Well I had my conference, learning support teacher said she is having the kids reading lower 2nd grade level books. I talked to my outside reading tutor who said my child is 2.8-2.9 in her opinion. My child is slow but is reading. I am trying to get the two to talk so we can coordinate efforts.My child’s IEP stated she was at a 2.4 in reading and her comprehension was at the same 2.4 level at the end of May last year.I told the learning support teacher at the beginning of the year that the outside tutor thought she was getting close to 2.8 level. Her IEP goal is to be reading at 3.0. I feel I am somehow not making myself clear that she should be at a higher level or that the learning support teacher feels she should still be at a lower level because of her speed. Should I push for a higher level or let the school keep her on the lower 2nd grade level books?
Re: Should I push for higher level?
Just to chime in in harmony with Victoria — reading levels aren’t that absolute. If it’s independent reading, then it is much, much better to practice easy reading for building fluency and confidence than to always be struggling and generally practicing making mistakes and learning that reading is an exercise in frustration, not something anybody would actually choose to do.
Now, if her speed is as fast as she’s going to go because she just doesn’t process quickly, period, and she would read just as fluently at “2.8” as she does “2.4,” then perhaps she does need to tackle the more difficult material. It sounds like the work on the easier books is good, though, and is going to improve her speed, accuracy and fluency.
However, the big question remains — what are they doing to improve those skills besides having her practice reading? She needs to be learning something to practice…
Re: Should I push for higher level?
My tutor is teaching from “Exlpode the Code” and is using the “Spalding”method.I asked the learning support teacher if she was using phonics and she said that she goes over the words that they have in the back of the reading books and breaks them down before reading the books.My tutor does have high expectations and my child was reading with me the “Mary Kate and Ashley” adventures to me, with me helping alot but surprised at how much she was reading.I am not sure the level of that book but my daughter wanted to read it and did better than I thought she would.Thanks for the input I like to keep grounded so I don’t go off on anybody.
Re: Should I push for higher level?
Could you please refresh my memory and tell me what grade she is in?
Re: Should I push for higher level?
When the learning support told me she was lower 2nd grade level I had called the speech pathologist and her regular education teacher and told them she was at a higher level according to my tutor so they wouldn’t underestimate my daughter’s ability.Well I guess they talked to the learning support teacher cause she just sent me a note saying she mis-quoted herself and was thinking of another reading group and has her in mid second grade level.Thanks for the info it is going to be a -long- year.
Re: Should I push for higher level?
Sigh, don’t you just love playing “daily monitor?”
But hey, the first quarter’s over ;)
It depends what is being done with those books and how and why.
Each person has **several different** reading levels:
The frustration level is the level where you cease to understand anything because you are missing too much. In most cases it is inappropriate to work at the frustration level (however, for a total beginner who cannot read at all, you have to edge around it for a while.)
The instructional level is the highest level you can cope with, *with* help. This is the edge level where the teacher/tutor/parent pushes the child ahead in order to learn new skills. You can’t stay on this level all the time, and you can’t do it alone (that being the point of having a teacher, at least in an effective program) but you need to push yourself ahead sometimes.
The independent level is the highest level where you can work on your own, although you may be slow and may need dictionaries etc. This level is appropriate for research, textbooks in other subjects, etc.
The recreational level is the level where you read comfortably and easily for pleasure.
When the tutor said you child was working in 2.8 or 2.9 books, that would mean an instructional level in a one-to-one situation, with the tutor right there for instant help.
It would be normal for a student to have a one-to-one instructional level of 2.8, a large-class instructional level of 2.5, an independent level of 2.0. and a recreation level of 1.7
We *all* have this kind of spread — a professor with a doctorate may be able to work with textbooks at graduate-school level or 20.0, but may read magazines that are written at the average adult level of 12.0 for interest and relaxation.
Now, what are all the teachersdoing? If they are stressing independent reading and having the students work with books that they can read independently, that is a worthwhile goal and a reasonable part of a total school program; but it isn’t *teaching*, and there should *also* be some instruction somewhere, encouraging the students to work up to higher levels. (One of the two largest fallacies of “whole-language” so-called programs, is that they do almost no instruction, just hand the kids the books and hope and pray).
If the teacher has chosen to give only instruction at the lowest level in the group, this is not entirely bad — review is a very good thing and most kids don’t get enough of it — but the question is how high the class will move and how fast. If the goal of the teacher is to reach 2.5 by the end of the year and your child is already at 2.5 and aiming at 3.0, then you have a problem.
I would suggest asking all the teachers working with your child what their goals are, and then make noise *if* their goals don’t involve any advances.