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I'm constantly having to readjust my plans to fit with ds skills level. We've been loving Beyond and are scheduled to finish it around February. I already have Bigger, but I'm hesitant to start it then. I've been trying to hold off on Bigger, so that my ds can do the guide as written. It looks like by February, he should be able to read the first 5 books of the Emerging Reader set, because they are leveled 2.0 - 2.9, but then again I noticed that Carrie stated the books increase in difficulty yet the reading levels are scattered. For example, the books listed in order might be 2.0, 2.7, 2.9, 2.5, 3.0, 2.8. If my ds is a struggling reader, should I follow the schedule in the guide, or should I follow the increase in reading level?


My other option is to wait until my ds is reading at a 3rd-4th grade reading level to start Bigger, which will probably be about the middle of September 2013. I would prefer to start Bigger a little early in the year, because I think we will probably have to go at half pace. It looks like a big jump up from Beyond and ds is already at the higher end of the guide.

Thanks,
Tracy

Tracee wrote: the books listed in order might be 2.0, 2.7, 2.9, 2.5, 3.0, 2.8. If my ds is a struggling reader, should I follow the schedule in the guide, or should I follow the increase in reading level?

In regards to the Emerging Readers, just follow the schedule in the guide, you really don't need to pay attention to the reading level. Both of my children have been through the Emerging Readers and the planned schedule has them moving along at a good pace. It doesn't really matter whether you are in Beyond or Bigger to start the Emerging Readers. You can start with him as soon as he is able to read the first book/s in the schedule - doing one plan a day as scheduled. Once your ds finishes Beyond as written he will be ready to move into Bigger even if you have to go half speed at first. Does this answer your questions?

Blessings,

Stephanie

frankesense wrote:

Tracee wrote: the books listed in order might be 2.0, 2.7, 2.9, 2.5, 3.0, 2.8. If my ds is a struggling reader, should I follow the schedule in the guide, or should I follow the increase in reading level?

In regards to the Emerging Readers, just follow the schedule in the guide, you really don't need to pay attention to the reading level. Both of my children have been through the Emerging Readers and the planned schedule has them moving along at a good pace. It doesn't really matter whether you are in Beyond or Bigger to start the Emerging Readers. You can start with him as soon as he is able to read the first book/s in the schedule - doing one plan a day as scheduled. Once your ds finishes Beyond as written he will be ready to move into Bigger even if you have to go half speed at first. Does this answer your questions?

Blessings,

Stephanie

I agree with this. The progression in the guide works really well. I found that when we got into it a little ways my ds sort of stalled out and then we just began to use some of the alternate titles in addition to the regularly scheduled ones. These don't have the corresponding questions, but they worked great to give him extra practice before we moved on to something harder. I also like to start a new guide (like Bigger) at half pace. Gives them a chance to get a grasp on the new requirements and skills without a lot bigger workload all at once. When the skills start to come easier then they can handle more work each day.

Thanks ladies . That helped a lot. Yes, I think we might as well start Bigger as soon as we finish Beyond, so we can take our time. I'll just follow the ER set they way they are in the guide, and if it gets too difficult, we can substitute.


Thank you,
Tracy Wagner

Tracee wrote:I'll just follow the ER set they way they are in the guide, and if it gets too difficult, we can substitute.

When it seems your child comes to a place were they should have more practice before they move continue on in the Emerging Readers schedule, Carrie has a list of alternative titles in the program. You can hang out at that level, reading the alternate titles before moving on, as the previous post mentioned.

I just wanted to mention that standard reading levels follow a specific formula that cannot take into account certain things that make a book harder or easier to read. They count words, syllables, length of sentences, etc., but they do not take into account these types of things...
* how many pictures a book contains
* the length of a book, whether it is long or short
* the type of font and the size of the print used, whether it is very small or quite large
* whether the book is written in a modern style of speaking, acting, living, or whether it is more "old worldly" sounding
* whether it is a familiar topic to students or not

All of these things can make a world of difference in the difficulty or ease of reading a book, yet they cannot be measured in a standard way, and therefore are not considered when assigning a reading level. Carrie has taken these things into account as much as possible as she arranged the order of the Emerging Reader's Set, and though the exact reading level numbers may not line up in order, the books do steadily get progressively more difficult in a very purposeful way that works very well. We've used the Emerging Reader's Set twice, and we are getting ready to use it a third time with our last ds. It is a wonderful progression of delightful books for dc to read their way through! I think you will enjoy it, and it is fun to see dc grow gradually in their reading abilities, as well as in their abilities to accurately answer the provided questions. As the ladies mentioned, if ds comes to a difficult patch, Carrie has suggested supplemental titles that can be used to help them over the hump. HTH - have fun with it!

In Christ,
Julie