Happy birthday to....

[author_by_night]

prettyveela! Eat lots of cake. 

[Unknown site tag] OT, but I have a question; is it snotty of me to think, when I hear of seven year olds reading all the HP books, that few of them are likely to actually really get them? I mean, I just can't see myself letting a seven year old read OoTP. Ten, yes - they are kids books, like it or not - but seven? Then again, maybe its that they wouldn't quite see how some of the really disturbing things (the Dementor's Kiss, Harry's almost hexing Bellatrix) were so.

But still... I just think seven is way too young, and I feel a bit snotty for thinking they might not even understand, when really, what does it matter?

 

Comments

[leapin-jot.livejournal.com]

I teach seven-year-olds. Most of my students probably have rather low reading levels compared to kids from different economic levels, so most of my students are just gearing themselves up for chapter books. The kids in my class that could easily read a chapter book need lots of encouraged to try. So my second thought to the idea of seven year-olds reading HP is that it would be too hard for most as anything but a read aloud.

When I taught nine-year-olds, which I did for several years, I had students tell me all the time that they had read the HP books. Then when I began asking them questions specifically from the book, they would be totally stumped. Again, my students levels are probably below what you'd expect at other schools.

My first thought to the idea of seven-year-olds reading HP is to question if they even understand what reading really is. I've seen so many kids who think that reading is telling me what the words are and who have no idea of comprehension. Still I never told my students they couldn't try, instead, after, letting them know that the HP books might be frustrating to them, I'd pick out a scene that I liked and have them read that and talk to them about it (The dwarf cupid knocking down Harry to sing him a Valentine was my favorite for that purpose). At least then they'd remember liking the part they remembered, and maybe later on they'll want to go back and read it for real this time.

There was a whole thread about this in the Teachers part of the Leaky Lounge, but I think it was taken down or something.