1st Grader Reading at Level "C" - DCPS DL

[Anonymous]

We just got our Term 2 assessment for our DL 1st grader. She's reading at a Level C which isn't even full potential for a Kindergarten student. We weren't given any tools from the teacher other than "have her read more at home." We do ask her to read daily but our time is limited in how much supplemental time we can devote to reading, when we are also supplementing her education in math, writing, etc.

I know these tests aren't 100% accurate and I suspect she's probably a little bit higher than a C, but is there anything I should specifically ask for from the school to get her back on track? I know the school has resource teachers like a Reading Specialist. Is this something we should advocate for? Or are we just on our own?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

Devote less time to supplementing math and writing and more to reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Devote less time to supplementing math and writing and more to reading.

Ok let me just add she's struggling as much in math and writing as reading. We're devoting equal time to all 3.

[Anonymous]

Nothing its a pandemic and she's 5. She will be fine.

Read with her more and relax. That will help. There are also reading games and things like that.

Make sure she enjoys reading not as something she HAS TO DO. Reading is for the long haul not for the test or short term. And yes she's probably better than that because of DL testing.

BTW her being at a C is fantastic. My first grader is an A. So he's reading below kinder. He reads fine with me at home - from what i can tell. He gets tired with it so I'm building endurance to sit still with a book. He is interested in word around him and getting books so he will be fine. My son's pod friend is an H, same class.

Exhale. I know its hard. I know you want your kids to be the best. She will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just got our Term 2 assessment for our DL 1st grader. She's reading at a Level C which isn't even full potential for a Kindergarten student. We weren't given any tools from the teacher other than "have her read more at home." We do ask her to read daily but our time is limited in how much supplemental time we can devote to reading, when we are also supplementing her education in math, writing, etc.

I know these tests aren't 100% accurate and I suspect she's probably a little bit higher than a C, but is there anything I should specifically ask for from the school to get her back on track? I know the school has resource teachers like a Reading Specialist. Is this something we should advocate for? Or are we just on our own?

TIA!

It should’ve started with you at home. But we know how that goes with 96% of DCUM peeps, right?

My kid is 5. Speaks, reads, and writes in 3 languages. Upon starting K this year teachers were baffled with the quantity and quality of the lexicon employed.

Again, it starts at home.

[Anonymous]

If Level C corresponds refers to a guided reading level, I'd start the book "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." You can probably get through the first 20 lessons quickly with a 1st grader, but the lessons build and will fill in any missing phonics gaps. By the end of the book she should be reading at a level G-H level. It only takes 10 minutes per day.

[Anonymous]

How is her phonemic awareness? Can she pull the sounds apart in words and replace them? For example, replace the /c/ in CAT with /m/ and you get MAT.

If that is really challenging still, you need to think about whether it is from a lack of instruction or some difficulty she is having. What is your school’s reading curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Try Learn with Homer for a few months. I loved it for my K child - it is great on an iPad. High quality reading app, NOT overly game-ified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our Term 2 assessment for our DL 1st grader. She's reading at a Level C which isn't even full potential for a Kindergarten student. We weren't given any tools from the teacher other than "have her read more at home." We do ask her to read daily but our time is limited in how much supplemental time we can devote to reading, when we are also supplementing her education in math, writing, etc.

I know these tests aren't 100% accurate and I suspect she's probably a little bit higher than a C, but is there anything I should specifically ask for from the school to get her back on track? I know the school has resource teachers like a Reading Specialist. Is this something we should advocate for? Or are we just on our own?

TIA!

It should’ve started with you at home. But we know how that goes with 96% of DCUM peeps, right?

My kid is 5. Speaks, reads, and writes in 3 languages. Upon starting K this year teachers were baffled with the quantity and quality of the lexicon employed.

Again, it starts at home.

I guess you already know what kind of character and values you have so I won't bother with any insults.

[Anonymous]

I was in a similar situation with my child, OP. Teachers kept telling me it would click for her and it didn't. The school tested her but she didn't qualify for services. We found an Orton Gillingham reading teacher who works with her once a week and it has definitely helped. We are still trying to get the big picture of her issues and paying out of pocket for everything. I've found that with a very well-behaved, hard-working kid the school is just not interested in taking her deficits seriously.

[Anonymous]

Definitely do not ‘just read more’ or assume the school will give you the tools you need. Without knowing more or ruling out other causes, dyslexia is a strong possibly, which would mean your child needs structured, explicit, phonics based reading instruction.

Look into having an informal assessment with someone like ASDEC.

There are quality phonics based programs you can do on your own, such as All About Reading or Explode the Code. Barton would an example of a more heavy, intervention level approach. Outside Orion Gillingham tutoring is also another option, or a tutoring service such as Lindamood Bell.

[Anonymous]

My first grader just graduated to E, so just barely ahead of yours. He still struggles and getting him to read can be a chore. One thing that’s been helping a lot is that our school works with a local group that has volunteers do tutoring in the school. So twice a week he has 30-40 minutes with a sweet, retired woman working on reading and phonics. He loves it-the kid who hates reading and struggles to sit still for regular zoom class is focused and calm the whole time with her. The one on one time from someone who isn’t a parent is making a huge difference. I don’t know if there’s any kind of local group you can tap into that might offer something similar.

The other thing that’s helped is figuring out books he gets excited about and can mostly read. Elephant and Piggie was his gateway (even though they’re a higher reading level, there were lots of words he could read and we read them together with each of us doing a character.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our Term 2 assessment for our DL 1st grader. She's reading at a Level C which isn't even full potential for a Kindergarten student. We weren't given any tools from the teacher other than "have her read more at home." We do ask her to read daily but our time is limited in how much supplemental time we can devote to reading, when we are also supplementing her education in math, writing, etc.

I know these tests aren't 100% accurate and I suspect she's probably a little bit higher than a C, but is there anything I should specifically ask for from the school to get her back on track? I know the school has resource teachers like a Reading Specialist. Is this something we should advocate for? Or are we just on our own?

TIA!

It should’ve started with you at home. But we know how that goes with 96% of DCUM peeps, right?

My kid is 5. Speaks, reads, and writes in 3 languages. Upon starting K this year teachers were baffled with the quantity and quality of the lexicon employed.

Again, it starts at home.

Mine is 4 and just finished his PhD. Perhaps if you had supplemented more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in a similar situation with my child, OP. Teachers kept telling me it would click for her and it didn't. The school tested her but she didn't qualify for services. We found an Orton Gillingham reading teacher who works with her once a week and it has definitely helped. We are still trying to get the big picture of her issues and paying out of pocket for everything. I've found that with a very well-behaved, hard-working kid the school is just not interested in taking her deficits seriously.

If the issue is decoding words, then Orton Gillingham is absolutely the best. There are reasonably priced tutors on Outschool who know how to do it.

But OP, I wouldn't worry too much. There is a push to have kids reading earlier, but for most it is not beneficial, and can even be harmful. My son didn't read on grade level until the end of 2nd grade, and then just barely. By the end of 3rd he was passing advanced all his sol's. We didn't do anything special except buy him a kindle and pay for whatever books he wanted to download. We also let him use the narration feature, which he really liked because it helped him read books he was interested in but couldn't quite read yet.

[Anonymous]

This was my kid towards the end of first great. We focused on phonemic awareness last spring using Teach Your Monster to Read, it's a great app and my child made significant improvements using it. I've heard similar good things about the Reading Eggs app.

Over the summer we got a tutor and have continued, and my child is up to a J now (so half a year behind as opposed to a year behind last spring).