Children's reading age

Courgette

mintymoneysaver wrote: »

I am a teacher, and those reading ages are very good, but as others say this does not mean they will need any other stimulation. Let them read good quality books, enjoy reading and all the other skills will follow. A reading age of 10 at 7 is not uncommon ( I would say about 6 children in my class would be at this level) although your children are obviously very able. Are they happy at school? Working well? Fulfilling their potential? Then personally that would be enough for me. I have a bright child ( 100% in her RE GCSE a year early) but I have never felt the need to do any more than encourage her to do the best she can. At secondary school level they will be set ( if they're not already) and be given work which suits their ability. Obviously there are the odd exceptions to this, but generally I am not a fan of pushing children to levels that they do not need to get to yet.

I'm a Secondary English teacher and I agree with these comments. What I would add though is that's important from a school perspective that children read as wide a variety of texts as possible, so get them to read the newspaper (you can check the article for suitability), leaflets that come through the door, instruction manuals as well as general fiction. I'd also be encouraging them to develop their reasoning skills so present them with current controversial topics and encourage deeper thought on the issue.

My son is also very bright and, although I'm a teacher, I sadly agree that the top end do not get the same attention and resources that the weaker students get, I think it's an attitude of 'they'll be fine' especially where time and money are limited. Teaching Assistants for example never go into top set classes to really push the bright kids on a one-to-one basis

poet123

My youngest son has had a 15+ reading age since he was 9,(he is 12) and now he is in a gifted and talented English program at school. This consists of a small group being given special reading material, more involved comprehension exercises, harder spellings and vocabulary widening material.

As he is my youngest son though I have been through this 3 times before, and I think that the advice given by the teachers on this thread. and others, is sound. My elder sons didn't have these resources into place but they just read avidly (under my watchful eye for suitability) and we tried to give them a broad spectrum of reading matter. They all thrived and progressed well, and one now teaches English! whilst the other two are in Law.

So, ask the school if any extra resources are available, but don't get to hung up on it ifthey are not, just do what you are doing now,and he will be fine.

nzmegs

Thanks for all your comments. I agree that pushing children isn't always a good thing. I think the school does what it can - but has limited resources. I guess the fear that us parent have is that our children will get to be adults and feel that they didn't get all the opportunities that they should have and didn't achieve their potential.
This is most likey a left over from my childhood. It wasn't until I went to university that I felt truly challenged and I didn't find my true talent until I was in my 30's. I just want to be sure my kids don't lose all that time when they could be working towards goals now.
Thanks for all the good advice - in particluar the teachers. it is good to know that they will do ok regardless.

Oldernotwiser

What sort of school will your son go to next year? Do you have selective schools in your area?

Savvy_Sue

Courgette wrote: »

Teaching Assistants for example never go into top set classes to really push the bright kids on a one-to-one basis

I'm not sure my boys ever had 1:1 'assistance' with their maths - there was usually another equally or nearly as bright lad alongside them - but they certainly DID get some stretching at primary school.

In secondary school, DS2 was doing his own stretching, reading Maths books for fun.

loulou123

I was always well above my reading age, to the point it actually caused me problems at school, as i used to read the set books way quicker than anyone else, meaning i was regulary questioned on the books to make sure i'd actually read them, not just skimmed the pages. As a adult i still love reading and can speed read (and still read every word.)

As someone else has mentioned be careful what your chidren are reading, as just because they can read adult books doesnt mean the content is ok for them. My mum was never a 'reader' so i used to read books that were very unappropriate right under her nose and she had no idea! Although she was very careful about what she allowed me to watch on tv!

I don't personally think that readin ability has much influence on future sucess, i passed my GCSEs with all high grades (was in the highest sets for all subjects) but then went on to fail A-level english literature, mainly due to the fact that the set books didnt interest me.

When i left college i went to work in a solicitors office as a legal secretary, but hated it and now have a job i love that requires pretty much no qualifications, just people skills. I still love reading and writing though, but dont feel as though ive wasted an opportunity, as i rather be happy in my career then doing something which uses all my 'skills' but that i hate.

pandora205

There are two ways that spring to mind to build on this strength in reading. First, extend the repetoire of books that your children read. There is some excellent children's fiction out there, old and new. Look at the Carnegie award and Smarties prize winners for some ideas. Your local library may have a specialist children's librarian who is very knowledgeable about quality fiction. Introduce your child, or even go to have a chat yourself. Mention the types of books enjoyed and ask for ideas. Here is a useful weblink with ideas http://www.ncbc.co.uk/NCBC/Home.html (I heard Marion Brockelhurst at a conference. She was inspiring and very helpful when I emailed her for suggestions for my own daughter).

Also consider introducing some more challenging material, such as the classics, particularly for a ten year old, as this opens up a whole world of literature. Discuss any books that you are reading too, as this gives the message that books are not just about school.

The other way to develop these skills is to enrich the children's experiences. For many people, literacy is an access tool that aids expression and extends subject knowledge. This is true in school, where sometimes children plateau in their reading development as the importance of applying the skills becomes more important than reading for it's own sake. So trips to museums and exhibitions, discussions about news and topical debates, watching documentaries, setting up experiments (answering what if?) and hobbies, complementing school topics (find out what these are) are ways are encouraging children to use these well developed skills.