Dreamstime
Can Retention Help a Poor Reader?
Q The teacher just told me our third-grader could be retained because she is reading below grade level. The teacher says she will need better reading skills next year in order to handle subjects like social studies and science, where she will be reading to learn. Will retention help her?
– Solution Needed
A Starting in 2004, only two states — Florida and Ohio — used third-grade reading level as the gatekeeper to promotion. Today, 16 states and the District of Columbia are now requiring schools to retain students who are not reading on grade level by the third grade. Tennessee doesn’t mandate retention, but the state’s Read to be Ready program, started in 2015, seeks to identify struggling readers before third grade.
It is hard to say if retaining your child in third grade next year will truly make any difference in her reading level. What has caused her to read below grade level? Was there a problem in first or second grade? Can she use phonics and context to decode words?
Before deciding on retention (if you have this choice), you definitely need to ask the school district to test your child so you are able to find out if she has any learning problems that can be addressed now, this summer, and next year in fourth grade. Without the testing information and ruling out specific learning problems, no help to improve her reading skills will be effective.
If the school district is not willing to do the testing, you need to see if the local university does testing in their educational psychology department, because outside testing agencies may cost several hundred dollars.
Whether the outcome is retention in third grade or off to fourth grade, you want to get her reading issues addressed as soon as possible with help at school and/or private tutoring. You can do your part in this by making a commitment to read to and with her every evening. The more she reads, the better a reader she hopefully will become. Practice, practice, practice, and more practice should be your mantra.
It would also be helpful to visit our Dear Teacher website, dearteacher.com, and use "Find your child's reading level" on the home page. This will give you a quick idea of your child’s reading level. Plus, we have material in the Skill Builders section showing how parents can help their poor readers at home to become better readers.
Making a Museum Visit Educational
Q During spring break our family is taking a driving vacation. One of our stops is a living history museum where the children can see how people in this country lived 100 years ago. How can we make this visit as educational as possible? – Learning about History
A Awaken their enthusiasm about the visit by getting informational brochures about the museum. Looking at the museum’s website should also boost your children’s interest in this visit. It is also important that your children understand that they will be seeing real people in period costumes doing the work of blacksmiths, shoemakers, quilters, farmers, school marms, and others. Explain that they can ask questions of these "characters." Once they are at the museum, encourage them to use their cameras to make a "modern day" record of history and to make videos. They may be able to use their pictures for reports when they return to school.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com or ask them on the columnists’ website at dearteacher.com. ©Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2017. Distributed by King Features Syndicate