the knob turn" and my son goes "that would freak me out" and since this was just before bed I felt a bit guilty for that example)
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023 -
just sharing for other parents benefit, I think we all want to find ways to show the joy of reading and wanted to start showing him "techniques" a word I asked Alexa to define for him. So he can identify the author's "weapons" and so maybe one day he can use them when he writes
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023 -
In related "suspense" news, the finance essay I'm writing now opens:
— Kris (@KrisAbdelmessih) April 19, 2023
"I’m not saying this to be mean…but"