Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy need suggestions for reading homework

I'm looking for ideas to suggest to DD's teacher on what DD6 can do for Reading/Language Arts homework. DD just turned 6, is in first grade, and current reading level is approx. 5th/6th grade. Our district does not have a gifted program, but she has a wonderful, supportive teacher who is doing whatever she can to let DD work ahead.

In class, DD participates in 1st grade reading groups with everyone else, but has reading homework geared to her level. (Everyone in the class does this differentiated reading homework--a program called the Workshop Way.) Every day she gets one page which has a list of single words or phrases (never complete sentences, nothing contextual). DD brings the page home, practices reading it to us, then the next day reads it to her teacher or a parent volunteer at school. If she reads it fluently, she is given a new page with the next lesson in the series.

In my opinion the Workshop Way pages are just okay, not great. They have forced her to learn how to sound out unfamiliar words, and she has learned some new big vocabulary words. But I think there could be something more beneficial than just learning these random words.

She hasn't had any new homework pages lately--she said the teacher ran out of pages at her level (she was doing Grade 5 lessons) and needs to get more. I'm hoping the teacher might be open to doing something different altogether. I was thinking maybe something where DD can read a story, page or even a long paragraph of a higher grade level book, then make a list of the hard or unfamiliar words, write their definitions and/or use them in a sentence. Then she could take her list of definitions or sentences to school and read those to the teacher/volunteer.

Any other suggestions? If anyone has a child of similar age and reading level who is in a gifted program, what types of work are their teachers giving them for Reading/Language Arts?

Thanks for any input.

GG

Does your school have the Accelerated Reader program?

For anyone who doesn�t know, it�s consists of computer based tests of 5, 10 or 20 questions depending on level and book length. For our school it is a non-graded requirement. Depending on the grade, kids are required to earn a minimum number of points. Some kids far exceed that minimum, yet their grade is based solely on grade level reading assignments and tests. At least as a parent, I see that they have excellent reading comprehension. The school librarian doesn�t allow my son to check out books far above grade level. We work around that by purchasing or borrowing elsewhere.

Other parents here have mentioned that math is an area that is easily accommodated by self study. In my opinion, reading (for comprehension, not phonics) is the easiest subject for kids to progress at their own rate. Although it isn�t a graded area at their school, I believe that the Accelerated Reader program is a more accurate measure of reading comprehension than any reading worksheet I have every seen. The exception is the Weekly Reader magazine-like papers that they do occasionally.

Yes, they have Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math. DD6 does both of these as "extra" activities at school, probably 1-3 times per week. I don't think it's graded. She really likes AM. Doesn't talk as much about AR but I think she enjoys it, too.

The reading homework is a whole different thing. I doubt she could do AR in place of it. She needs to have some kind of reading work, something challenging she practiced at home, to bring in and read every day--like the other kids do. Teacher is willing to let her work ahead and do some things separately, but doesn't want DD to be completely doing her own thing. She (teacher) already gets questions from the other kids about why DD doesn't have to do math with them, why she gets to check out chapter books from the library, etc.

My son has recently been required to sit in the hall during his classroom math period when his assistant principle is unavailable for his English lesson. (He goes to math during their English) Other children who pass by ask how he got in trouble. The teacher�s explanation is that the other kids are jealous that he gets to read during math.

I wonder if our AR programs are different. Ours is just computer based tests that are completed after the child reads a library book. Our school has thousands of tests available for popular current, as well as, classic children and teen books. It is not a regularly scheduled event. If I remember correctly, for 1st grade the kids go to the library in groups of two or three during regular reading homework time if they have recently completed a library book. The tests can also be taken before or after school. When my son was in first grade, he would often take several per week.

Does your daughter�s school teach phonics? Our school does, so our son progressed in reading comprehension on his own while memorizing all the phonics symbols with the rest of the class. Beginning in 3rd or 4th, they read grade level books and answer worksheet pages. Our son reads avidly for pleasure and racks up the AR points in addition to the required and less interesting class work.

We do not have Accelerated Math. Could you describe what it is?

What does your son do when he's sitting out in the hall alone?

Our AR program is the same. I know they have a computer in DD's classroom where she could take the tests, but I don't know how often she does them, if at all. She hasn't mentioned it recently. I think that's because they are having her focus more on math right now.

Accelerated Math is a software program similar to AR. DD gets a multi-page printout of math questions with multiple choice answers. She fills this out and the teacher transfers her answers to a "bubble card." (I think older kids fill out their own bubble cards but DD's teacher does this part for her.) The card is read by a scanner, and the info goes into the computer which scores the assignment, records her grade, and prints out a report. She brings home both the question sheets and the report.

The report says something across the top like "[DD's name], you answered 25 out of 25 problems correctly (100%) and mastered 5 objectives." Then it lists the specific objectives of the questions (example: "Add 2-digit numbers, re-group") and the results for each objective. If she got some questions wrong, it shows which ones, what answer she gave, and the correct answer. There's also a summary of "results to date" for the marking period and the school year.

The Accelerated Math program is a great resource for younger gifted students like your daughter. My son would have made good use of that had it been available at his school. Instead he endured 4 years of Saxon math which progressed way too slowly for him.

He is allowed to read his book or do schoolwork while he sits on the floor in the hall.

Hi, my son seems to be in the same boat as your 1st graders. He has a great teacher but we live in beautiful Massachusetts with MCAS garbage. We're in a poor community with mostly elderly voters. The schools are paid for primarly by the state with the town pitching in a whole 7% of the bill. Needless to say the teachers, no matter how good, are required by law to reach the slowest students and bring them up to the lowest acceptable standard. They do this the only way they can - they teach solely to those students and throw the average and above average students bits to challenge them when they get a chance. (That's only if you have a good teacher. Last year's teacher was a nightmare.) The braindead principal suggested 4-H if we want to challenge our son because "there's nothing the school can do." A gifted program would take a miracle.

With that said, I'm very thankful for the teacher my son has this year. She has more energy than all of the other teachers at her school combined. The kids are so excited to learn and she loves volunteers. We talked with her last week and she's agreed to start our son on a SAR reading program (not sure what SAR stands for). I had a major flashback when I recognized the box of colored leaflets as something I did in third grade! The program divides the reading levels by color. A student picks a 4 page leaflet from their level and reads the 2-3 paragraph story, then answers the 15-20 questions. Then the kid self-corrects the answers from a cheat-sheet found in the same box (hopefully the kids don't notice that the teacher isn't watching them work at all times)

The leaflets are still a lot easier than the books our son reads at home but it sure beats the 3 sentence stuff he works on with the rest of the class.

Let me know if you want to know more information on this. I know it's old stuff (I did the program 25 years ago) but it might be helpful.

All the students in the school work on a self-paced computer program called LEXIA (? not sure of the spelling). The draw-back of the program is that a teacher or director of the program decides on the kids levels. Our son's director was happy to report that they bumped him way up to reading hard words like muffin and pancake. AAAHHH. They have absolutely no idea of his abilities.

ldparents, thanks for your reply. I'm glad your son has a good teacher this year. An understanding teacher (especially one who is knowledgeable about gifted) makes all the difference!

LOL about the "hard words" like muffin and pancake. Can you talk to the director of that program about your son and raising the level he works on so he is suitably challenged?

About my original question, I talked to DD6's teacher today and she did get more reading homework pages in the system she was using with DD. So I guess we'll just stick with what they're already doing. The teacher is open to doing something different if I have any ideas, and if it fits into their time constraints, but I still don't know what else to suggest.

Galaxy Girl - Sorry I didn't reply right away. I did talk to the director of the Lexia program regarding the degree of difficulty. I volunteer for her once a week and have gotten a little friendly with her. I showed her some of the books that my son was reading at home. I asked if she could do anything more to change him to a level a little more suitable and she brushed it off with barely a glance. We've decided to homeschool him and I've been told that I can purchase the same software so the point will be moot anyway. Good luck with your daughter.