Lena1967 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 My DD just started K. She was tested last month and is reading at a level that is near the end of 1st grade, as I understand it. She is the only person in her reading group in class, and while I know her teacher tries to meet with her every day, I would guess she's the first "group" to get skipped if time is short. For after-schooling, we are focusing on math (for which there is no differentiation), piano, and Mandarin. I have her read aloud to me each day and we also read at bedtime but am not sure what else I should be doing. She is quite good at sounding out words she doesn't know. Is it enough to supply her with books at and just above her level that she finds interesting, or should I do something more formal? BTW, I just love this forum and am so glad I found it! I find it really supportive and helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 How did your daughter learn to read? I would think that whatever you did to get her to where she is would be a good place to start. It really depends on each child's learning style. I have two dds of KG age, and one is such a motivated and natural reader, I don't generally do anything with her except ensure access to books and occasionally ask her to read something practical. My other dd needs me to read with her every day or she will go backward rather than forward. I alternate between easy "fun" books and challenging books for this child. I do leave the systematic teaching of phonics up to the school (I know they cover this). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Is it enough to supply her with books at and just above her level that she finds interesting, or should I do something more formal? She is in school and gets plenty of "formal" there. Just let her read books to her heart's content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lena1967 Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks for the responses. She learned to read through a mish-mash of methods that I tried after she asked me to teach her -- mostly Hooked on Phonics until she became bored by it and just turned to reading beginning readers series that we picked together (Nora Gayaldo, Usborne). She is in school and gets plenty of "formal" there. Just let her read books to her heart's content. This was my thought, but I wanted to check with the experts. :) She reads out loud to herself -- is that still normal for this stage? I thought I remembered that reading aloud or moving your lips while reading can prevent you from becoming a faster reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lena1967 Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 Heigh Ho, thank you! Just spent a fun hour on Amazon and our public library's site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 My son just started PS kinder and can read. So far it doesn't look like they are doing much at his level, but at least he is having fun and likes going to school. If she is the only one at that reading level, I wouldn't hold my breath that she is going to get much practice reading at school. My son is in a group with four other kids who can read and it seems that they barely meet with the teacher. They are always the group that gets skipped if there is a field trip, assembly, etc. At home we do a page out of Phonics Pathways or Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading then read a book together that is just above his independent reading level. So yesterday we reviewed long vowel patterns in Phonics Pathways and then we read a couple of chapters of Mercy Watson. Later that night before bed he read a book that is easy for him on his own (Fly Guy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 My daughter is 5.5 and is an advanced reader. She still reads out loud. I'm sure it's normal at this age. I think I'd just go to the library and get a bunch of level 2 and 3 readers. Let her go at it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I used to read a lot to my dd in her lower grades. I think it made a huge difference. She would read to me and I would read to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Here are some more formal ideas for moving from "learning to read to reading to learn". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMRB Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 My DS is in K and is an advanced reader also. For his reading pullout at school, they read a book aloud just above his level and give him his own copy of the book to follow along. In his case, it's Magic Treehouse, which is definitely too much for him to read alone, but he loves following along. Don't forget the read alouds - if the decoding is already good, it's important at this point to model fluency and also continue to increase vocabulary. We keep the house (and DS' bedroom) stocked with lots of early readers from the library and also use harder picture books with audio CD's that he might not be able to read alone but can follow with page turn cues. And then we still do our regular "snuggle time" read alouds of longer chapter books. I think reading out loud at this age is perfectly normal. My son reads everything out loud to himself, reads to his sister, to anyone who will listen. It helps build confidence, and also helps you spot where they might be having trouble. "You read me a book, and I'll read you a book" is a fabulous approach at this age, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 This was my thought, but I wanted to check with the experts. :) She reads out loud to herself -- is that still normal for this stage? I thought I remembered that reading aloud or moving your lips while reading can prevent you from becoming a faster reader. I don't know where my K'er officially "falls" on the reading spectrum. I know he can read alone on his own, and picks up just about any reading material he can get his hands on to read (including the PTO newsletters they send hom!) I appreciate that he reads aloud. 1) I know what he's doing and 2) the one thing he really needs to get better at is reading distinctly. So that is what we work on. Making it so he can read aloud such that others (such as his little sister) want to listen to him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I'd just keep having her read aloud to you. You might want to add in advanced phonics if you haven't gotten to that. And if she ever has trouble down the road decoding multisyllabic words, you could add in REWARDS Intermediate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lena1967 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Thanks everyone, for the ideas. Jenbrdsly, thanks for the links to your blog. Very impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Lexile.com has a great book search engine. I like my daughter to read aloud (she's in first) because I can hear what's happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 We do read alouds together (she reads some, I read some) of books like Hobbit and Journey to the Center of the Earth. She goes through the leveled readers on her own and will read all levels at various times. A few times a week I like to hear her reading more of stretch material, and since she prefers to read non-fiction herself I try to make sure I am reading more traditional children's lit to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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