Teaching your child to read is a joint effort. Even if you're doing all the right things — reading to your child regularly and keeping piles of books around the house — make sure the teachers are doing their job. Ask for a copy of the reading curriculum (you can pick one up at the school's office), and pay attention to how much your child is learning in class. Here are six questions to consider when evaluating your child's reading program (if you think that the reading curriculum in your child's classroom isn't up to par, schedule a conference with the teacher to talk about your concerns):
Truly fluent readers and third graders no longer need extensive phonics lessons, but second graders should be learning high-level phonics and more difficult letter blends (double-vowel sounds such as oa, three-letter sounds such as str-). Make sure the teacher is helping students master this task completely for 3rd grade and is also teaching students words that defy the phonics code, known as "sight words." Those words need to be memorized.
Make sure your child is reading more than a classroom textbook. Even if the teacher emphasizes phonics and reading workbooks, she should let her students explore the school library and encourage them to read beyond the assigned material. Books such as The Polar Express, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and Stellaluna are favorites at this stage.
You're never too old to be read to. As students become advanced readers, teachers should continue to read to the class. Children at this level are beginning to enjoy chapter books, so teachers should share these by reading a chapter or two during each reading session. Find out what books the teacher is reading. They should be books that appeal to most children in the classroom; classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach are good choices.
Reading and writing go hand in hand. Writing about reading builds comprehension skills and helps children become better communicators. Look for signs that the teacher is assigning work that builds on these skills, such as essays, book reports, or long-answer questions about books read in class. A good teacher will display examples of children's writing on bulletin boards, assign reports about subjects other than books (such as history or science reports), and teach children how to write descriptively with adjectives.