Back to School Reading Interview Questions for School Age Children

Last week, I spent some time creating some Back to School Reading Interview Questions to do with my children.

We sat down one afternoon and they made a beginning of the year self-portrait and filled out a back to school reading and math interview.  It was sooo cute to see my 4 year old’s drawing of a boy and to see my 8 year old daughter draw herself smiling with her glasses!

I wanted my interview to be short, but powerful. There was a little bit of favorites and a little bit of academic goal setting – perfect for my 3rd grader to complete in less than 20 minutes.

Children’s reading habits and interest change often. I wanted something to store in their memory box so that we could look back and remember what they were like as children.

You can easily type the Back to School Reading Interview Questions out on a word document and let your children fill it out. If you are super busy like me and need something ready to go right away – Here are the back-to-school printables I made for my kids with the self portrait and interview.

-Affiliate links to books below-

Back to School Reading Interview Questions for School Age Children

1. What is Your Favorite Summer Memory?

This was hard for my daughter because she didn’t think we went anywhere special, like her friends did when they traveled the U.S.A. in their van.  I reminded her of all the special things we did together and she said, “Oh, yeah, that was pretty good stuff too.” She wrote that her favorite summer memory was “having my birthday at my new house.” Personal questions are great to put first because it tells the child that this is about them and their personal self interest and goals.

2. What are Your Reading Goals for This Year?

I just asked her to pick one reading goal that she thought was reasonable and attainable.  She read a rather thick book called Kringle at the end of last year, and so, she has set out to read a book longer than that. “This year I want to finish a book longer than Kringle.”

Goals can be for

• Minutes read
• Number of books read
• Types of books read
• Genres read

3. Why do YOU Read? 

I LOVE this question because it is different for each child. Does your child read because they have to? Does your child read because they want to? This is a great question to springboard a discussion on how to make reading more enjoyable for your child.

4. What is the Best Thing You Have Ever Read? Why Did You Like It?

My daughter wrote the name of the book she happened to be reading at the moment, The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

She explained that she liked it because “book 2 is full of adventures and monsters.  I thought the book looked a little scary for an 8 year old girl, so I did pre-read the first 4 books in this series.  It is full of battles and magic, so I’m glad that we were able to talk about what was happening.

I do worry that the teacher may think she is limited in her book choices as she is on an adventure and mythological kick this month.  She is the kind of kid who will read a variety of genres, but does it in groups.  This summer was all fairies and princesses.  Now monsters and myths.

5. What Type of Books Do You Like?

This question is great because it gives the parent and the teacher insight into what the child likes. These books can be used to teach academic lessons and will most likely be highly motivational. It also shows what the students may “not like,” indirectly of course, as the teacher may need to encourage them or highlight a different selection of books to encourage children to read outside their favorite genres.

For more back-to-school resources: