Reading ideas for gifted child

[Turkish Delight]

Hello,

Some of you know that my son is gifted. We recently received his report and had parent-teacher interviews last night. He is only 7 (currently in grade 3, when he should really be in grade 2) and has the reading capacity of a kid in grade 5, so an 11 year old kid.

I bought him Zac Power books but he reads the whole novel in about 30 mins.

I don't know if i should get him to read fiction or non-fiction books?

[Janie]

I don't have primary aged children, but I am an avid reader, and always have been. I would be asking, what sort of books does he enjoy reading? Because reading should be fun, and from that the learning comes. The more you read, the more you learn (and I don't just mean from book content) so I would be encouraging him to read books that he finds enjoyable. If he likes a challenge, then that's great too. Do you belong to a library? That's a great, cheap way of letting him go for it when choosing his own reading.

[AnyDream]

Schedule in a time to meet the school librarian (with him along) and she can teach him how to browse the sections of the library that has material suitable to his reading level...and how to select material himself. He should be reading a mixture of fiction & non-fiction, material that is too easy, material that is just right and a few things that are a bit harder too. Talk to him sometimes about what he's reading, and read aloud together, so that there's a culture of shared enjoyment in the house.

There's a fabulous website in every state for the Premier's Reading Challenge, they have age-grouped book lists which could give you some ideas. Don't forget that you can also provide him with magazines, newspapers and "real life" reading opportunities. It all counts esp if he's thirsty for information.

[Phteven]

I was an advanced reader. My advice would be to get a membership for your local library and let him decide what to read for himself. It doesn't matter if he reads a novel in 30 minutes if he enjoyed it (although it gets to be a PITA to be constantly having to find new books). Ask the librarain to teach him the basics of the dewey system and what a bibliography is and he'll be able to use any library in the world.
My parents never bothered telling me what was too old for me so I ended up reading all sorts of 'unsuitable' literature and remaining blissfully unaware of how adult it was.

[Turkish Delight]

Fabulous idea about meeting the librarian and getting him taught the dewey system. I'm taking him to the library tonight then. He lurves the library. He goes directly to the picture book section. I have to keep remembering that he is only 7.

I'll get him to make a list of favourite non-fiction topics which we can look for in the library together.

We are really bad at returning books back. So i tend to buy them. And at $10 a book which he reads in about 30mins.....

Thanks girls.

[Rouge]

Let him read what he wants to read, age appropriate material be it fiction or non fiction. My daughter is gifted and the school allocate her special areas of the library from which she can read from. And she's reading at grade 6 level (in grade 2) yet they need to monitor content thoroughly. Something you might want to keep in mind.

Be wary with the premiers challenge my GF had LOTS of issues with it because her daughter is gifted and they won't let her enter in the older section but she will not ready the younger children's books for her age group.

[~Saram~]

Yep it is hard to find stuff that interests them and is appropriate for them but stll extends their reading level. In my experience any reading is good reading so yep if he wants to read picture books, go for it. there are some great picture books for older readers like Mao's last dancer, and books by Gary Crew - check these though as some are a bit dark and scary. Colin Thompson (I think) also does some good picture books for older readers.

Also have a look at the magazine section if he is interested in science (scientrific is a good one) and there are others as well that might pique his interest.

Non- fiction are great for building vocab if you can find topics he is interested in.

To extend his reading ability as well talk to him about the books and read them together out aloud so he builds his comprehension and also verbal reading skill, using tone, pitch and punctuation.

I think it is fabulous that you are involved in his reading!!! Fantastic work

[AnyDream]

TD, enjoy your visit to the library! He will probably keep reading picture books for a while even alongside harder stuff, and it's completely appropriate for him to do so. There are a lot of age-appropriate concepts and information about the way the world works in picture books that is not necessarily spelt out in novels.

Be wary with the premiers challenge my GF had LOTS of issues with it because her daughter is gifted and they won't let her enter in the older section but she will not ready the younger children's books for her age group.

That's totally dumb. In our reading challenge (SA) you're allowed to read up, and if a particular child is reading at a different developmental level (down) they are allowed (with approval from their teacher) to read from lower booklists too. My DD slowed herself down by selecting books above her reading age and I had to redirect her to some easier books just so she'd get the challenge finished on time.

[Rivlas]

My DH used to read encycopedias from a young age, starting from just browsing through the pictures to fully reading them.
You can also get him to write stories including pictures, for his sister and then reading them to her.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

When I was 7 I had the reading age of a 12-year-old. I hated the books the school gave me to read.

I liked Roald Dahl books (still do!) and adored the Mallory Towers series (Enid Blyton). I remember the day after my 7th birthday, Mum had made me see visitors all day on my birthday and I hated that, I got up before everyone else in the house the day after and had finished my new Famous Five book before anyone else woke up!

Books aimed at junior school children - try the age 8-11 section in libraries and bookshops - will be pretty age-appropriate and fun to read. Don't make everything a challenge. My mum never pushed my reading and I had finished The Lord of the Rings by the time I finished primary school. How about some D!ckens?: great use of words, expands vocabulary and GREAT stories which often start off being about children. I first read David Copperfield and Great Expectations age 9 and loved those.

Having said that, if you are going to allow more adult books, always censor them first. No way will my pre-teen children read half of what I did!

[Tinks]

Whatever interests him. My son ins't a fantastic reader but loves non fiction whereas my daughter is a brilliant reader and loves fiction. Paul Jennings is fantastic has he read any of his books? Goosebumps are popular as is Morris Gleitzman. There is also a book called "Naughty stories for good boys and girls' which my kids like.

Has he read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe series?

[Cricket]

I loved to read as a child and was reading well beyond my age, as is my DD. (She's 5 and taught herself to read about a year ago. She's at about a 9-10 year old level now.)
Be careful not to choose books that deal with concepts or emotional issues that are beyond his capacity. Older childrens' books may do that, and he will have the intellectual ability to perceive the problem, but may not have the emotional maturity to distance himself from it. I find that children who are intelligent beyond their years are also very perceptive and sensitive to conflict or difficulties, and such books may give him more stress than he is able to cope with.

Anyways, here's a few titles that occured to me as I was thinking about it:

- "The Cricket in Times Square"
- books by Marguerite Henry (horse stories, mostly.)
- books by Beverly Cleary
- "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques. (might be a little beyond him yet - my brothers loved this series)
- "Magic Treehouse" series - brother and sister have a magic treehouse that allows them to explore through time and space. Light and interesting reading - lot's of information!
- I'll second what Ryn said about Roald Dahl - great stuff! Loved it as a kid.
- you could try the original Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne. Don't confuse these with the Disney crap that's so popular for toddlers. The original works are very creative, have great vocabulary, display human nature in a clever and humourous way, and are really very funny. Adults catch more than children do of these, but your son might pick up on it too.
- a good children's encyclopedia/dictionary. (my favourite books as a child!)
- you could try some of the "Dear America" or the "Dear Canada" or the "Royal Diaries" series. They are fictional diaries written by children aged 10-13 or so, set in different time periods and events in history. They might have an Australian series too, I really don't know. These books are written by various authors, and I have yet to find one that I was disappointed in. They are easy to read, and FULL of information about these eras/events. Even if they're not local history, they're still fascinating, I think. Down side is most of them are about girls, but he might not care, and there are some about boys too. (A boy on a 1800's cattle drive in the western US, a boy on a whaling ship in the late 1800's, a young boy slave in the US, etc.)

Broaden his intellect by providing him with interesting books in the areas of science, art, sports, mechanics, etc, etc. But don't make reading a chore - let him read at a wide range of age levels. Don't say "you're too old for that book" if it's one he wants to take home from the library. I'm 28 and I still enjoy reading my kids books sometimes. Reading should develop the mind (I don't believe in allowing my kids to read crap) but it should also be fun!

If I think of any more titles, I'll jot them down for you.

[Cricket]

Ryn - the censor is entirely too narrow minded. I'll bet it doesn't like Moby **** either.

[Turkish Delight]

Wow. Thanks Gals. I've jotted some of the books down. Roald Dahl will be one of them as well as Enid Blyton...so thanks.

We went to the library last night. As always, headed straight to the picture book section and he picked up a few Dr. Seuss books God i find them SOOOOOOOOOOO irritating. I only allowed him to pick 2 out of the God knows how many he had Am i th only one who finds Dr. Seuss books annoying?

We picked up a few chapter books, which he chose like Star Wars and Batman I though if he chooses them then he'll read them. We also picked up a few non fiction books. He wanted to read about micro organisms in soil, plants, spiders and coral reefs. So picked up some junior non fiction books of those subjects.

I spoke to the Librarian about any sessions were running for kids tours or learning the dewey system, but unfortunately not. So i will teach him the dewey system. Thanks for the idea Bron.

All in all a productive time at the library.

[mrsmac]

I love Dr Suess!! I read them to my kindy class all the time because they are brilliant at teaching rhyming, also its really good if he can decipher and read the "nonsense" words in them. I think if he wants to read them let him, he will be happier reading if its things he likes.

[Rouge]

Dr Suess are actually very good for learning to spell. Yeah I agree don't make him read something he doesn't want to, let him read the Suess as well. Reading is reading. And just because he can read at a level higher doesn't mean he has to every second. Reading is also supposed to be fun.

[Cricket]

Dr. Seuss is a favourite at our house too. But hey, each to his own, right? If your son loves the rhythm of words in Dr. Seuss, he might like some fun poetry. You could try Shel Silverstein, or again, A.A. Milne (When We Were Very Young, and Now We Are Six.) My kids love and have memorised a number from those two books.
Or for a bit of nonsense apart from Dr. Seuss, try some of Robert Munch's stuff. Most kids love it. Easy, fun reading, but nothing wrong with that once in a while.