All About Grooming & Encouraging Good Reading Habits

[hermes173]

Hanvid:

Hi parents,


I'm not sure where to post this question or if this question has been posted b4. I'll like to know what is the best way to help my son (k2) understand new words that he comes across when reading.

I'm currently reading \"The Little Wooden Horse\" with him and I'm not sure if I'm using the correct method of asking him to:
1)underline words that he does not understand
2)Check the meaning of the new word in the dictionary
3)Write it down in a word bank book including the meaning

I'm wondering if this method of halting and continuing with the reading is disrupting the flow of the story as he reads.

Appreciate your comments!

It would and it might make him lose interest in the story.

You could underline the words and teach your boy how to use contextual clues to guess the meaning of the words as you are reading the story. Guessing words from context is a useful skill to have in school. During the examination, when the child comes across a word he does not know, he would not have access to the dictionary. But if he is able to guess the meaning of the word from the text before or after, he would still be able to understand the passage.

Then after having read the story, you could check the meaning of the words in the dictionary and write down the meaning in a word bank book together with your boy. This would help him to develop dictionary skills which are also useful.

[Hanvid]

Hi hermes173,


Thank you for the advice and suggestion! Greatly appreciated!

We were reading half way thru the book when I realised he may not know the meanings of some of the words. So I started him with looking up the meanings of these words and writing them down. However, I realised it doesn't seemed effective and like you mentioned, he seemed to be losing interest in the story.

Fortunately, its not too late to get back to enjoying the story!

Thanks again!

[hermes173]

You are welcome, Hanvid.

[mummy of 2]

jedamum:

RE toddler books

my younger boy likes me to read and re-read Alphabet Books (Alphabet Adventure, Mystery, Rescue) by Audrey Wood. he likes PD Eastman's books. i did get only a few of Usborne First Reading books in the library (eg http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Fish-First-Reading-Level/dp/0794516971/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274367466&sr=1-33, and he likes it for the illustration and few words. surprisingly, while he likes the cartoon Harry and the Bucketful of dinosaurs, he did not quite like the books...(like as in will read over and over again). recently borrowed the Dr Seuss ABC (after chancing upon the Youtube version) and he likes it - i borrowed the one with chinese words too, which he likes me to read too.

\"The Napping House\" by Audrey Wood is also a good read. Beautifully illustrated, with many repetition, the book is simple enough for toddlers to understand.

[JJmom2008]

Hi mommies,


Glad tat i come in the right time when u mommies r discussing abt Dr Seuss

My little gal juz fall in love with Dr Seuss's 'Hop On Pop' & so not wanting to miss the train, i tot i shd get my hands on his other titles ASAP. But was shocked to realise from the -ve reviews tat the board books & beginner series r the abridged version, vy much altered from the original

M vy confused & worried on how to tell from so many different versions? Pls advise. TIA.

Example : How to tell is this collection original?
http://www.amazon.com/Seusss-Beginner-Collection-Green-Socks/dp/0375851569/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1284706833&sr=1-1-fkmr0}

[Blobbi]

So sorry to hear about that, JJmom!


I thought the books are classics? I’m not an expert but all abridged books should have the words "Abridged" written somewhere, so study the cover with a magnifiying glass! The ones you posted actually look alright for this reason (and its not in the product description).

[optimistforum]

tamarind:

optimistforum:

Dear Tamarind, Clarbella, Cafelatte, Blobbi et al


Firstly, Tamarind - in answer to your question, about comparing UK state schools to Singaporean state schools; there is no comparison. Singapore is far superior!!! It is a shame that we (in the UK) who are the mother country, have the poorer literacy and numeracy levels. Our Year 2 SAT Papers in English and Maths are weak compared to equivalent papers at the end of P1. :oops:

Secondly, after seeing the Stellar Program PDF, can someone please have a look at the English Practice Book (by Jean Chua), that I mentioned earlier. I would like to know if I can use this as a standard now.

Finally, what is the school year in Singapore? I understand it starts in January. (Here in the UK, school starts in the first week of September, and finishes around the third week of July. The age cut-off date is 31 Aug. So DS1's current cohort in Year 2 (your P1) had to all be 6 years of age by 31 Aug 2009. My DS1 was 6 in July, and so is a very young six.)

Our kids go to P1 in January in the year that he turns 7 years old. For example, a 2003 child goes to P1 in 2010, even if he is born on 31 Dec 2003. My son is born in Sep, when he enters P1 he will be only 6 years 3 months old.

However, most families who can afford it, send their kids to playgroup from as young as 18 months old to start learning ABCs. It is very rare to find a child who has not gone to nursery at 3 years old. Many parents start to read English books to their babies since birth

When my girl was in kindergarten K2 (the year before P1), her kindergarten taught the Rigby Rocket turquoise series :
http://www.edventurebooks.com/Rigby/Rocket/turquoise.htm
Click here to see the words :
http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqBQJ1i

Roughly equivalent to Peter and Jane level 4/5. Though she has already read Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Prairie, the original Alice in Wonderland, etc, at home.

Kids who can read very well at a very young age, all learned to read at home, taught by their mommies

I taught my boy http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-teach-phonics.html at home, and let him read the http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/12/key-words-with-ladybird.html from 3 years 3 months old, he completed book 11a and is able to read Roald Dahl's books before he turns 5 years old.

I think that the majority of kids who attended kindergarten(not compulsory) are able to read at about Peter and Jane level 4, but there are also many kids who can only read at level 1 by the time they enter P1, usually in neighbourhood schools.

Those kids studying in the top primary schools in Singapore, are the ones who are best prepared by their mommies , that is why the schools need to set test papers of very high standards.

I don't have the book by Jean Chua, I will take a look when I go to Popular bookshop.

Hi Tamarind you mention that Ladybird Level 4/5 equate to Rigby Rocket Turquoise.

Can you please advise what level the Peter and Jane Keywords Books 10a, 10b through to 12b equate to in the Rigby Rocket series?

Thanks
Optimistforum

[tamarind]

Optimistforum,

The highest level of the Rigby Rocket series is only equivalent to Ladybird Peter and Jane level 4 or 5. They do not have books of a higher standard than this level.

[optimistforum]

tamarind:

Optimistforum,

The highest level of the Rigby Rocket series is only equivalent to Ladybird Peter and Jane level 4 or 5. They do not have books of a higher standard than this level.

Hi Tamarind

I hope you are well.

I would like to know how books 8a to 12b correleate with Ladybird Level 4/5, please? I.e is 8a the same as Level 1/2 ..etc. At school, he is now on Rigby Rocket Orange Level (which here is the level for the beginning of Year 2, or your P1). It then progresses to Turquoise, Purple, Gold, White and then Lime,

A quick question, please. I asked the above questions as I wanted to gauge how DS2 (dob July 2005) was doing. Since Boxing Day he's read Peter & Jane 1a, 1b through to 8b now. I expect him at this pace to have completed 12b by the Valentines Day.

It is my opinion, he may well be on course to become an independent reader - infact he already reads by himself and we do sample reading with him to validate his progress.

His teacher eulogises about his ability to understand and recapitulate what he has just read.

I need to now think of the next level of books for him. Any ideas please?

[tamarind]

optimistforum:

I would like to know how books 8a to 12b correleate with Ladybird Level 4/5, please? I.e is 8a the same as Level 1/2 ..etc. At school, he is now on Rigby Rocket Orange Level (which here is the level for the beginning of Year 2, or your P1). It then progresses to Turquoise, Purple, Gold, White and then Lime,

Hi,
I am fine

I don't quite understand your first question. When I said Ladybird level 4/5, I meant the Peter and Jane books 4a,4b,5a,5b. I refer to books 8a to 12b as levels 8 to 12. These books are far more advanced than books at level 4 and 5. Hope this clarifies your first question.

I have only seen the Turquoise and lower levels of the Rigby Rocket books, I have not seen the levels higher than Turquoise, so I cannot comment on those.

Once a child has completed books 12a and 12b of the Peter and Jane books. There is no need to read any other graded readers. He should start to read all the wonderful children's classics.

Check this page in my blog :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2010/03/picture-books-from-my-home-library.html

I have listed many excellent books, and I have indicated the reading level of each book. For example, a book with reading level 10 means that a child who has completed Peter and Jane books 10a and 10b, should be able to read most of the words in this book.

All the books in my blog are wonderful, especially Lafcadio The Lion Who Shot Back and Three Tales of My Father's Dragon which must be read by every child.

The books in this page are for kids who are very advanced in reading :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2010/03/importance-of-reading-books.html