I never understood the "reading level" thing here. Growing up (in Czech Republic) ... every year we had a list of books we HAD to read (10-15 books) ... those books were the "treasures" of our literature, starting with simpler ones for the little kids and more demanding for older kids and had to write reports on those books and then we were supposed to read a certain number of books we'd choose and write reports on those. But nobody really cared about what "level" they were. It was books we were interested in. I spent probably good 5 or 6 years reading nothing but books about aliens or native Americans (Karl May and his books about Winnetou ... for those who are familiar with them :)). It was all about finding something you truly wanted to read so you would stick with reading rather than being told what and when to read. This also meant that nobody really needed LA acceleration because they could keep themselves at the level appropriate for them.
Mk13, fwiw, not all US schools go by reading levels - I think you just see it mentioned a lot because it's a number, it's something that seems quantifiable, and parents like to try to quantify. Our public elementary school measured reading levels twice each year for K-2 only to be sure that they were aware of children who were struggling or not making good progress, but they usually never tested past grade level and that all worked out ok for our kids. Children were allowed to choose the books they wanted to read, and the classes also always were reading one book together as a class.
phey, I wouldn't put much into what specific reading level your child is at this point - young children develop reading skills at very different rates, and you might find that some of your ds' peers who aren't reading much at all at his age will suddenly be voracious, way ahead of grade level readers in 1-2 years. We were always advised that the best thing we could do to help our kids learn to read was to read *to* them - hearing books read helps young children develop their comprehension. You can also ask them questions about what you read etc. We were still told to read to our children as late as 4th grade as part of their "homework" each night.
FWIW, most of the kids my kids went to school with were able to read Flat Stanley in first grade... I never paid attention to levels on books, but it surprises me that FS would be rated 4th grade? Most of my kids' friends in 4th grade were reading much longer, more complicated chapter books, things like Warriors etc.
polarbear
ps - just saw your note re reading Five Levels of Giftedness... which prompts a question - are you working your way through figuring out school placement, or just trying to get a feeling for where your ds is at? This is jmo, of course, but I'd try to listen to your gut instincts, follow where your child leads, and not place too much worry over where your child lands on the 5 Levels book charts. OTOH, if you think he needs more challenge at school, it's going to help to keep work examples and to try to get testing.
