Ye Olde K Reading Group Question
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Anonymous
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I realize that first-time-K moms like myself ask questions like this all the time, and I know I'm not alone in having an advanced reader, so I get that I'm not special. But I'd like a reality check on how to handle this. I like my kid's teacher and my kid is doing well. But my kid keeps complaining that reading at school is boring and that when they read in reading group they're reading "baby books" and "everybody else has trouble reading them". I am certain that not "everybody else" has trouble reading them, but it probably means that "everybody else" in her reading group does. At home, she's reading chapter books. At her parent-teacher conference, the teacher said she's doing great, no concerns, etc. I doubt that this is a "comprehension" issue, because when she reads at home I kind of test that sometimes to see, and she's on the ball. She's kind of bizarrely on the ball, actually, and picks up on some pretty subtle stuff. That said, she can't write for crap. She totally does the "invented spelling" thing they encourage, and it's barely comprehensible. So if they hold back reading groups based on writing, then that would explain it.
I'm not worried that she's not challenged, because if I had my way she'd be playing half the day anyway. But I don't want her to keep thinking that "reading is boring" unless it's at home. And it's a big part of every day at school. That seems bad. So do I raise this with the teacher? I don't want to be a PITA, and I've had to raise something already with a social issue that really needed to be addressed. Do I just wait it out? I was inclined to have the kid raise it, so she's handling it herself (politely, of course), but she's pretty reluctant to and asked me to talk to her teacher. Fair enough, she's 5. What to do? |
Anonymous
| Raise it with the teacher for sure. My advanced reader is in K, and while they don't do much for her they do have her read books that are more advanced than the other kids. Bring some books from home to show the teacher the kinds of things your child reads, and ask the teacher what can be fine to keep your child from being bored by reading. |
Anonymous
| The books they read at school are not meant to be an exciting story but texts short enough to read together and write about. The writing is the part they are working on. I would try to explain that versus talking to the teacher. She's got a long way to go, it will be years of this. My son has always been in the highest reading group (K through 3rd grade) and the books he has read have always been way beneath the level he reads at home. I told him that's because he was working on his writing. |
Anonymous
Thanks, that's helpful. I don't think that the "reading group" part is also the writing part, though, is it? To hear her describe it, the reading group doesn't involve a writing component. But then they have "writer's workshop" where they pick out a book and read it and write about it. For that, she gets to pick a book she wants to read, so that's fine. It would be good to actually know this stuff. I suspect it differs from school to school. But even if they do read short texts, i get the sense from her that it's all really basic words. Is that how it's supposed to be? But I think i'm going to wait a bit, see what the reading level says on the report card and if it jives with what I see at home. Also, give it a couple weeks to shake out. |
Anonymous
| My kid is a great reader. We stopped focusing on reading at home and work on writing. |
Anonymous
Yeah, we don't "focus" on reading per se. She just reads at bedtime, and sometimes in the pm when it's crappy weather. I don't focus on writing either, because i don't want her to hate it. As bad as her writing is, I think it's solidly normal for K and it's certainly better than it was a few months ago, so I'm good with it. If the teacher raises it or it isn't improving, then I'll focus on it. |
Anonymous
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This is 22:52 again, if she is not working on writing then I guess she is below or at level 16, which is when the writing part really kicks in (at level J). I would check what level she is on and find out why it is not matching what she is able to read. They should have recently redone the M-CLass testing that establishes the level. You should be getting a letter or it is on the report card with her level. Its reasonable to ask the teacher about that.
FWIW, my son always tested below what levels he could read. He started at 16 in K so the writing was always a stumbling block from the beginning. I certainly would not encourage her to raise an issue with the teacher. Unfortunately there is a lot of "boring" work at school. Sadly the kids that are ahead just have to learn to deal with it. |
Anonymous
| Some schools cap reading levels. She might be at the top level offered. |
Anonymous
| Why not talk to the teacher? I see nothing wrong with communicating with byour child's teacher to let her know your dd is bored. You don't want reading to be a turn off at school and neither does the teacher. If the groups are about writing, the teacher will let you know. |
Anonymous
I think she is actually at or past level 16 now, but I think she wasn't in November. And she said that everybody was pulled out for assessments except her. So I wonder if maybe she just hasn't had this most recent assessment at and that's why this is happening. In which case It will solve itself because I'm sure they will get to her soon. |
Anonymous
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Your school might have a cap at level J. Ours did and they stopped testing my son at that point Push on the teacher to work on the writing, but don't complain that the books are boring.
Unfortunately some of these kids at the top reading-wise are basically in a holding pattern until first grade until some of the other kids catch up. To move ahead its all about the writing, keep on them to work on that. |
Anonymous
It's not so much that they "cap" levels, it's that beyond a certain level, there is a writing component required to advance to the next level. If your child hasn't mastered the writing, he or she has not mastered the level. |
Anonymous
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RE: boring part, I tell my kids that not everything at school or in life is fun and exciting, that sometimes, you just have to do it even if it's boring. Mom and Dad have to do the same thing at work.
Agreed with other PP, that under 2.0, a lot of the books they are reading are not as "fun". They are pushing more non-fiction reading. That can be boring, too. FWIW - my one DC was reading chapter books in K, too. Writing was atrocious, though. |
Anonymous
| The focus in kindergarten is to get the kids who don't know all the letter sounds and sight words to learn letter sounds, begin to blend them and pick up some sight words. My reader was basically ignored in kinder. He had to read the same beginning books as everyone else. I kept telling myself kinder is about adjusting to elementary school, making friends, etc. He enjoyed school so I never talked to the teacher because I knew after volunteering in her class nothing was going to change. I let him read whatever he wanted at home and just worked on writing- proper letter formation, spelling (Not invented spelling), spacing, dictating sentences. |
Anonymous
No, at our school the cap the level. They won't test kindergartners past level J. |