By Ruthie Swibel

If you are concerned, or even just curious, about your child’s reading development, it is important to partner with your child’s teacher to ensure your child’s skill development is on track.

Here are 5 questions to ask your child’s teacher to help navigate these conversations.

1. What approach is being used to teach reading and spelling?
2. Listen for the words “explicit” and “systematic”  to describe the approach to teaching reading, spelling, and writing. “Explicit” means that the teacher is providing deliberate teaching of all concepts (what are the concepts that must be taught? Read on, I’ll cover those!) related to the elements of language with continuous student-teacher feedback and interaction. The teacher does not assume that the child will deduce reading and writing practices from a print-rich environment. “Systematic” means that the organization of material follows the logical order of the English language. The sequence should begin with the easiest and most basic concepts and progress methodically to the more complex elements. Each step should be based on concepts previously taught. While you don’t want to see a list of random spelling words assigned on Monday with a spelling test on Friday, you DO want to see spelling instruction integrated with phonics instruction. As students learn sound-letter correspondences for reading, they should be given ample opportunities to practice spelling those same sound-letter correspondences. Spelling instruction is proven to improve reading ability; it is truly the gateway to reading.
3. What elements are included in literacy instruction? You are hoping to hear:
4. Phonology: the study of the sound structure of spoken words. Phonemic awareness should be addressed; it is the ability to segment words into their component sounds, which are called phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language. For example, the word “chip” has 3 phonemes, /ch/, /i/, /p/. This skill is essential to develop for both reading and spelling.
5. Sound-Symbol Correspondence: Once students have a well-developed sense of the sound structure of spoken language, they need to learn to associate the sounds with printed letters. This association must be taught and mastered for both reading and spelling. Spelling is a more challenging task than reading and requires explicit instruction.
6. Morphology: the smallest unit of meaning in language is called a morpheme. Instruction in these small units of meaning provides an important tool for students to gain access to the meaning of unknown words. Instruction should center around base words, roots, prefixes, and suffixes. For example, consider the word: deconstruction. It has four morphemes: de+con+struct+ion. De-is a prefix that means “of or from”, con-is a prefix meaning “with” or “together.” Struct is a root word that means “to build”, and -ion is a suffix that means “result of a process.” Deconstruction is the process of breaking something down into smaller parts. Having a good working knowledge of roots, prefixes, and suffixes gives students a huge advantage in figuring out the meaning of complex words. Even in early grades, students should be introduced to morphology.
7. Syntax: Don’t let those sentence diagramming sentences of your middle school days haunt you! Those aren’t entirely necessary, but instruction in syntax does matter! Syntax describes the order of the words in a sentence and how words function in a sentence. Explicit instruction in syntax is important to develop students writing ability and reading comprehension abilities.
8. Semantics: all of reading and writing has to do with meaning, and semantics is the specific aspect of language concerned with meaning. Instruction in semantics can include vocabulary, multiple meanings of words, making inferences, and reading comprehension strategies.
9. How are my child’s skills assessed?
10. Instruction should be tailored to both build on your child’s strengths and help develop areas that are weak. Your child’s teacher should have data to show you your child’s skill progression relative to grade-level expectations. Typical assessments you should ask for:
11. Phonics (decoding)
12. Encoding (spelling)
13. Fluency (how automatically and effortlessly your child can read)
14. Phonemic awareness (depending on the grade level. This is a skill that tends to be assessed more often in the earlier grades)
15. How is progress being monitored and how will it be communicated?
16. You can expect progress reports on the categories listed above at least 3 times a year. It is critical that if your child is NOT making progress in any category that this is both communicated to you AND that the instruction is either changed and/or intensified to meet your child’s learning needs. Continuing with more of the same will not magically yield change.
17. How are students identified who need extra help, who works with these students, and what is the training of the teachers who work with these students?
18. Identifying students who are at-risk early is crucial. I can’t say it enough. Giving a child more time for something “to click” just isn’t how reading develops in the brain. With the proper use of screeners, assessments, and progress monitoring, any child who is at risk for struggling with reading should be identified early and provided with intervention to match their specific needs. It is ideal if the teacher paired with these students is highly-trained in Structured Literacy (see the elements in question #2) and has had experience beyond being sent to a 3-day crash course the district funded.

Empowered with these questions, I hope you will partner with your child’s educational team to ensure your child is on a successful literacy trajectory!

Looking for some support in the advocacy process? Book a virtual advocacy consultation through Redwood Literacy here. Get help today in empowering yourself with the data and language you need to successfully advocate for your child’s needs within their school district.

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