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Location: In my own little corner... sittin' in Jax FL
589 posts, read 1,635,303 times
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I know that there are many children that read above their grade level. There are some great selections of literature that are available in multiple levels. This does help with keeping the content age appropriate. However, there comes a point when the parent, teacher, etc. have to make decisions as to the appropriateness of the content for the child.
How do you do this? Do you have a website or a resource that you use? Do you read the book with the child?
Location: In my own little corner... sittin' in Jax FL
589 posts, read 1,635,303 times
Reputation: 331
My mature but still young 8 year old saw my copy of Amazon.com: The Secret Life of Bees: Sue Monk Kidd: Books (I have the 2001 version with a jar of honey on the cover) and thought it looked interesting. It's a 7.2 grade level book (according to Scholastic). I'm fine with that. But I the content, ummmm, I'm not sure. I don't remember anything way out of her comprehension.
I'm leaning towards NO on this book right now. With a 14 year old main character, I think it may be a little more 'adult' than she needs at 8. JMO
My daughter's school has an awesome website that allows me to look up book by level, content etc. It is affiliated with their AR program. Does your kid's school have one like that?
As for monitoring, I often will read the back of the books with her at the linrary and we pick them out together. Or she will like certain authors that I know are fine. She will get those on her own.
My daughter teacher used to place books in a basket based on her reading level. This was only temporary, at times a child who have access to a library would choose different books. I don't believe in full censorship, so I allowed her to read. It all depends on the age of child. Yes, as parents we need to direct their attention to other books, but we must allow them to stimulate their minds with books they we might deem inappropriate. My daughter would put down the books after reading a couple of pages when she found it over the top. Children who are mature and able to process what they read must be challenged. What do you do with a child who is in elementary, but read at high school level. They have no alternative but to read books, adults may find unfitting.
Sum1else, my daughter did read The Secret Lives of Bees in the 6th grade. This book was so fabulous, I gave it to all my sisters and dear friends on Mother's Day.
we've been dealing with this for a few years w/my oldest....she was reading at a 11th grade level at 3rd grade. Soooo.....we alter it as she matures. I found the James Herrion stories were great for her. the reading levels were up to par, but the stories weren't anything that I felt was too much for her. The only problems she had were some of the heavy English slang, but we worked through that just fine together. Depending on what grade your child is in, you might check into the Maximum Ride books by James Patterson. Also, the Eragon series, and the Inkspell series. Nicholas Sparks book "A Walk To Remember" Id think would be okay for a 6th grader...most of his others have some sex in them, nothin like a VC Andrews book, but still....
some of the older classics might be worth lookin into as well.
best of luck!
I think that a child should be allowed to read whatever they themselves (without influence from others) choose to read. If a child is capable of comprehending the reading level or makes the effort to discern the meaning using the dictionary or query, I think that should be encouraged. What I object to is for outside influences to "guide" a child's reading. I think it is inappropriate for a teacher, a preacher, or even a parent to pointedly attempt to influence and manipulate a child's world view by focusing their "curiosity" through solicitation or persuasion.
I really object to
* purposeful destruction of innocence,
* purposely exposing children to the carnal, the traumatic, the malicious
* insisting a child read only "approved" content (on one side or another of any given ideological, social, or political perspective),
* discouraging their own (emphasis on their own) curiosity-driven choices
But it's SO HARD today to allow natural and free development. Between television, school, and peers, never mind the extreme chism in the socio-political culture we live in, raising a child so that they can grow up in a balanced, free, and cultivating environment is REALLY tough.
My 4th grader reads at a 7th grade level. It is hard because a lot of books for the older kids have material that isn't appropriate for her. She is still only 9 years old!
The teacher and the librarian have made suggestions on Authors that would be good for her. Good stories, without the sexual stuff and violence that I don't feel she is ready for.
I'd talk to the teacher or librarian at your library!
I'm sorry, but I do screen what my 8 year old reads. It is just as inappropriate to expose him to adult themes of sex and violence as it would be to allow him to choose whatever movie he would like to watch. This is not 'censorship', it is good sense! I am not stifling his curiosity about his world by screening his books and exposure to other art forms. He is simply not ready to see sexual scenes or a person being burned, and is not ready to read about those things either.
I remember in 3rd or 4th grade reading To Kill A Mockingbird and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Looking back, I feel like those books seem too mature in content for that age. But at the time, I just got what I wanted out of the books and passed over the rest. I remember thinking that To Kill A Mockingbird was just about Boo Radley leaving little gifts for the kids in the tree. When I read it again in 8th grade I remember being surprised that it was really about racism and the trial and all that. I just passed over that stuff when I was little though. So, I think in a lot of respects that it's okay for kids to read books with more mature content because they'll take from it what they can handle. To a certain extent of course - I'd say known literature in general should be fine at least.
When my dd was in second grade she checked out "Hello God, It's Me, Margaret." She wasn't understanding the content and I looked at it and just told her they were talking about things she wasn't quite ready for yet. She just returned it to the library and found something she liked better. Her teacher said that happens sometimes and told her what color dot (in the AR) books would have better content for her.
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