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OK ladies, for all of you who have already started DITHOR, I started reading through the teacher's manual and I have some questions.

1. How do you decide how many pages per day your child should be reading, i.e. whether a book should be a 5, 10, or 15 day book?
2. Is he supposed to read all of the pages out loud to me, or just part of it?
3. I bought the 2/3 pack thinking that should be about right for my 3rd grader. However, under "Student Placement" it says that if the child is doing independent reading for pleasure then he should be in 4/5. My son does read independently for pleasure but I don't think he's ready to jump to 4/5. Should I consider only doing 2/3 for one year and then moving on to 4/5?
4. The program is designed to do two years at each level. Is the student book supposed to last 2 years as well, or is it a consumable that you buy for each years?



These may be super simple questions, but I'm a bit confused...

After reading some of the posts on the archives, I'm thinking maybe the expectation is that we would only be doing 4-5 genres each year and that the workbook would then take 2 years to complete. Is this correct, or is the expectation going into this that we would do all 9 genres each year?

I look at the book and decide how many days it should take to finish comfortably. Alot of the 2/3 level books are fast reads, so they should be the 5 day or maybe 10 day on some of the harder one's.

Why don't you get him some from the library and see if they're too easy for him??? That way, you're not out any money for buying books below his level.

LeeAnn,

At the 2/3 Level, the books can be pretty short, depending on the selection. If you've chosen chapter books, I usually schedule a chapter a day. At the 2/3 level, we often did one 10 day book and one 5 day book.

I wouldn't move up to Level 4/5, since your child is only 8. I'd begin with Level 2/3 and finish however many genres you get through this year. Then, at that time if you feel your child is ready to handle the more aggressive writing pace required in Level 4/5 (a page a day) and the higher level of independence required in 4/5 (having 2-3 days a week that are almost completely on their own), then I'd move him up. If he doesn't seem ready in those areas, I'd keep him in Level 2/3 another year, but assign harder books to read.

When my kiddos began reading well independently, I would only have them read the first several pages to me, and then let them go off to read on their own. Just remember, reading aloud well, is a different skill then reading silently. So, you want your kiddo to practice some reading aloud each day at Level 2/3, to become adept at that skill.

Blessings,
Carrie

netpea,

I forgot to mention that by doing DITHR 3-4 days a week, you'd finish 5-6 genres in a year. Then, the following year, you'd finish the genres you'd missed (and repeat your son's favorite genres).

In this manner, the Student Book will last 2 years. You do have permission to photocopy the Student Book for family use.

Blessings,
Carrie

joyfulheart wrote:Why don't you get him some from the library and see if they're too easy for him??? That way, you're not out any money for buying books below his level.

Good Idea, thanks.

Carrie wrote:LeeAnn,

At the 2/3 Level, the books can be pretty short, depending on the selection. If you've chosen chapter books, I usually schedule a chapter a day. At the 2/3 level, we often did one 10 day book and one 5 day book.

I wouldn't move up to Level 4/5, since your child is only 8. I'd begin with Level 2/3 and finish however many genres you get through this year. Then, at that time if you feel your child is ready to handle the more aggressive writing pace required in Level 4/5 (a page a day)
----
I would only have them read the first several pages to me, and then let them go off to read on their own.

Thanks Carrie,
That pretty much answers my question. My son has read some bigger chapter books independently but he wouldn't be wiling to write a page a day or be ready to work independently. Sounds like 2/3 is the right level.