kalanamak Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 P. 79 1st edition, under heading "General Instructions for Grades 1 Through 4" (It is very similar in the second edition): "You should aim to begin first grade work when your child has gone almost through the Phonics Pathways primer, has covered most of the major rules of phonics, and is reading simple books without reluctance." I'd like to get started on 1st grade. I have tried a couple dry runs at narration, and I get decent "retention and response" if I ask questions about the page's content. ("What did the Ice Age people do with woolly mammoths besides eat them?" "Wore their skins" "Did they do anything with the bones?" "Made houses from them, and needles." If he hesitates, I point to a drawing on the page that will help him out). All I would be doing differently is forming these exchanges into a simple paragraph and going over that with him. *However*, kiddo is not "reading simple books without reluctance". He is progressing, but slowly....and if I waited until he could pop open a mid-range Bob book and read on his own, I might be waiting for Christmas. (He is doing rather better-than-age-for-a-boy in handwriting.) I can't see the harm of moving on, but this is such *specific* instruction, I'm wondering if anyone else has wondered about it, or not moved forward because of it, or moved forward and did/didn't regret it. Whaddyathink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Well, FWIW, I still get major "reluctance" from my 5th grader when it comes to reading ANY books! :glare: My ds7 doesn't give me narrations that complete and we're still pressing on. Every kid is different, but I wouldn't hold him back simply b/c of the reading thing. That's just my opinion, though. My ds7 never really completed any phonics program b/c he became very bored w/ it. He just sort of "internalized" the rules and just "knew" them w/out any sort of specific instruction, KWIM? He reads very well and ahead of grade, but will not often willingly pick up a book and just read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 My ds7 was doing copywork last year on things he couldn't read. Sometimes he had me read them and others he just copied letter by letter without worrying about what they said. He didn't take off on reading until we ended formal reading for the summer. He has spent all summer sounding out and asking what is that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldee Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 My kiddos have been well at narrations. If I waited until they were not reluctant readers...well...my rising 3rd grader would not be a rising 1st grader. She reads fair but I must push her and stay with her on this. Also, my 7yo would not be a 1st grader either. I do not let reading hold me back. Reading to me is like potty training...it will happen when they are ready if you have taught them, given them the tools, and gently nudge them in the direction they need to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Neither of my kiddos is reading independently yet (my Ker is just beginning CVC words and my 1st grader is still on extremely simple phonics readers) but, due to the things we have already done with them, both of them have extremely good attention spans for being read to, retain information well, and have a good math foundation. Not to mention, they are both very enthusiastic learners. I think that they are getting a lot out of what we're doing (basically the Ker and the 1ster do the same things aside from separate reading instruction) regardless of whether they are reading independently. I expect that to come throughout the year. They both do pretty good narrations. I personally see no reason to wait for a magic time of reading fluency to start first grade. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 My recommendation is that you look at the overall level of processing. If a child is spending so much energy on decoding that it is impacting comprehension, there is no point of progressing to copywork of simple sentences, etc. If the child can read simple readers and answer simple questions about what they read (reluctantly or otherwise), I would plan on progressing to copywork, mechanics instruction, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 If the child can read simple readers and answer simple questions about what they read (reluctantly or otherwise), I would plan on progressing to copywork, mechanics instruction, etc. I see...indeed, this quote was in the language part of the Grammar stage. I was wondering about moving on with history and science, etc. Ah-hah! Ah-HAH! Thanks, all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 My 6yo started 1st last year unable to read 2-letter words...9 months later he is reading beginning chapter books. Copy work and ETC did it all. He also never practiced handwriting and is now writing better than his 10yo dyslexic sister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 but she was ready to start copywork and avid about being read to at that age. I debated it a lot internally, and finally decided that I should start reading science and history to her more often and encourage her to narrate summaries to me, and to simultaneously continue the work on reading skills acquisition. This was so that she would not hate all school. If I had just done reading with her until she was 'ready' for the other study a la TWTM, she would have hated school at 6. This worked out very well. When she finally started reading well, she progressed very quickly to reading about 5 years ahead of her grade level. And she never realized that she had been 'behind', and she loved history to death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 I see...indeed, this quote was in the language part of the Grammar stage. I was wondering about moving on with history and science, etc. Ah-hah! Ah-HAH! Thanks, all! I would definitely proceed with content subjects even if skill subjects wait awhile. My oldest was this way, but I still fed his mind/heart with great stories and ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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