Ilea's Reading

Ilea has been doing fantastic in her reading recently. She is in an Advanced Reading (AR) program, in which she takes a book home, reads it herself, and then takes a computerized test when she's ready. The books have points, and also have a numeric value for difficulty. She started in January reading 1.5 level books (first grade, 5th month reading level), and is now at 2.7. She takes a book every night, and brings it back the next day. She doesn't have to take just one day, but she keeps saying she doesn't need more time. We hear her read the book, and then we ask her questions on it. So far she's passed every book. She has to get 80% to pass. Some books have 10 questions, and are worth 1 point. Most have 5 questions and are worth 1/2 pt. Ilea and her friend Nori, who is doing the same thing, were in the top ten readers for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade!!! A few weeks ago I got Little House in the Big Woods to read with Ilea. She started reading it herself at night (she is allowed to stay up for an hour after bedtime reading). She finished all 246 pages, and I asked her what questions I could. She took the reading test and got 60% the first time! There were 10 questions, and it's worth 5 points, because it's a 5th grade book!!! She wanted to take the test again, and today she passed, getting 80% !!! We are so proud of her! She is about 100 pages into the next book. She still takes home a 2nd grade book every day, and passes those tests, usually with 100%.

We also gave Ilea a journal recently, because she wanted something to write stories in. She wrote about our day at a lake and having a picnic, and started a story, and also wrote about the test. She's very proud of her journal, and has great sentences, if not spelling. She is really taking off this year.