My son will be 7 next week. He reads well above his age with good comprehension. This year, I have been giving him more of his own reading and having him narrate. He is always able to narrate but it is usually just a few sentences. Nothing of great length. He does a lot of reading on his own that he does not have to narrate. I notice he narrates much better when he sees what we are reading vs just hearing it. We suspect he has some photographic tendencies by his ability to sometimes tell things back exactly word for word even days after seeing it or memorzing a poem after only seeing it a couple times.
(I don’t mean for this to sound like I am bragging by any means. I am baffled by it as well and have no clue how to handle it. I just want to give as much info as possible in order to get some input on how to handle this.)
Recently, I wanted him to start the habit of having his own personal devotion time. So before bed, I have him read the bible. He sets a timer for 8 minutes and reads till that is up. He can read 10-13 chapters in that time. My goal is not to have him narrate but I have been having him narrate just to see if he is really reading. He says he reads every line, every word. But how do I really know other than narration? When he narrates, he is able to tell me what is happening. Again, not a lengthy narration but a few sentences.
I am frustrated because I don’t know if he is reading it all but I take him at his word and he is able to narrate what is going on. Do I just leave it alone? But really, 10-13 chapters? My husband or I can’t even read near that fast. When I read aloud to him, I catch him skipping ahead to see what happens (or reading faster than me, don’t know which). If I have him read, we will read fine for awhile but then start studdering and stammering because I think he is trying to read but he eyes are way ahead trying to see what happens next.
ANY advice???
