Posted by Prue Eckett on September 18, 2003 at 23:28:11 from 210.86.78.155 user PrueEckett.
In Reply to: Re: Winter Holiday Reading Level posted by Mike Dennis on September 15, 2003 at 15:26:34:
I would like to point out as a sort of addendum on reading levels, that they should be seen in the same fashion as IQ tests. Curious with some attempts at predicting future learning but otherwise irrelevent.
If kids can read, let 'em loose on anything they want (with one or two exceptions of course). Quite young children have been reading the latest Harry Potter which is definitely sophisticated in language and content.
All the Harry Potters are in fact - I have an 18 year old Chinese student living with me whose English is fairly good, of the effective conversational level certainly, but he has had to read the first book with a dictionary and many requests as to what is meant. Someone earlier mentioned context, and he's certainly getting tired of hearing that word, but in reading as with most things, it's all important. Winter Holiday gives consistent context throughout and I think it would interest most children, if two young to read, read it aloud to them, something of a lost art but a great way to expose children to all types of authors.
I grew up with my father telling me Kipling stories and on my own reading Reader's Digest and Gerald Durrell amongst others, and am a fan of putting the books in front of children and letting them decide whether it interests them enough to continue.
I should add also that I have a degree in Education with emphasis on reading but that I've been out of the 'loop' for some time, fortunately, judging by the reading standards accepted by most educational authorities.