Question about reading placement

[blessedmomof3girls]

Ok, So I asked a few questions about where to place my older daughter who will be 6 in Oct. and We have decided to put her in Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory and do Little Hands for my 3 year old spanning over 2 years. Anyway, I was wondering about the reading. My daughter reads very well, but isn't reading chapter books yet. She has read pretty much every leveled reader that we own with little to no help, and could read chapter books, but I think the small print and so many words on one page over whelms her. Should I put her with the emerging readers or the Drawn into the Heart of Reading. How would I know what her reading level is as far as "grade" level?


Rebecca

[Kathleen]

Rebecca,

It sounds to me like she'll fit in the Emerging Reader Set somewhere. They get progressively harder, so if I were you I'd check them out and start where it seems best. Is she past the Amelia Bedelia/Frog & Toad books? I know the Frog & Toad ones have "chapters", but they still have pictures on every page. By the time you get to the end of the set, the books are beginning chapter books without pictures very often at all. You could check some of these out at the library if possible and decide where it seems that it will get harder for her. Then, I'd start back a couple of books from there and go through them at the pace they're scheduled in the appendix of Beyond. This should help her make a painless transition to reading bigger books while building her ability to read aloud and comprehend what she's reading!

My guess is that Buffalo Bill may be a good place for you to start with her. Once you get to the nature reader & on, the books are the chapter ones with lots of little words & only an occasional picture.

One other thought is that even if your daughter can easily read the books at the beginning of the set, it may be enjoyable for her to read all of them anyway. My daughter just turned 6 last week, and we've started the Emerging Readers. We're reading the Early Reader's Bible still and I'm planning on going back and doing The Beginner's Bible also to really give her a chance to enjoy being successful with reading. While she could jump ahead and read some of the other books already, I know that we'll have a positive experience just taking it slowly and letting her be succesful with all the books we're reading! (She does like to read anything else she gets her hands on...books from the library, signs, cards, boxes in the kitchen, you name it! )

Here's a link where you can see the books in order. http://www.heartofdakota.com/emerging-reader.php
Kathleen

[jjcmehl]

I think she would fit best in the Emergering Readers Schedule of books. She is probably ready to start at the Prairie School book which is in Unit 16, but I think she should start with the beginning of the book recommendation, since they will build her confidence even further.

Check out some of the book sample pages online at on online bookstore website like Barnes and Noble or Amazon. This will help you see for yourself.

Enjoy the journey with her, it goes by so quickly and before you know it she will be completing 100 page books in a sitting!

[blessedmomof3girls]

Thank you all for your input. I can't wait to make my order. She can't either. She keeps asking when her new school will get here.

A littl off the topic of this thread, but it is too cute to not share. I'm originally from South Dakota. I lived from age 7 to 26 in Rapid City. Both my older daughters were born there. Then my dh got stationed overseas with the military and we moved here from Rapid (Ellsworth) 19 months ago. When I found this cirriculum and found out it was based in South Dakota my daughter was estactic. She can't wait to get her school work from South Dakota. Then she goes on to tell me that when she grows up she's gonna live in South Dakota and never leave. LOL.

Rebecca

[pjdobro]

I agree that even if she can read the books towards the end, I would start at the beginning of the emerging readers set. They are wonderful and help build confidence. If it does seem a little too easy for her, I would just progress a little more quickly through the beginning. My dd was definitely able to read further along in the set, but I think starting at the beginning really helped build her reading comprehension and fluency in reading aloud. They are wonderful books and well worth taking the time to read.

Here is a link to a reading assessment that you can give your daughter if you are curious: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/060899.htm

That is really cute about your daughter being so excited to start her new school from South Dakota and wanting to live there always!

[MomtoJGJE]

I would also say to start her at the beginning of the Emerging Readers.... In my opinion HOD slowly teaches them how to pay attention and absorb what they are reading with the amount they read daily along with the questions you ask each day. It was also nice to start with easy for my first DD so that she would not dread reading time since she's not a reader.... she can read well, but doesn't just read for the fun of it!