Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

On his progress report , it says my DS needs to improve on reading. I know things are more rigorous now... How concerned should I be and any tips for improving? Books, websites, etc?

I'm mostly worried because I didn't expect this - but again I know things are different now as far as expectations.

Any advice is great. Thanks

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

I would personally be concerned, and what to know exactly what needed improving. The comprehension, decoding, etc. I would contact the teacher and ask what level he is and what level he should be. I would also ask what strategies she is imploring for him to become a better reader.

I would also question why that was the first you were hearing there was a problem. But then again maybe the progress report is supposed to be the first indication something is wrong. I'm not sure, since we only get report cards.

Message edited 4/13/2014 2:45:29 PM.

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Thanks all. I'm not home now so I have to look at the exact wording later - but I appreciate all the insight!

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

I'm a worry wart so I always fake everything serious, lol. My son was struggling with some things.

Anywho, depending on what his issues are maybe some of things will help, they helped my son and he couldn't read at all when he started:
Practice Letter Sounds and Blends with him - superteacherworksheets.com has some free phonics worksheets.

Sight Word Flash Cards

Print out some leveled reading books for practice, I signed up for a free trial account: http://www.readinga-z.com/books/leveled-books/

Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

I know in DD's school in order for them to be promoted to first grade they need to be reading at a D level by the end of K. I would just work on the reading (Bobs books, flashcards, etc). DD went from reading at-below grade level in the beginning of first grade to exceeding grade level by mid year. My BFFs son also is in K and he was at an A level and now has progressed to D. At this age it's almost like one day things "click" and they go from behind to at level or above. Just be consistent with reading all the time (books, signs, flash cards, etc)

Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Thanks for all the advice ! Flash cards are an idea I didn't think of.
I don't recall memorizing words by sight when I leaned to read (maybe I did and don't recall!) but I remember sounding them out and things and it came easy. I know they still sound things out... It just seems like now things are focusing on memorization.

Thanks for the links!
He's good at math which is a blessing - I was so bad at math. Still am.

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Posted by EatingMyVeggies

Thanks for all the advice ! Flash cards are an idea I didn't think of.
I don't recall memorizing words by sight when I leaned to read (maybe I did and don't recall!) but I remember sounding them out and things and it came easy. I know they still sound things out... It just seems like now things are focusing on memorization.

Thanks for the links!
He's good at math which is a blessing - I was so bad at math. Still am.

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Posted by MrsH

Posted by EatingMyVeggies

Thanks for all the advice ! Flash cards are an idea I didn't think of.
I don't recall memorizing words by sight when I leaned to read (maybe I did and don't recall!) but I remember sounding them out and things and it came easy. I know they still sound things out... It just seems like now things are focusing on memorization.

Thanks for the links!
He's good at math which is a blessing - I was so bad at math. Still am.

Does your son do Fundations in school? in that program, there are words called trick words-they are tricky because they don't follow the rules of the english language, so you do have to memorize them b/c you can't sound them out. Maybe you can get a list of those words to use as flashcards, or look online for a list of dolch words-they are words most frequently found in books. If he has them as sight words, it will help his reading tremendously b/c he won't be sounding out every words. Sounding out words is a good strategy for when you come across unknown words, but will get tedious if he doesn't build up his sight vocabulary.

Message edited 4/14/2014 4:24:11 PM.

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

I would talk to the teacher and find out what specifically your DC has to work on. Is it fluency? Is it comprehension? or is it more of an overall that he is not reading on grade level? All of these things have different approaches to solve. At the end of the day, the most important way to improve reading is to read often! And, make sure when your DC reads alone he is comprehending what he reads (ask at the end of the story or chapter for him to retell what the story or chapter was about and ask big questions to see if he knows the answer). HTH!

Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

my daughter was struggling with her fluency in the beginning of first grade, the teacher gave us some great websites and she went from a guided reading level of C to F in a matter of weeks - flash cards are a great tool though

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

As a 1st grade teacher (former K teacher), sight words are key in K. Also never underestimate the importance of the illustration. But contact the teacher and ask for her suggestions. Also, hate to say it it some kids just aren't ready in K. We push these kids so much

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Posted by mosh913

As a 1st grade teacher (former K teacher), sight words are key in K. Also never underestimate the importance of the illustration. But contact the teacher and ask for her suggestions. Also, hate to say it it some kids just aren't ready in K. We push these kids so much

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Posted by msrsfeb

Posted by mosh913

As a 1st grade teacher (former K teacher), sight words are key in K. Also never underestimate the importance of the illustration. But contact the teacher and ask for her suggestions. Also, hate to say it it some kids just aren't ready in K. We push these kids so much

I have been teaching K for year now and I couldn't agree more! It's almost identical to when I taught first grade years ago!

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

Posted by MrsProfessor

Posted by msrsfeb

Posted by mosh913

As a 1st grade teacher (former K teacher), sight words are key in K. Also never underestimate the importance of the illustration. But contact the teacher and ask for her suggestions. Also, hate to say it it some kids just aren't ready in K. We push these kids so much

I have been teaching K for year now and I couldn't agree more! It's almost identical to when I taught first grade years ago!

The work my DD is doing in 1 is very advanced- I've been surprised. They really have raised the bar so high and I hope the powers that be know what they are doing. Finland always scores higher than us on the different international measures (though they have other advantages over us) and they do not begin formal reading instruction till kids are 7.

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

I know this will be an unpopular opinion but honestly I think its silly to expect most children to be reading in Kindergarten. For many, its their first experience with school and I know when I went to K, we were just beginning to learn letters! I know standards are higher these days but I feel like teachers are somewhat forced to send these types of worrisome notes to parents because of the requirements the school imposes on the teachers. I'm not saying its a bad thing to challenge kids, and flash cards, etc are a great idea. I am just saying I would not be worried and I say this because they made me crazy when my son was in K. The teacher was soooo concerned that he wasnt reading. Of course I freaked out, especially since by the end of K, he was much better at sight words but not full on reading. But you know what - in first grade it clicked, and by the end of first he was in the highest reading group, reading chapter books. Too much pressure, too soon today on 5 year olds!

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

I'm also curious as to what part of reading needed improvement..

AJ scores well enough. I'm not sure high. But yes expectations are higher. She is expected to at this point (and as of the 3rd of 4 periods)to be able to read and comprehend independently. SO she has to be able to read a book by herself. Identify who the author is, the illustrator, main characters, the main idea as well as easily identify the beginning, middle and end for its major points (what came first or what happened next).

They are expected to read a minimum of 30 books every month. I am expected to read the same 30 with her. She is given one Library book to read each week and also a guided reading assignment book (much more their level but I'm not allowed to help her read it, she must completely read it to me on her own).

Along with reading she must at this point be "Stage 4" for writing development which is defined as -
Spelling is becoming more conventional as letter sounds are applied by the writer. Popcorn (sight words) words are spelled and used correctly with consistency.

She's been stage three for the last two grading sessions -
Words become more developed as the child uses more letters for sounds heard and uses vowels, although not always the correct vowel. Popcorn words appear.
(happen to have her report card on my office computer! LOL)

She is required to write 3 sentence paragraphs for homework. 3 assignments. One on her 'guided reading' and two on her own.

They lean heavily on reading. But amazingly enough she seems to be clicking in with it. She was behind a lot of her friends when she started the year. Now she's caught up. Ironically, Math is also finally getting more heavy handed attention and we pay very little attention to that at home. I try to swing some in every chance I get. That and science. I think girls need more math and science!

Anyway..
They have 25 'popcorn' words that are required to be identified and spelled consistently. Last report she was missing 3 which had not been introduced and therefore not graded. My aunt has the flash cards and Kindergarten (as well as 1st grade) workbooks for math and reading. She practices with AJ every weekend she's there and I can only guess she's going to be doing LOTS of workbook exercises during the summer. My aunt found it somehow offensive that AJ didn't qualify for Gifted/Talented when tested. So I think she's made it her goal to bring her along.

Me? Meh. She can read, she likes to read and I still truly believe Kindergarten is just a leveling field. 1st Grade is going to be the real challenge!

(reminder: this is Texas and she goes to a district which does not follow common core - Although we do have one district in our city that does)

Message edited 4/30/2014 10:55:27 AM.

Re: Kindergarten and reading - teachers come in too

reading a-z
raz kids are great websites with leveled learning.
Raz kids has reading comprehension questions at the end of each book.