Reply to what can do do to help my advanced KG girl in reading?

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "what can do do to help my advanced KG girl in reading?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]ps. as a former K teacher, I would have said that your daughter scored at the top of the group--not "the" top.  The reason is that some parents would go bragging to other parents and that creates problems.[/quote]

NP here.  My teacher doesn't have to tell me that my kid is the top of the class with reading.  He's the only kid in his class -- actually the entire school -- who is reading fluently and reading complex chapter books.  No one else in his class is reading anywhere close to where he is.  those of us who have kids with exceptional abilities are quite aware of them.  [/quote]

how do you know every kid's reading ability in the whole school???[/quote]

The school is small - there are less than 15 kids older than my child.[/quote]

Still, why do you know every child's reading level?  My child was reading chapter books in preschool, and I can guarantee you know other parent knew that. [/quote]

I don't know every child's reading level, but I do know that no other child in my child's class is reading [i]at all[/i], and I have pushed for him to be teamed with a child or children from other classes or the grade above who is at a similar reading level and been told that there is no one.

I can't imagine how you can guarantee that no other parent knew that your child was reading chapter books in preschool.  Did you make him or her keep it a secret?  Did he or she not talk to other kids? Did the teacher not call on your child to read things to the class?  Since preschool I've had other parents ask me about my child's reading abilities -- what we did to encourage it, etc. (the answer is nothing short of reading to him) - because they have seen him before school or during class in the reading nook with a chapter book he's bought in from home reading to himself or to a group of other children, or helping point out sight words to other kids.  Most recently a couple of his friends' parents have told me that their kids told them that they want to learn to read "like [my child]".  Particularly last year, I can't imagine that anyone who spent time in his PS classroom didn't notice that he was reading fluently - but I guess if a child is taught to be ashamed of their reading or to hide it it might not be so obvious.

Anyway, to get back to OPs question -- I tend to work with my child outside of school to increase comprehension.  I ask him about what he's read -- who the main characters are, what is his favorite part, what has happened so far or what the book is about (if he's finished it), what he thinks might happen next, how this book compares to books in the same series etc etc.  I try not to make it too taxing because at times it's clear that he just wants to read.  Also, I let him pick his own books, so sometimes it's a picture book aimed at kids his age or younger, and sometimes it's a [b]book at a 5th grade reading level[/b] with lots of text and complex story lines aimed at kids much older than him.  He reads alone, but occasionally he'll sit with me and we'll alternate reading different pages.  To be honest, I wish they'd do more at school but they seem content that his comprehension is on a par with his reading ability.  [/quote]

I'm impressed.  What types of 5th grade books did your son read and how old is he?[/quote]

He's 5 and he reads anything and everything at a variety of grade levels up to about 5th (not sure off the top of my head which are the highest levels here):  Magic Treehouse, Roald Dahl (BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach etc), Charlotte's Web, Magic Schoolbus, Little Prince, Boxcar Children, Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Captain Underpants.... also Doctor Suess, Junie B. Jones, picture books, Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and lots of non-fiction (dinosaurs, animals, planets, human body, geography).   No he doesn't understand them in the same depth as a 10 year old, but well enough to keep his attention, and for him to be able to discuss the storyline, characters etc.[/quote]

Most of those books are really 2-3rd grade level, and many 6 and 7 year olds are reading them at our school.  This is where DD was before starting kindergarten as well.  She had finished every magic treehouse and rainbow magic in order and was gobbling up other series as well before turning five.  She read for an hour a night to herself, so that continued when kindergarten started, and then in January they let her read at school during nap time.  She really broadened her interests that year.  She started first grade having read half of the warrior series as well as these old Sherlock Holmes books called the Baker Street Irregulars.  Her first grade teacher was not flummoxed at all and has even provided her more 5th and 6th grade reading texts to read during school.

I want to say it is not exceptional like you say it is.  It is a little.  But her preschool teachers did not know because it was not a part of their curriculum.  It was nearly the same in kindergarten.  She is also really good at chess, but her teachers do not know that either.  It is like that.  The advanced reading is not that exceptional.  Her teachers barely care.  They have never ranked her in class, and they don't give me reading levels like it some badge of honor.  Assessments are more of a procedural thing.  She is allowed to read anything in the school.  But she goes to really good private school, and they meet every child where they are at without much fuss.  Reading is actually a very small part of the day.   When she reads in a reading group it sounds like there is a large group of them at the Magic treehouse level, which is fine for her.  There are issues that come up with early reading (we deal with 6yo reading books meant for middle-schoolers and how that distorts her reality,) but the school thing has been very easy.  She is ahead.  There are no issues.  It gets about one minute of conference time.

I am not sure how other parents would know she routinely reads 300 page novels in three nights unless I told them.[/quote]

You missed the point here, I was giving examples of the type of books (UP TO about 5th grade), not starting a pissing match about which books were more advanced or whose kid was smarter.  My child doesn't go to a private school, but a diverse DC public school.  Yes, he is alone in his abilities.  Very much. (Despite a lot of middle class involved parents -- I'm sure other kids will catch up eventually).  I know that some parents know about his reading because they've asked me about it, either because their kids have mentioned it, or because they've seen him reading before or after school.  He has to bring books from home (the library) because they don't have sufficient suitable books for him at school and he reads very quickly and enthusiastically.  His preschool did include readiness to read as part of the curriculum (again a public school) so yes, of course his teachers knew and encouraged his reading.  They even had him read a poem on stage in front of all the parents last Christmas (Preschool - just turned 4).  Certainly it wasn't secret.

Other than that he sounds a lot like your daughter.  He also read every single Magic Treehouse before turning 5 (though only in the order we could get them from the library!) And reads for an hour or more each night.  I've never heard of Rainbow Magic, I'll see if if it's something he's interested in.  He might like the Baker Street ones.  We need recommendations!  Like you said it's really hard to find books that are challenging yet appropriate for a young five year old.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics