I have 3 girls, 9th, 7th and 1st grade. My 7th grader is in the GT program and started reading chapter books on her own in Kinder. I remember having a tougher time with my oldest--she really didn't want to read for fun until about midway through 2nd grade, when it seemed a light bulb clicked on and she couldn't get enough reading material. We were in a different school district then and the curriculum seemed a little more flexible and accomodating of children in different developmental stages. She reads a ton now and is way above grade level. My youngest was fine in Kinder--her teacher never reported any problems. Now in 1st grade she has been 'identified as needing additional reading instruction and support.' I really see her as following almost the exact same path as my oldest--except that my youngest really seems to enjoy reading, it just hasn't quite 'clicked' for her yet. She reads on level F (whatever that means). We do read together at home but I don't have as much time to read with her as I did with my oldest since I have 3 children now as well as a full time job. I am going to sign her up for the before-school reading help but I'm worried she is being 'branded' as a bad reader when in fact she may just be developing a little slower than her peers. I don't have a lot of confidence in her teacher which doesn't help. I am having a conference with her next week but I guess I was looking for some advice or feedback from any of you who have gone through this--did you feel like your child was in any way negatively impacted 'down the road' by being identified as needing extra reading help? I suppose I'm probably worrying over nothing but I just wish they would give her a bit more time. Anyway thank you for listening and if you have any words of wisdom I would love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for all the great advice! My daughter started the before-school reading program today. It is a computer program called Imagination Station that sounds pretty cool. She said it was fun, but she also told me this morning before she went that the only reason she had to go was because she was 'doing bad on I-station' (they do it in class as well). I had the conference with her teacher today and told her I was concerned that my daughter is feeling like she is not smart and not 'measuring up'. The teacher seemed surprised but I'm hoping she will work with me in boosting her self-confidence and not allowing her to think this means she is 'less than.' I found out she IS reading on grade level but this is a super-ambitious school and they want everyone who can be above grade level to get there, so they do everything they can to make that happen. There are only 3 children in her class who are on grade-level and everyone else is above. I don't think the extra help is a necessarily bad thing, I just need to make sure it doesn't negatively affect my daughter because she is so smart and observant and knows who is and isn't getting 'invitations' for extra help. I now have some resources to go to for books to have at home to continue working with her. I do of course listen to her read every day but I just can't spend an hour a day reading with her which is what I did with my older kids, but she does also get time with dad, grandma and sisters so that helps. Thank you again for all the help and advice, you all made me feel much better about the situation and helped me know what to say to the teacher today!
They are not branding her they are helping her. You admit, you have had less time, so this is a way to make up for some of that..
Nothing wrong with this. Take advantage of the help that is being offered.
Remember each child learns differently and at different times.
Be glad they have noticed she needs a little help and did not ignore it..
This is not a reflection on you, it is just giving this child a little helping hand.
no, no, no, no! She's not being branded! This is mid-year, the teacher has identified an issue, & she is trying to correct/aid/assist your child BEFORE she falls behind! In our school district, most children are independent readers by the end of the 1st quarter in 1st grade. For the children not reading fully-independent, they are placed in tutoring afterschool in November. The hope is to bring them up to speed by mid-January or so......
Hope this helps! I do believe the entire goal is to prevent your child from lagging behind, to prevent her from requiring remedial summer school, & to help boost her confidence in reading. :)
Let me start by saying that I understand your concerns and I think your instinct as a parent are dead on. She probably just needs for it to click. I'm still waiting for that with my daughter, who is also in the first grade. I'm not worried about her because I know her reading comprehension when I read aloud is amazing for her age. But when she reads aloud to the teacher, she's still below grade level.
The other reason I don't worry is because I was slow to read. In the second grade, I was so far below grade level they told my mother I would never read at grade level and that I might always be "slow". Ironically, my father's mother was told the same thing when he was young. He went on to get two Masters degrees. I went on to graduate summa cum laude from college. Now, I'm the published author of 18 novels. So clearly, trying to predict a child's potential when they're in the first grade is dicey business.
That is not to say I think any teacher would say any of these things maliciously. I don't. When teachers worry about a kid reading "below grade level" they're just trying to keep you informed so you can act preemptively if you want to.
cd to listen to in the car. We've bought a ton of them from Scholastic and my son loves them. We've also bought some chapter books from audible.com that both my children love.
The How to Train Your Dragon books are great. So are the Ronald Dahl. The Clementine books are really sweet and fun. We've listened to those multiple times. The Water Horse is another one both my kids love. We're listening to it for the third or forth time right now. I think listen to books in the car is one of the reason my daughter has such high comprehension.
Good luck, and trust your instincts.
Hey there,
My oldest daughter also had a reading issue early on. Her light bulb did not go off until 3rd grade. But, although she was a very slow reader she comprehended everything....which is really what matters. She is now in 8th grade taking all AP classes, straight A student & reads all the time.
Let her have the help, she is not being branded anything.....
Good luck,
DH
if your school is using hte same "guided reading levels" Levels ABC are kindergarden.. DEFGHI are first grade.. so she is right int he middle of the first grade reading levels.. and we are in the middle of first grade.. so she is right on.
I wouldnt worry.. my younger child is reading better than my older child.. my older child loves math.. and thinks in numbers.. she went to bed thinking about hard math problems like 9+9..
reading will click with her soon.. and she will be fine..
My daughter, now 9 and in the G/T program, and scoring in the 99th percentile on her last standardized state reading test, got Title 1 reading help (one-on-one tutoring) daily in 1st grade. She was well below "grade level" in reading. I was concerned that her classroom teacher talked about how she was "not a good reader" in front of her. She had started writing up a proposal to label her "learning disabled". Knowing my daughter's personality, I was afraid she would completely dig in her heels and refuse to read. Luckily, her Title 1 teacher caught on to that and was very effective at dealing with that attitude.
During second grade, she made slow but steady progress in reading. In third grade, she improved over three times the typical rate in reading. My daughter now reads for pleasure every day and is in the top reading group in her 4th grade class.
I absolutely believe that children's reading ability develops at different rates and the current scientific research supports this. Read the book "Nutureshock" for more detailed, and very interesting, information on this. And, it is also true that G/T children typically excel in some areas and lag behind in others during the early elementary years.
If you can afford 20 per month, sign her up for www.time4learning.com. They have an awesome language arts program. To me it seems as if the program really concentrates a lot on the writing end. It's online, self-paced, and should be fun enough that she won't feel like it's work.
I would see how she is doing on the standardized testing. If she shows she is behind in that then maybe there is an issue. Otherwise I'd just let the teacher know that this is a family tradition...lol.
My hubby didn't read until the summer between 1st and 2nd grade. He went to SLC for a summer visit and his grandmother read the scriptures to him every day and by the end of his visit he was reading on a higher grade level.
We had this issue with my oldest but we weren't offered any "school" help so we hired a private tutor our friends had used. We just called it reading class. If you can do that, it would get around the "label" issue as no one really has to know. Otherwise, I will say that the teacher had a way of teaching that I didn't... Just a more structured approach to it all. I realized the English language is hard and confusing and I dind't know how to teach it! My youngest seems to be learning easier but she's also older for her grade... But I'm glad we got our daughter the help. She did catch up and like your oldest, now mid 2nd grade it seems to have clicked even more so as she'll more voluntarily read vs us making her. I don't think if you go through the school's program she'll be labeled as a "bad reader" forever. I'm sure teachers have seen kids progress at different rates at such young ages.
Glad to hear your youngest enjoys reading. I would think that keeping her interested is the most important thing. Can the older sisters read with her when you are busy? Trips to the library on a Saturday morning might be a fun routine. Be sure to describe the before school session as a bonus way to get to read more instead of something for slow kids.
I taught first grade for 16 yrs (and raised three kids) and these are just some ideas. Take them or leave them.
You do need to make time for her to read to you 15 min. each night. I would sit mine on a stool while I cooked or read to me in the car while we were going somewhere. Find time to fit it in. Or get dad involved as a bed time routine 15 min a night.
Ask the teacher how long she is in reading group each day in class and can you come watch? Some teachers have them busy with cut & paste all day and don't do reading groups. Ask if they have formal phonics instruction.
How is she with her spelling words? She needs to read those and practice them each night also.
I personally would not like my child "identified" as having trouble and would do everything I could to make them successful in class. Has her report card been reflecting the fact that she is struggling?
There is also a website called www.starfall.com which is good. Ask the teacher for other suggestions. We have Ticket to Read but your school has to buy it, maybe they have something like that on the computer that helps them read at home.
Good luck.
All kids are different aren't they? When my son was in kinder (or first) he was reading above level and now my daughter is in kinder and they have concerns. So she's in a title 1 reading program and they'll be monitering her for the next nine weeks to see how she progresses. I just wanted to send you this link. I came across it the other day but haven't started working with it yet, it's a free reading program (you have a limited amount of time to download the program free). www.funnix.com
She is lagging, now.
You don't know when reading is going to "click" for her.
Meanwhile, she is still lagging.
Now, in 1st grade.
You can wait. And see 'when' it will click for her.
Meanwhile, she will be still lagging and you won't know when it will click. And if/when a child is struggling with assignments or in-class reading assignments or work, THEY will know they are lagging. You wouldn't want her to get frustrated I am sure... or to then start to feel self conscious and then start to "compare" herself to others. Which some kids so.
So, you can allow her to get the extra reading support help, or wait and see. But meanwhile, she will still be lagging per reading. And then the more the year goes on, the lag, may increase. As the school work reading levels, increases.
Meanwhile, she is still lagging.
So the gap, between what they are learning in school with reading, and your daughter's understanding of it, may increase. Creating a bigger gap, between her reading ability and what the 1st grade curriculum is at.
The extra reading support help, is FREE, right?
So why not just enroll her in it?
It is only beneficial.
It is NOT "labeling."
My son, is in Kindergarten. HE is in one of those extra reading support groups. HE is not "labeled" and his classmates tell him they wish THEY could go. Because, it is a fun group of kids and they learn, reading in a really positive way. At NO time, are the kids in this group, made to feel they are "lagging."
We told my son, he is LUCKY he can go to this reading group. BECAUSE, he will get tips there, that the other kids will not, and it is more than what the Teacher can provide.
My son, LOVES his reading group.
And in a matter of about 2 weeks, his reading ability, INCREASED.
AND he knows it. AND he is PROUD and he LOVES his supplemental reading group. He is happy, doing it. He told us. He knows it is to HELP him.
It is NOT "labeling" or "branding" a child.
My son doesn't worry about that. And he has NEVER EVER, gotten rude comments from his classmates, just because he goes to this reading group.
We are glad, he has the OPPORTUNITY to join this group. Because, now he will get help and he will not be "lagging." And we didn't want to just wait and see and wait and see and wait and see. And then before you know it, they are in 2nd grade, and then what?
Again, my Son, LOVES his reading group. And the Reading specialist he has is great. And my son has NO hang ups about it.
Sure we always read with him at home and always have. But still, his Teacher recognized that he needs a tad more help. So that's fine. He excels in all other areas.
