5 year old reading very highly?

[pomegranate1975]

My 5 year old son started school not knowing how to read which was put on level 1 and it is now 10 weeks into school, and he is reading level 12 according to the teacher but they put him to level 9.
All i do i read to him every day and he has moved up 12 levels in 10 weeks. So how is this possible? Would there be a chance he is gifted or is this normal for first year of school kids?

What books are they using?

Did he not start school in September?
And yes what reading scheme is he doing?

We are in Australia in coffs harbour. My child is bringing home PM books. Kids here start school 1st week of Feb.

Dd is nearly five and started reception. She went from not knowing how to read, to being able to have a good stab at reading almost anything. Its amazing how littlies pick up new skills so quickly.

Once your child can blend and segment words, the next stage is comprehension. Maybe your child's teacher put him back a few levels to develop comprehension skills. (Ie. does he read with expression and understand the story.)

Anyway well done to your son. I am glad he is doing well.

PM books are linked to RR levels which would equate to level 3/4 in UK

The teacher said the expected reading level for end of first year of school is level 10 which is has already achieved, but this is 1st term and school finishes in dec. So should i stop reading to slow him down, and if i dont slow him down does it mean he will go up to level 48 by the end of the year?

Please don't stop reading!

It is a very different system to the UK so hard to comment PM level 24/25 wouldn't be uncommon at end of reception in UK

My DD started reception reading very well (stage 7/8 in the UK & finished reception on stage 11) and they coped with her fine (she wasn't the only good reader).

Things do slow down as the books get harder and the child has to work on the hidden meaning in the text (inference ) and skills other than the decoding.

Do not stop reading! But make sure he is exposed to a variety of different books and make reading fun.

Don't stop reading. Just keep reading to/with him and see what happens. For some children, reading 'clicks' very quickly and they just get it. It doesn't necessarily indicate giftedness. And you can't really predict where he will be at the end of the year- children don't progress at set rates, they can speed ahead sometimes and then later need to slow down.