Frequently Asked Questions
The book If You Give A Pig A Pancake is way too simple for my 6-year old. Why is it included in the Age 6-8 curriculum?
We regularly receive questions regarding the reading level of some of our literature selections. This question highlights our unique approach to concept-based curriculum development. There are a number of reasons that we have chosen to include books like If You Give A Pig A Pancake (Age 6-8) as a part of our curriculum.
The books that we include in our curriculum are used to help reinforce the concepts and skills covered in the units. For example, If You Give a Pig a Pancake is used in the 6-8 curriculum to help students understand and apply the economic concept of goods and services. We know that most gifted 6 year olds are reading books beyond this level; however, picture books can be a great way to reinforce concepts. In these cases, it is not essential that every book be on target with your child's reading level.
At the 5-7 and 6-8 level, we know that gifted children can be functioning at many different reading levels. For this reason, in our daily schedule we recommend children spend 20-30 minutes every day reading books that are on their reading level. We also offer a reading program that allows you to select the level of reading instruction appropriate for your child.
In the older levels, beginning with 7-9, children will be expected to read chapter books. While your child may be reading more challenging texts than those we provide, we believe that your child will benefit from the themes and characters in the stories, as well as the projects, activities, vocabulary, and higher-level questions that accompany the text and reinforce the concepts being taught. We also know that you will give your child plenty of opportunity to read books in addition to those included in the curriculum.