We are 3rd quarter of 1st grade and DS still isn't reading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am having a hard time imagining a kid who can't read being ok in 2nd grade in any subject.

Teacher isn't concerned because DS is showing progress even though well below grade level still.

I was giving it time, understanding challenges of last year but I am starting to panic a bit thinking that this school year will be over before we know it.

What would you do??

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

It should be for sale on Amazon. Spend 30 or so minutes a day and around 30 bucks and fix the issue.

Don’t wait for government school and a teacher with many other children—maybe not doing as well as yours— to manage.

+1. This book is gold. It tells you how to teach reading step-by-step in bite sized chunks. If your child starts having trouble with lessons, back up 5-10 lessons and redo those. Once you get past lesson 50 you can start adding practice with Bob books. When you get into the 90s then you can start with Dear Dragon books.

[Anonymous]

I would second something like All About Reading or Hooked on Phonics. We’re a family of readers, read to our kids every day from the time they were infants, and my ds was still struggling in first grade. Reading did finally click for him near the end of first and he began to love reading but then he struggled with writing and spelling. We had him tested at Mindwell and found out he had a phonological processing disorder. I would say if you’re reading with him regularly and he’s struggling, it’s not unreasonable to suspect there’s something else going on. I wish I had recognized it sooner in my ds and done some explicit phonics instruction with him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's being overlooked. The class is too big and the teacher is too preoccupied with a host of other things.

Kinderg was a dumpster fire for him last year, right? - 100% online? No 5 yr old can learn effectively that way not to mention grasp basic reading fundamentals (dies he even know what sound the letter "t" makes? Mine didn't).

So it's not uncommon for 1st graders to be seemingly behind. And not all parents are as vested at home with reading to their kids daily. So, take heart Op, you're on the right track, but that final link between letters/sounds/word (and reading comprehension, but focus on that later, get sight words under control) is always tough.

If your kid doesn't know the names and sounds of the letters, why are you complaining? That's pretty basic stuff. Teach that at home.

^^Isn't that what school is for ??^^^


Why is there a burden on "home" to teach? Sure, I'm fine with reading bedtime stories and helping with homework, but I'm not "teaching at home" like you are ordering me to do. I dont have a teaching degree so i lack the technique, resources, time, and effort. And I shouldn't have to "teach" my kid or pay extra for tutoring, or printout worksheets to supplement. FCPS should be doing that.
It's a common scenario for a lot of households.

What fairyland do you live in? You think one teacher and 24 kids is a scenario where every kid learn exactly the same? I’m doing All about reading curriculum with my kindergartener right now because after all this time in school he was not able to read a single word. And he’s got 3 teachers in his class!! I’m not letting him to fall behind because “school is supposed to to that, not me”. You don’t need a teaching degree to teach your kid to read, write and basic math. Nobody is asking you to teach organic chemistry here… Bottom line, it’s my kid, my responsibility, I want him to succeed, I’m going to teach him if I see he needs extra help. Done

[Anonymous]

I’m not an educator so l don’t feel qualified to reply to this.

As a parent who had a kid who was slow to read though, l really wish the US would dial it back. Seems like kids are expected to learn everything a year earlier than when l was a kid. Finland starts teaching kids to read at 7 and they have the best public education outcomes in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM will tell you to get a tutor and then they will malign FCPS for failing your child. I will tell you to trust the teacher. My son did not read until the latter part of 2nd grade, but once he got it, he soared above everybody else. It’s a developmental skill that some kids get early and some kids get late, and it sounds like your teacher is seeing progress. In the meantime, you can try using something called “word ladders” to help (you can find worksheets online), and please keep reading to your child. My late reader ultimately became a voracious reader, to the point that he got in trouble in class because he could not put his books down. He read the Divine Comedy “for fun” and everything else under the sun. Your DS will get there!

Lucky you, but chances are OP's child will not be fine. My child couldn't read at the end of first grade and has had intensive tutoring and in third grade is still reading only at the 2nd grade level (still getting tutoring) and still hates reading.

OP - hire a good tutor to work with him two days a week over the summer.

[Anonymous]

I used to volunteer in the classroom weekly (pre-pandemic), and the first grade teacher had me spend extra time reading one on one with the 3 or 4 students who could benefit the most from this practice. All were reading at a slightly more advanced level than you are describing, and at least 2 later had dyslexia diagnoses. I am not saying this to freak you out, and the pandemic may have truly thrown a wrench into your child’s progress. But teachers often take a wait and see approach. My own child had a different, unrelated diagnosis around that age that I asked teachers about and they were unconcerned. They don’t always have training in differentiating between late bloomers and learning differences. But an evaluation might help using actual diagnostic data. I don’t know that you need to take action yet, but if you are waiting for the teacher to flag it, that may not happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not an educator so l don’t feel qualified to reply to this.

As a parent who had a kid who was slow to read though, l really wish the US would dial it back. Seems like kids are expected to learn everything a year earlier than when l was a kid. Finland starts teaching kids to read at 7 and they have the best public education outcomes in the world.

Finnish is a much easier language to learn in terms of reading and writing. About a year or so if instruction is all you need. Not so with English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to volunteer in the classroom weekly (pre-pandemic), and the first grade teacher had me spend extra time reading one on one with the 3 or 4 students who could benefit the most from this practice. All were reading at a slightly more advanced level than you are describing, and at least 2 later had dyslexia diagnoses. I am not saying this to freak you out, and the pandemic may have truly thrown a wrench into your child’s progress. But teachers often take a wait and see approach. My own child had a different, unrelated diagnosis around that age that I asked teachers about and they were unconcerned. They don’t always have training in differentiating between late bloomers and learning differences. But an evaluation might help using actual diagnostic data. I don’t know that you need to take action yet, but if you are waiting for the teacher to flag it, that may not happen.

Not all teachers take a wait and see approach but there is often pushback from admins if they bring it up too early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's being overlooked. The class is too big and the teacher is too preoccupied with a host of other things.

Kinderg was a dumpster fire for him last year, right? - 100% online? No 5 yr old can learn effectively that way not to mention grasp basic reading fundamentals (dies he even know what sound the letter "t" makes? Mine didn't).

So it's not uncommon for 1st graders to be seemingly behind. And not all parents are as vested at home with reading to their kids daily. So, take heart Op, you're on the right track, but that final link between letters/sounds/word (and reading comprehension, but focus on that later, get sight words under control) is always tough.

If your kid doesn't know the names and sounds of the letters, why are you complaining? That's pretty basic stuff. Teach that at home.

^^Isn't that what school is for ??^^^


Why is there a burden on "home" to teach? Sure, I'm fine with reading bedtime stories and helping with homework, but I'm not "teaching at home" like you are ordering me to do. I dont have a teaching degree so i lack the technique, resources, time, and effort. And I shouldn't have to "teach" my kid or pay extra for tutoring, or printout worksheets to supplement. FCPS should be doing that.
It's a common scenario for a lot of households.

What fairyland do you live in? You think one teacher and 24 kids is a scenario where every kid learn exactly the same? I’m doing All about reading curriculum with my kindergartener right now because after all this time in school he was not able to read a single word. And he’s got 3 teachers in his class!! I’m not letting him to fall behind because “school is supposed to to that, not me”. You don’t need a teaching degree to teach your kid to read, write and basic math. Nobody is asking you to teach organic chemistry here… Bottom line, it’s my kid, my responsibility, I want him to succeed, I’m going to teach him if I see he needs extra help. Done

What fcps ES has 3 teachers in a 1st grade class?? That is not the norm.
Even the kindergarten classes are capped at 2 teachers per class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He's being overlooked. The class is too big and the teacher is too preoccupied with a host of other things.

Kinderg was a dumpster fire for him last year, right? - 100% online? No 5 yr old can learn effectively that way not to mention grasp basic reading fundamentals (dies he even know what sound the letter "t" makes? Mine didn't).

So it's not uncommon for 1st graders to be seemingly behind. And not all parents are as vested at home with reading to their kids daily. So, take heart Op, you're on the right track, but that final link between letters/sounds/word (and reading comprehension, but focus on that later, get sight words under control) is always tough.

If your kid doesn't know the names and sounds of the letters, why are you complaining? That's pretty basic stuff. Teach that at home.

^^Isn't that what school is for ??^^^


Why is there a burden on "home" to teach? Sure, I'm fine with reading bedtime stories and helping with homework, but I'm not "teaching at home" like you are ordering me to do. I dont have a teaching degree so i lack the technique, resources, time, and effort. And I shouldn't have to "teach" my kid or pay extra for tutoring, or printout worksheets to supplement. FCPS should be doing that.
It's a common scenario for a lot of households.

What fairyland do you live in? You think one teacher and 24 kids is a scenario where every kid learn exactly the same? I’m doing All about reading curriculum with my kindergartener right now because after all this time in school he was not able to read a single word. And he’s got 3 teachers in his class!! I’m not letting him to fall behind because “school is supposed to to that, not me”. You don’t need a teaching degree to teach your kid to read, write and basic math. Nobody is asking you to teach organic chemistry here… Bottom line, it’s my kid, my responsibility, I want him to succeed, I’m going to teach him if I see he needs extra help. Done

What fcps ES has 3 teachers in a 1st grade class?? That is not the norm.
Even the kindergarten classes are capped at 2 teachers per class.

DP, but push ins for behavior or special needs are hardly rare, at least at our school.

[Anonymous]

Lots (and I mean a large percentage) are getting g private tutoring in something outside of school. We were one of the families who had to pay a tutor to re-teach/actually teach our child to read. It was an expensive process and according to FCPS she had all 4s and was on grade level and that was not true. Do not believe the teacher- they might be nice but they are not trained in teaching reading or identifying kids with reading issues.

[Anonymous]

I would do bob books, hooked on phonics app and then read the Magic Tree House books together. Have kid read a little, then you take over for a while. Back and forth between you (however much you he can handle) so you can make sure he is comprehending while still getting reading practice in at a high level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am having a hard time imagining a kid who can't read being ok in 2nd grade in any subject.

Teacher isn't concerned because DS is showing progress even though well below grade level still.

I was giving it time, understanding challenges of last year but I am starting to panic a bit thinking that this school year will be over before we know it.

What would you do??

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

It should be for sale on Amazon. Spend 30 or so minutes a day and around 30 bucks and fix the issue.

Don’t wait for government school and a teacher with many other children—maybe not doing as well as yours— to manage.

+1. This book is gold. It tells you how to teach reading step-by-step in bite sized chunks. If your child starts having trouble with lessons, back up 5-10 lessons and redo those. Once you get past lesson 50 you can start adding practice with Bob books. When you get into the 90s then you can start with Dear Dragon books.

+2. I used this book with my early reader. It goes step by step with letter sounds then turns to blends. We also paired with the each BOB book series to reinforce the lesson as we progressed. I liked this book had step by step instruction. BOB books didn't really have anything and wouldn't have been structured enough on their own for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Read 30 mins every night.

Get Bob books or something similar.

Tutor.

If the above doesn’t fix it, test for a learning challenge.

The schools are drowning right now. They can’t be counted on, so you need to make sure that this happens for your child.

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten teacher here. Do not wait. Yes, we push reading too fast, too soon. But, still do not wait. He should be reading very fluently at this point. For example, the book Frog and Toad should be pretty easy for him. Bob books are for the beginning of kindergarten. The pandemic has everyone turned around. But your child could do a lot of catching up in the next 6 months. You need a professional to work with your child privately on top of what the school is doing. Also, if he isn't caught up by the start of 2nd grade? Ask for a full evaluation. Best of luck to you.