My child isn't challenged by teacher's reading homeowrk

[Anonymous]

My son's teacher sends home these Scholastic Guided Reading readers nightly, and wants feedback on the level of challenge. The first books she sent home were super easy, so I let her know they were "no trouble". She's sent home more difficult books, but they are still all very easy, I needed to help with one or two words on the last book (book in question had 76 words and too many "patterns" which he blows through), but I wouldn't say my child was "challenged".

Maybe I am overthinking this, but I feel weird always sending back feedback that says "easy" or "really no trouble". I'm wondering if my child reads with as much ease at school, or if he clams up. Maybe that's why the teacher is sending the easy books? (For what it is worth, we are reading F-G readers at home, and the teacher is sending D.) Is the teacher eye rolling at my comments, thinking I'm crazy? Do I mention this, or just continue as we are. I don't want to come off as if my child is smarter than he is, or that he needs special attention.

What would you do?

[Anonymous]

You're overthinking. Just keep doing what you're doing.

[Anonymous]

If you already know what level challenges him, why don't you just say that in your note?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son's teacher sends home these Scholastic Guided Reading readers nightly, and wants feedback on the level of challenge. The first books she sent home were super easy, so I let her know they were "no trouble". She's sent home more difficult books, but they are still all very easy, I needed to help with one or two words on the last book (book in question had 76 words and too many "patterns" which he blows through), but I wouldn't say my child was "challenged".

Maybe I am overthinking this, but I feel weird always sending back feedback that says "easy" or "really no trouble". I'm wondering if my child reads with as much ease at school, or if he clams up. Maybe that's why the teacher is sending the easy books? (For what it is worth, we are reading F-G readers at home, and the teacher is sending D.) Is the teacher eye rolling at my comments, thinking I'm crazy? Do I mention this, or just continue as we are. I don't want to come off as if my child is smarter than he is, or that he needs special attention.

What would you do?

2/76 words, so 97% accuracy? That's exactly what the research says that he should be reading most of the time to develop his fluency, which is what builds comprehension.

If you're also reading harder stuff that's fine, but what she's sending is in line with evidence.

[Anonymous]

What crappy teaching. The teacher should allow your child to read what interests him at home, so that reading continues to be as fun as possible.

Ask for exactly that, OP. Is there any testing score you can based your argument on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What crappy teaching. The teacher should allow your child to read what interests him at home, so that reading continues to be as fun as possible.

Ask for exactly that, OP. Is there any testing score you can based your argument on?

Thankfully, he loves to read at home. We buy him books and we visit the library often. But you can only read "Spot and Dot like the park. Spot likes to roll in the mud. Dot likes to smell the flowers" so many times before you're bored, poor kid!

And thank you for your perspective, PP, about comprehension and fluency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What crappy teaching. The teacher should allow your child to read what interests him at home, so that reading continues to be as fun as possible.

Ask for exactly that, OP. Is there any testing score you can based your argument on?

PP here, the one with the 97% comment.

I'm not a big fan of early elementary homework, but we're talking about a reading assignment of 76 words, that OP's kid apparently read fluently. Surely he still has time to read other things.

I've heard of teachers trying to limit everything students read to books that are on level, and that's wrong, but sending home one text at a time that a kid can read fluently is not anywhere close to the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What crappy teaching. The teacher should allow your child to read what interests him at home, so that reading continues to be as fun as possible.

Ask for exactly that, OP. Is there any testing score you can based your argument on?

PP here, the one with the 97% comment.

I'm not a big fan of early elementary homework, but we're talking about a reading assignment of 76 words, that OP's kid apparently read fluently. Surely he still has time to read other things.

I've heard of teachers trying to limit everything students read to books that are on level, and that's wrong, but sending home one text at a time that a kid can read fluently is not anywhere close to the same thing.

OP here. I'm just hoping this is what the teacher is doing, and not that my child isn't reading for his teacher as he reads for me. I'm afraid he might be shy to read for her (afraid he will get a word wrong or something.) Though I ask and he says he reads the same kind of books with his teacher and "never slips up" on words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What crappy teaching. The teacher should allow your child to read what interests him at home, so that reading continues to be as fun as possible.

Ask for exactly that, OP. Is there any testing score you can based your argument on?

PP here, the one with the 97% comment.

I'm not a big fan of early elementary homework, but we're talking about a reading assignment of 76 words, that OP's kid apparently read fluently. Surely he still has time to read other things.

I've heard of teachers trying to limit everything students read to books that are on level, and that's wrong, but sending home one text at a time that a kid can read fluently is not anywhere close to the same thing.

OP here. I'm just hoping this is what the teacher is doing, and not that my child isn't reading for his teacher as he reads for me. I'm afraid he might be shy to read for her (afraid he will get a word wrong or something.) Though I ask and he says he reads the same kind of books with his teacher and "never slips up" on words.

How often is he "slipping up" when he reads with you?

At school, his independent reading and some of the reading he does with support should be texts where he's stopping to problem solve less than 5% of the time. That includes words someone has to help him with, and words where he figures it out himself, but the strategy (e.g. missing the word and then self correcting, or sounding a word out, or going back to reread a sentence to try a word) stops the flow of the reading.

Some of the texts he reads with support should be one level up from there, so likely an E, or maybe an F.

That doesn't mean that he shouldn't have experience with a wider variety of texts when it's his choice what to read. In those situations, he should read whatever he enjoys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What crappy teaching. The teacher should allow your child to read what interests him at home, so that reading continues to be as fun as possible.

Ask for exactly that, OP. Is there any testing score you can based your argument on?

PP here, the one with the 97% comment.

I'm not a big fan of early elementary homework, but we're talking about a reading assignment of 76 words, that OP's kid apparently read fluently. Surely he still has time to read other things.

I've heard of teachers trying to limit everything students read to books that are on level, and that's wrong, but sending home one text at a time that a kid can read fluently is not anywhere close to the same thing.

OP here. I'm just hoping this is what the teacher is doing, and not that my child isn't reading for his teacher as he reads for me. I'm afraid he might be shy to read for her (afraid he will get a word wrong or something.) Though I ask and he says he reads the same kind of books with his teacher and "never slips up" on words.

How often is he "slipping up" when he reads with you?

At school, his independent reading and some of the reading he does with support should be texts where he's stopping to problem solve less than 5% of the time. That includes words someone has to help him with, and words where he figures it out himself, but the strategy (e.g. missing the word and then self correcting, or sounding a word out, or going back to reread a sentence to try a word) stops the flow of the reading.

Some of the texts he reads with support should be one level up from there, so likely an E, or maybe an F.

That doesn't mean that he shouldn't have experience with a wider variety of texts when it's his choice what to read. In those situations, he should read whatever he enjoys.

This makes perfect sense and is exactly in line with what he is doing. Thank you very much for this clarification! It sounds like the books she is sending are just right! We will keep doing what we are doing at home.

[Anonymous]

We don't even look at them or take them out of the backpack. They are a waste of time and have nothing to do with our child's actual reading.

[Anonymous]

Scholastic is crap. Period.

[Anonymous]

OP, why not just tell the teacher what he is reading at home?

[j2415]

While reading your post, I remember my son. When he entered kindergarten he already knows how to read because I enrolled him to Kumon, school that helps accelerate child’s learning. He enjoyed reading school books because it was easier for him and at home, we read harder stuff.

I would like to encourage you to just continue what you’re doing at home. Some schools offer special classes or other services for kids that are advanced in reading. You may want to talk to his teacher about that so that your son will be challenged. Thank you for sharing.

[Anonymous]

I noticed this with the readers sent home with my first grader. They are extremely easy for her and she never needs help or pauses to sound anything out. At home she can read small chapter books like Magic Treehouse or Lola Levine with ease. I think she must be clamming up at school though because she is pretty shy. I noticed she's in the more average reading group at school. When they're reading Junie B. Jones, like she does at home , her group is still getting these small books in their folder.