IanSebast Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 My ds just turned 9 is flying through swo and houghton mifflin grammar, placed at a 4th grade reading level in kindergarten (I never tested him again), great with punctuation, capitalization, and so on and so forth. He skipped a grade, so he's going into 5th grade. Should I try to simplify our school load by finding a program that incorporates as many subjects as possible so we can avoid drilling to master each topic while teaching him at the "grade level" he is in? Or should I just let him go as fast as he wants with the different programs we have for each subject? Is there a curriculum that incorporates everything? :confused: I feel like a fish out of water because when we decided to have him skip a grade we thought we were done flying through curricula! What would you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I ignore the "grade level" and just go at my son's pace. Skipping one grade probably didn't make much of a difference. For example, reading at 4th grade level in K, skipping to first grade still presents the same problem - the reading level is way too low. If he's flying through SWO, is he a natural speller? He may not need it. For grammar, is he ready for a higher level, or just more application to writing? What is his writing like? Maybe you can focus more on writing at this point. Afterall, the purpose of learning grammar is to make them better writers. I've found, so far, that the types of programs that drill to master a topic are easier to accelerate because you can just skip some of the drill - it's easy to spot and skip over. An AIO program wouldn't work well for my son because he's asynchronous in his development. His grammar and reading abilities are well above his writing abilities, for example. Though by your son's age, I think that will probably have evened out somewhat (at least, I hope so!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 If you're looking for a complete curriculum that allows you to place your child at an appropriate level for each subject and then also allows him to go as fast as he needs to, you might want to take a look at K12. The only difficulty is that the literature is tied to the composition in their English classes so that it is difficult to place a kid who is way ahead in reading and not so much in writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I have had the best success with meeting DD10 where she was at in each subject - which means using different publishers/grade levels for everything. That means long hours of flipping through textbooks/materials to find the right level grammar/english/math, etc. I ignore the grade levels and just get the book that looks like it will challenge her. It makes for more work for me to prep and plan, but ends up with her finishing her school work faster because she doesn't get bored. We do some literature-based work (English and History) because she learns well from reading on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I like Michael Clay Thompson's LA alternated with Don Killgallon's applied grammar/sentence writing materials and Spelling Power for my verbally gifted child. The "town" level of MCT would likely be perfect and I'd recommend starting with Sentence Composing for Elementary School for Killgallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanSebast Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 If he's flying through SWO, is he a natural speller? He may not need it. For grammar, is he ready for a higher level, or just more application to writing? What is his writing like? Maybe you can focus more on writing at this point. Afterall, the purpose of learning grammar is to make them better writers. His grammar and reading abilities are well above his writing abilities, for example. Though by your son's age, I think that will probably have evened out somewhat (at least, I hope so!). He is a natural speller, and his writing is excellent, he is a great essayist. Comparing his writing to the writing of other children, he writes at about an 8th grade level. He also reads independently...whatever happens to fall in his hands, he read the Percy Jackson series twice, and was going for a third when I told him to move for something else, he then proceeded to volunteer to read something else at the same time!! Is it advisable to just get him something to suit his need to be challenged? Can I just skip material to fulfill his need? The grammar he is doing is for 5th grade, he is doing SWO E, and that is because I'm FORCING him to work on each lesson, and won't allow him to do more than 1 lesson per day! What programs do you recommend? :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I feel the need to clarify something that is often misunderstood. When a child tests at a "4th grade reading level" in Kindergarten, it doesn't mean they are ready for 4th grade material. It means they are reading Kindergarten material as proficiently as the average 4th grader would if tested on the same assessment. And this goes the other way as well. If a 4th grader tests at a 2nd grade level, it doesn't mean that his reading no more proficiently than the average second grader. All that grade-level equivalence tells you, is that he scored about as well as a 2nd grader would, on average, score if the 2nd grader were tested on a 4th grade level (that is to say, they'd struggle!) That same 4th grader could take the 2nd grade reading assessment and score 3rd or 4th grade level on THAT assessment. There is a substantial difference, and I think a lot of people misunderstand this, including some misinformed teachers. And most kids who are either accelerated or behind, still have some material that is developmentally/emotionally appropriate for their *age*, especially in areas such as social studies and literature. So I agree with the poster who said ignore the "grade level", and go by what feels right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 When a child tests at a "4th grade reading level" in Kindergarten, it doesn't mean they are ready for 4th grade material. It means they are reading Kindergarten material as proficiently as the average 4th grader would if tested on the same assessment. If you're talking about a standardized grade level test, yes. If you're talking about a reading level assessment, no, as that doesn't take into account the age/grade of the child. It just shows what level words and comprehension the child has. The OP didn't mention what type of test was involved, but I assumed a reading level assessment test, in which case a K'er can certainly score at a 4th grade reading level and truly be able to decode and comprehend text written at that level. Now the appropriateness of the content is another matter. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanSebast Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 (edited) When a child tests at a "4th grade reading level" in Kindergarten, it doesn't mean they are ready for 4th grade material. It means they are reading Kindergarten material as proficiently as the average 4th grader would if tested on the same assessment. I understand this, and he was given a reading assessment, and of course his reading material is carefully chosen, to assure its appropriateness. Also, we have not skipped material that I feel is necessary for him to learn, hence his boredom with spelling and grammar. We only have this problem with language arts, we're ok with everything else. We have some stuff desgned for higher grades, and some for lower. Right now I'm just not sure about how to proceed because he is no longer being challenged by the language arts programs we are using. I don't want to cut out material because he is "skipping grades," however, I'm not sure I can find a program that teaches him 5th grade at more advanced level, so he can feel challenged. It is easy to find material for students in higher grades who have fallen behind, but I'm not aware of anything for students who are in my dc place. Does that make sense? When he feels challenged he is interested in the material but the minute he feels the material is no longer challenging him, he starts to get frustrated and it shows in his performance....help!!! Edited June 16, 2011 by IanSebast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I'm not sure I can find a program that teaches him 5th grade at more advanced level, so he can feel challenged. It is easy to find material for students in higher grades who have fallen behind, but I'm not aware of anything for students who are in my dc place. I hate to sound like a broken record, but do take a look at MCT & Killgallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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