Reading for 2nd grader ?? Sonlight? CLE ??

[Tiramisu]

I had a second grader who was a strong reader last year. When I had to suddenly pull the kids out of school last September, I had her use the Sonlight readers and she finished up with the Advanced Readers for grades 3-5. She loved them and became an avid reader. She narrated well, showing good comprehension so I was surprised when she only got about a 75th percentile on the reading comprehension section of the CAT. It could have been explained by her being burnt-out from the testing and rushing and finishing the 30 miniute test in about five minutes. I should have told her to go over her answers but the reading seemed so simple.

 

Anyway, I have another 2nd grader to worry about next year. This year she finished Calvert grade 1 reading. Now I have her reading aloud from a Junior Great Books 2nd grade 2nd second semester reader. On her own, she has read over 30 Magic Tree House books and has been able to discuss them in detain. So what do I do next year?

 

Should I use the Sonlight readers again since they encouraged a great love of reading in her older sister even though her CAT reading scores weren't as high as I expected? Or should I do something like CLE Reading?

 

She will also be finishing up the Explode the Code series next year, so I don't think she needs a reading program that includes phonics.

 

Does anyone have any other ideas? All suggestions are welcome! :)

 

Thanks!!

[Chris in VA]

It could be that your older one would benefit from some test prep. It would get her used to the kinds of comprehension questions she can expect on a test. IMO, a child won't continue to read what she doesn't understand, and, with you checking that understanding by asking her to narrate, I'm sure she just didn't test well.

 

I would give your second child the benefit of a little test prep, and, if you think dc would enjoy the same books, go ahead and use them.

[Tiramisu]

Thanks, Chris!

 

I was thinking of having both of them just read real books and add on some kind of reading comprehension workbook exercises once a week or so. That would probably help with test prep and give me some reassurance about their comprehension.

 

But...CLE does look really good....