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Education is a Process, Not a Destination
Jan. 3, 2008
Bear's Reading Year in Review
I've tried to keep track of all the books the Bear has read. Sometimes, I don't update the list for a while, so I've probably missed a few books in there. As of Dec. 31, 2007, the Bear had read 181 books total. 4 were read in 2006, making his total for this year 177 books.
When 2007 began, he was reading at about a 1.8-grade level. By April, he was solidly at a 2.0 level. Around May, he was at 2.5. He hit mid-third grade in November, and around then everything seemed to click because he's now at a mid-fourth grade level and doing well. Third grade is his independent level, fourth grade his instructional level, and fifth grade his challenge level at the moment.
The next year goals are to a) build speed, b) build stamina, and c) get him at a fifth grade independent reading level before September when school is officially in session. Right now, speed is still a serious issue, with his max WPM on a grade-level-appropriate text only being about 90 and his cruising WPM still hovering around 50. (Max WPM for starting 4th grade should be 100 WPM--max WPM for ending 4th grade should be 120-150 WPM.) 50 is still a great deal better than the 30 that it was 6 months ago, however.
I expect next year to be fewer since he just finished his first chapter book today. (YAY!!!) Unless, of course, he starts reading more books independently--if that begins next year, then he might read any number of books.
We're briefly backing off on difficulty as we transition to reading more chapter books, as well. At first, we read books like Little Bear by the "chapter". He transitioned to being able to read such a book in halves and then in one sitting, and then we began reading multiple picture books a day, trying to go for varying difficulty levels, breaking up a really hard book with easier ones, etc.
I will be posting reviews of the books that he's read this year--his thoughts and mine. These are nowhere near all the books he's had read *to* him, only the one's he's read, but I didn't keep a list of that. *g* |
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