Question about my 8 year-old in DITHOR

[farmfamily]

Is 8 too young to start having my daughter do some of her DITHOR reading alone? Up until now I have listened to her do all the reading, but I sometimes wonder whether it is the best use of my time. She is reading very well, and the only things I seem to be accomplishing is helping her with the few vocab words she is not familiar with. I know that I also force her to slow down when I make her read aloud. She reads very fast when she reads quietly to herself, and I wonder whether she may skip over some details. I am sure she skips over unfamiliar words. So, do I just stay the course, or could I have her do half of her reading silently? She is using the level 2/3 student book (second time through) and is working through the level 3 book pack, if that makes a difference.

[raceNzanesmom]

I generally think it can't hurt to try something new and see how it goes. I'd probably lay some ground rules, perhaps give a time frame for the trial run, explain what's expected and if she shows she's going too fast you'll stop the reading alone, perhaps give her a certain number of vocab words to underline (so she doesn't skip them). If she shows she can handle it, great, if not then just go back to all reading aloud and try again later on.

[Larica]

My 8yo sounds very similar. I started the year intending for her to read to me, but it became clear that it wasn't completely necessary. I skim the reading before we sit down for DITHOR and then I ask her to tell me about it. I can pretty well tell if she got everything or not. If not, I have her read part of it to me. As for vocabulary, I am sure dd is missing some new words, but I do have her do the DITHOR vocab assignments as they arise, so that helps. She is also getting to the point where she can do more in the workbook by herself. It sure is amazing how much they grow and change from year to year!

Erica

[farmfamily]

Thanks for your replies. I haven't decided for sure what to do yet. I know if I try it, my daughter will love it & she probably wouldn't want to go back to reading it all aloud if it turned out I wasn't happy with the arrangement. I'll keep thinking about it!

[LynnH]

In the 4/5 book they only read 2-3 pages out loud to you so you could do it that way.

[pjdobro]

I leafed through the 2/3 instructions while I was looking at level 4/5 for my dc yesterday. It looks like there are several days throughout a unit when even at 2/3, the guide says for the dc to read by themselves that day. There are several other days when it says they can read part or all to you. Since your dd is such a great reader and is reading aloud so well, I would probably lessen the amount she reads to you. On the days when it says to have them read alone, I would do that. On the days when she is to read to you, I would probably shorten the reading to the 2 to 3 pages like is the usual in level 4/5. I would expect her reading skills to be really great for those 2 to 3 pages. I would go over the reading skills with her and make sure that she is doing all of those. As long as you feel she is doing a great job on those few pages, I would keep her readings to you short. If you feel she still needs to work on some of the skills then I would have her do a longer portion next time. If she is progressing well, then I think letting her read less aloud is fine. I do think it is important to continue reading aloud periodically even if she is reading well. It's a skill that needs to be practiced to maintain. It's much easier to zip through a book, skipping over unusual names, words, etc. I find myself doing that sometimes. When I have to read aloud to my dc though I slow down really thinking about the characters, what their voices would be like, what the setting is like, the mood, etc. It puts me into the story more. I think reading aloud is also a valuable skill to have and maintain in general for life. It's nice to feel comfortable reading in front of people in a Bible study or any other place that might require reading aloud. So I wouldn't quit having her read to you altogether, but I think you could lessen the frequency and amount.