Ideas to support a super advanced reader in DCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t most UMC kids 5-6 grade levels ahead in reading?

Not really. They are ahead in fluency, so they test well, but that isn't the same thing as what grade level for upper elementary and middle school actually is. Comprehension, retention, inference, and responding in writing are essential skills, IMO way more important than fluency, and you aren't really above grade level unless you're doing well in those things.

As a parent of a kid who is ahead like this, and one much further ahead, I figure that whatever the school and I did that got my kids to this point worked, so I just keep doing it.

[Anonymous]

One thing that will help with comprehension and inference is to keep doing read-alouds with your kids (targeting books that are at their fluency level but age-appropriate), or to listen to audio books as a family. In my family, this has always sparked lots of discussion around predictions, character traits, motivation, vocabulary, etc.

[Anonymous]

It’s not as uncommon as people think. Basically you find them interesting things to read, it’s not so hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t most UMC kids 5-6 grade levels ahead in reading?

Sounds like a Lake Wobegone story.

How can all the UMC kids be above average and in the 99th percentile at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, DCPS does not really support the needs of very advanced students. If your child is at least a few grade levels ahead (in multiple areas), you will likely need to supplement outside of school if your child wants to learn and be challenged at their level.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Any strategies you can suggest to make sure my child doesn’t get too bored at school? Like if the lesson is too easy- do they have to do the busy work? Can they opt out? Can they work on independent projects as long as it is not disruptive? Or just read on their own?

[Anonymous]

Your kid is going to be bored at school. You can talk to their teachers and make suggestions, but your kid is not going to be allowed to opt out of the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

My advanced reader reads nothing but Diary of a Wimpy Kid I don’t “support” him in anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Any strategies you can suggest to make sure my child doesn’t get too bored at school? Like if the lesson is too easy- do they have to do the busy work? Can they opt out? Can they work on independent projects as long as it is not disruptive? Or just read on their own?

Talk to the teacher at the beginning of the year. They will not (and should not) let your child opt out of required work, but most teachers will be okay with them bringing in their own reading/work when they finish their work as long as they are quiet. My child has been offered computer time to work ahead in math, but he ultimately found that worse because he was getting further and further ahead on his own. Now he just works on his writing when he is bored- he writes poems, short stories, or summaries of books that he is reading.

Your child will be bored, especially in 1st and 2nd. The pace is slow and there is a lot of repetition. I wish there was more differentiation available, but there just isn't. So it falls on us to provide enrichment opportunities and school is mostly social at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My advanced reader reads nothing but Diary of a Wimpy Kid I don’t “support” him in anything.

If you take your kid to the library and that's what they pick, you're supporting them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Any strategies you can suggest to make sure my child doesn’t get too bored at school? Like if the lesson is too easy- do they have to do the busy work? Can they opt out? Can they work on independent projects as long as it is not disruptive? Or just read on their own?

OP, it's ok. Trust you kid and let them figure it out. Always make sure they have a book in their backpack so they can read whenever they want to, in lull moments.

I'm a "former gifted child" according to the tests, and in elementary school my teachers would just let me read all the time -- I remember almost always having a book in my lap. I read hundreds of books a year. I always often engaged in another life skill -- elaborate daydreaming during boring class time.

My son is also ahead -- he has peers in his class so the teacher (DCPS) pushed that group to a level 2 grades up, in reading. He also carries around a vocabulary notebook and writes down new words he hears, and then uses them in a sentence.

Don't feel like you, as a parent, need to hypermanage this. Let you kid figure it out! It's a good "problem" to have (it's not a real problem).

[Anonymous]

OP, if you meet with the teacher you may be pleasantly surprised. Your kid is probably not as far ahead as you think. Parents who don't have an elementary education background often don't recognize gaps that a teacher will easily spot. For example, my DD was a super early reader, but an "intuitive" reader-- she was a great guesser and made it through, but her phonics were not super strong and eventually that began to catch up with her. Sure, she could "read" things, she could mostly pronounce the words aloud, but her comprehension wasn't always very good and she had a bad habit of skipping words and sentences she didn't easily understand. Her handwriting wasn't above grade level, and neither were her social skills. The teachers identified her weak areas and spent time boosting them.

For a kid like this, when so much comes easily to them, you can "support" them by engaging them in "struggle work"-- anything where they're going to have to make an effort. Could be piano, could be a sport, could be an art class, whatever, but they should be strengthening their persistence skills, flexibility, and their positive self-talk. And be *very* attentive to interpersonal skills as these can be a lagging area and don't develop well if the kid doesn't have appropriate reading and math groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t most UMC kids 5-6 grade levels ahead in reading?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you meet with the teacher you may be pleasantly surprised. Your kid is probably not as far ahead as you think. Parents who don't have an elementary education background often don't recognize gaps that a teacher will easily spot. For example, my DD was a super early reader, but an "intuitive" reader-- she was a great guesser and made it through, but her phonics were not super strong and eventually that began to catch up with her. Sure, she could "read" things, she could mostly pronounce the words aloud, but her comprehension wasn't always very good and she had a bad habit of skipping words and sentences she didn't easily understand. Her handwriting wasn't above grade level, and neither were her social skills. The teachers identified her weak areas and spent time boosting them.

For a kid like this, when so much comes easily to them, you can "support" them by engaging them in "struggle work"-- anything where they're going to have to make an effort. Could be piano, could be a sport, could be an art class, whatever, but they should be strengthening their persistence skills, flexibility, and their positive self-talk. And be *very* attentive to interpersonal skills as these can be a lagging area and don't develop well if the kid doesn't have appropriate reading and math groups.

This is my DD too. She brings a book to school and her teacher gives her higher level reading (though still not challenging, it's more interesting so less boredom in class). If she's reading perfectly accurately and not skipping hard words or guessing, and her comprehension is good, one thing our first grade teacher said was that the difference between first and third grade ELA was the depth of analysis they ask for. So she could be paired with another kid who can read and comprehend well, and given more advanced discussion topics.

Or just let her fly through the class work and pull out her own book when she's done. Then, like PP said, find her struggle work and challenge her at home. For mine, it's an instrument that does not come easily to her, but we talk about how it's important to learn how to keep working on things that are hard for you, and how good it feels to see yourself improve after working really hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you meet with the teacher you may be pleasantly surprised. Your kid is probably not as far ahead as you think. Parents who don't have an elementary education background often don't recognize gaps that a teacher will easily spot. For example, my DD was a super early reader, but an "intuitive" reader-- she was a great guesser and made it through, but her phonics were not super strong and eventually that began to catch up with her. Sure, she could "read" things, she could mostly pronounce the words aloud, but her comprehension wasn't always very good and she had a bad habit of skipping words and sentences she didn't easily understand. Her handwriting wasn't above grade level, and neither were her social skills. The teachers identified her weak areas and spent time boosting them.

For a kid like this, when so much comes easily to them, you can "support" them by engaging them in "struggle work"-- anything where they're going to have to make an effort. Could be piano, could be a sport, could be an art class, whatever, but they should be strengthening their persistence skills, flexibility, and their positive self-talk. And be *very* attentive to interpersonal skills as these can be a lagging area and don't develop well if the kid doesn't have appropriate reading and math groups.

This is my DD too. She brings a book to school and her teacher gives her higher level reading (though still not challenging, it's more interesting so less boredom in class). If she's reading perfectly accurately and not skipping hard words or guessing, and her comprehension is good, one thing our first grade teacher said was that the difference between first and third grade ELA was the depth of analysis they ask for. So she could be paired with another kid who can read and comprehend well, and given more advanced discussion topics.

Or just let her fly through the class work and pull out her own book when she's done. Then, like PP said, find her struggle work and challenge her at home. For mine, it's an instrument that does not come easily to her, but we talk about how it's important to learn how to keep working on things that are hard for you, and how good it feels to see yourself improve after working really hard.

I'm the PP, another thing DD's teacher would do was assign her texts on subjects she didn't know anything about, sometimes pairing her with a child who *did* know a lot about it. Such as, basketball. That way she had the experience of working harder to comprehend, added to her vocabulary and background knowledge, and also realized that she's not all that and that other kids, while maybe not yet reading fluently, know all kinds of things that she does not. It was good for her.