parent teacher conferences

Ten Tips for Parents for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

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parent teacher conferencesParent-teacher conferences serve as an important time in a child’s academic year. The teacher can provide updates and insight into your child’s progress within the classroom. In today’s schools, teacher’s conferences schedules are often jam-packed and you might only have fifteen precious minutes with the teacher to talk about your child. If you want to get the most out of this vital time with your child’s teacher, then a little prep is needed! Here are our top 10 tips for a successful parent conference:

10 Tips to Prepare for Conferences:

 

  1. Ahead of the conference (in fact starting today!) ask the teacher to log behaviors or issues, so you have concrete examples about behaviors your child is engaging in that the teacher wants to discuss.
  2. Make a questions list beforehand. Focus questions not only how the child is doing academically but also socially and behaviorally.
  3. Invite your child to suggest if there is anything you should know before you go in or any concerns he or she would like to raise.
  4. Ask your child what he or she likes about school and also what he or she does not like.
  5. Ask the teacher how you can make sure your child reaches his or her potential? What extra activities would be recommended?
  6. Ask the teacher who your child is friends with and how that aspect of school is going.
  7. Ask the teacher who your child sits with at lunch and if he or she smiles a lot and looks happy.
  8. Ask the teacher if she has any other concerns about your child besides academics.
  9. If the teacher says anything negative about your child, without follow up, ask for a solution(s) and tell her you also will think of some.
  10. Don’t be defensive, just ask good questions!

 

Remember that the teacher is there to help your child develop to the highest potential. It is important to take the advice that is provided as they have seen many children and can readily identify areas of strength and weakness. It is important to work as a team to make sure your child’s academic and social needs are met.

If your child’s teacher identifies concerns regarding your child; the best advice is to be proactive and garnish additional information instead of waiting. If there are possible concerns regarding the child’s attentional regulation, learning, and/or social-emotional functioning, it would be recommended to seek out a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to help identify whether or not there is a specific diagnosis such as ADHD, a learning disability, anxiety, or Autism Spectrum Disorder. If and when a specific diagnosis is identified, individualized recommendations would be able to be created to help the child progress at the highest level possible.

If you are in the Chicago area and would like to discuss issues that arise from parent-teacher conferences or you have other concerns regarding your child, please contacts us at 1-866-309-4610 or fill in the contact form on this page.

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Sing, Dance, Draw — All to Learn How to Write!

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Learning Without Tears Workshop Review

By: Dana Pais OTD, OTR/L

When you sign up for a continuing education course, you never really know what you’re in for. Sure, the course brochure shares the description and objectives for the day, but what about the instructor’s teaching style? What about the learning activities? Is it going to be all lecture and difficult to sit for 8 hours for 2 consecutive days?

I recently attended two Learning Without Tears (LWT) workshops in Chicago: Pre-K Readiness & Writing and K-5 Handwriting. Both were fantastic! The instructor, Diane Eldridge, was very engaging and fun. She had a good sense of humor and engaging teaching style that is needed when the participants are not used to sitting in a class for 2 days–especially given that the LWT courses are geared towards educators and therapists who spend all day on the move. Diane taught with an appropriate balance of seriousness and lightheartedness. She made sure we had the background information and knowledge needed to utilize the program, while also giving us time to practice and opportunities to collaborate with colleagues.

At the beginning of each workshop, participants are given a large tote bag of materials that are needed to execute the LWT program. There’s lots of fun goodies: activity sets, workbooks, crayons, magnetic stamps, slate chalkboard, songs and more. An occupational therapist’s dream! During the workshops, participants learn how to use all the components to implement the LWT curriculum in an organized manner. The workshops are structured to teach the program using the program materials, which to me is the best hands on way to learn.

Overall, I highly recommend the Learning Without Tears workshops. I fully believe in LWT’s multi-sensory method for teaching handwriting and had a great experience at the workshops. It made me excited to learn about handwriting even though I already know how to write!

IEP Legal Rights

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This guest blog was written by Sandra Strassman-Alperstein.

As a special education attorney, I am often asked by parents of children with autism about their children’s legal rights at school. Fundamentally, children with autism are entitled to the same Blog-IEP Rights-Main-Landscapeeducational rights as other children with disabilities, namely FAPE (free appropriate public education).  What constitutes “appropriate” education is at the crux of many special education disputes regarding students with autism as well as other students with disabilities.

Let’s take Michael, a boy with autism severe  on the spectrum. Michael is 10 years old. He is not yet toilet trained. Michael demonstrates unsafe behaviors at school, such as self-injury, violence toward peers and staff, and elopement (running). Michael is rapidly becoming a danger to himself and others at school.

At Michael’s IEP meeting, the district recommends Michael’s current self-contained life skills classroom with a student/teacher ratio of 6:1. While many of the goals appear to be appropriate, Michael has made no progress this year. But we know Michael can learn in a 1:1 setting because he has made good progress with a private tutor at home. Also, the proposed IEP contains no goal for toileting skills, which are critical life skills, and no behavior intervention plan (BIP) to keep Michael and others safe when he displays unsafe behaviors.

What types of questions should Michael’s parents be asking at the IEP meeting? I’d suggest questions designed to elicit how the team proposes to educate Michael safely and appropriately, and how the proposed IEP is designed to accomplish this.

Let’s start with Michael’s present levels of performance in the IEP. Are they based on current data, and are they accurate reflections of Michael’s current abilities? How about his goals: do they address all areas of deficit? (For instance, the proposed IEP does not address Michael’s lack of toileting skills and unsafe behaviors – goals will need to be added to cover these areas.) Are the proposed goals reasonable given Michael’s present levels of performance? Are they SMART goals? (SMART goals, according to Pete Wright, are goals which are specific, measurable, use action words, are realistic and relevant, and are time-limited. (See http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.goals.plan.htm#sthash.HUUaBQ3V.dpuf.) What about the proposed services – are they sufficient to allow Michael to achieve his IEP goals?

Now let’s examine Michael’s proposed placement (the 6:1 life skills classroom). Is this classroom appropriate for Michael, or does he need a smaller class setting with more adult supervision and structure? Michael clearly needs a BIP – can an appropriate plan be implemented in the proposed placement, or should the team be recommending a therapeutic day setting or even a residential placement for Michael?

Now take the case of Michelle, a 10 year old girl with what used to be called Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), a form of high-functioning autism (AS was eliminated as a separate diagnosis in the DSM-V that was recently released; however, it remains a useful descriptive term). Michelle can read and write, her grades are good, and she does not display unsafe behaviors in school. However, Michelle demonstrates social skills deficits that impact her in school: she sits alone at lunch, does not seek out friends or engage in reciprocal conversations, and often misreads social cues, causing conflicts with both peers and staff. Other students are starting to tease her and call her “weird.” This causes Michelle to withdraw socially, and sometimes to shut down and refuse to do her work in class. Michelle is beginning to develop a negative self-image, as she has been observed to say “I am dumb” or “I am weird” at least several times a day in school.

Because Michelle – like Michael – has autism, the team proposes the same self-contained life skills 6:1 classroom. However, it should be clear that while both children have autism, their needs are nothing alike.

Both Michael and Michelle have the right to be educated in the LRE (least restrictive environment). However, what that will look like is very different for each of these children. For Michael, it is very possible (even likely) that the self-contained public school classroom will not be restrictive enough; for Michelle, it is likely to be too restrictive. (The LRE is the setting in which the student has maximum access to typical peers, but in which the child can be appropriately educated. Thus, what constitutes the LRE will vary from child to child.)

So in Michelle’s case, the parents should be asking similar questions regarding present levels (are they accurate?), goals (do they cover all areas of deficit – such as social/emotional needs – and are they SMART goals?), services (are they sufficient to enable Michelle to meet her goals?), and placement (is the self-contained classroom the LRE for Michelle when she is able to progress in the general education setting?).

What these examples demonstrate is that different children have different needs, regardless of an autism diagnosis/label. The fact is, as the saying goes, if you’ve met one kid with autism, you’ve met one kid with autism.

For each child, parents should critically examine the key elements of the proposed IEP, namely:

  1. Present levels of performance (are they based on data and do they accurately reflect the child’s current performance?);
  2. Goals (are they SMART goals that address all areas of deficit?);
  3. Services (are they sufficient and tailored to meet the child’s unique needs to enable the child to progress toward the goals?)
  4. Placement (is it the LRE?)

Parents are their children’s best advocates. They are the experts on their child and have much to contribute to the IEP team. Hopefully this information will help parents fulfill their critical roles in their children’s education.

Sandra Strassman-Alperstein holds a B.A. in English from the University of Florida and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (cum laude 1990). More importantly, Sandy is the mom of four wonderful kids, three of whom have received special education services in the public school setting via IEPs and 504s. Sandy has been practicing special education law & advocacy for the past 15 years and is an active volunteer on the national, state, and local levels. Sandy’s website is http://www.spedlaw4kids.com.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

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IEP Meetings From a Mom’s Perspective

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I have worked for North Shore Pediatric Therapy for more than two years in the marketing department. I thought I was familiar with the many challenges families go through with their children, Blog-IEP-Meetings-Main-Landscapehowever, the idea of going through “the IEP process” never crossed my mind, until I had to.

When my son started kindergarten, we had some concerns about certain behaviors, but honestly really thought they were only phases. A few weeks into the school year as they began practicing drills, he had a severe panic attack requiring help from the school social worker. At that time, his teacher recommended he begin seeing the social worker more frequently and that led to our process of seeking a full evaluation to really understand him.

He was evaluated by Dr. Greg Stasi at NSPT and given a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. It was then that we were faced with the dreadful IEP meetings. I had heard so many stories of hardship parents faced when fighting for their child’s needs. As a result, I went into the process expecting a fight, and boy would they get one if necessary because in my mind, nothing was going to come between my child getting the help he needed.

Because of my job, I am fortunate enough to have access to excellent professionals and resources, who understand the IEP process, and who helped me prepare for the initial IEP meeting. I was ready for that day. And you know what happened? I didn’t have to fight. I was so fortunate to have a wonderful team wanting and willing to give my son everything he needed to succeed. Everything I was prepared to fight for was already part of their plan, too.

I know this isn’t typical, and so many families struggle to get their child’s needs met.

Here are some tips, from a mom’s perspective on how to approach IEP meetings to get what you, and your child, need:

  1. Be prepared. Those same resources I have access to because of my job…guess what? YOU have access to those same things! NSPT has so many blogs and infographics to help you begin your journey. Having a full neuropsych evaluation is a real plus as it lends a direction for goal development and is appreciated by the district staff.
  2. Be understanding. Understand that those on the other side of the table really do want to help. Often they are restricted by legal mandates. So you may find that there are questions you ask where they can’t fully answer.
  3. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask any and all questions you have in order to understand each element being addressed. It goes fast. And they use a lot of terms you don’t recognize. Stop them and ask.
  4. Bring help. Don’t be afraid to bring outside support, such as a school advocate, to help speak on your behalf. They know the rules and can help you “fight.”
  5. Don’t sign the plan if you are not happy. You will be asked to sign the plan at the end. If you are not comfortable, don’t do it, unless it’s on the condition that you are requesting another meeting to go over the details again to re-write the goals.
  6. Hold Accountability. As the school year continues, don’t be afraid to check in on the team, the therapists, and the teacher to ensure all accommodations are being met.

Be the voice. Remember, you are your child’s voice. Don’t be afraid to speak up.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

Sending a Child with Autism to School

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Sending a child with autism to school can be a very overwhelming process, not just for the children butBlog-Autism-Main-Landscape also the parents. The key to success is starting the process early so that your child will have all of the supports they need to make not just their first day successful but their entire school year. While the process will be slightly different for each child due to their specific needs, here are some general guidelines to follow to ensure your child’s success when sending them to school.

Before the First Day

  • Finding the right school and classroom: The first place to start when preparing to send your child with autism to school is by selecting the best school for your child. During the previous Fall or Spring, start touring schools and meeting with the teachers and administrative staff. You want to make sure that the school and classroom setting you choose will be the most beneficial for your child’s specific needs! You can start the IEP process with testing as well to ensure that when the school year begins, your child has all the supports they need on the very first day.
  • Social story: Once you have found the right school for your child, write a social story about the various rooms of the school and their teacher. Talking to your child’s teacher before writing it will also ensure you know what rooms your child will be frequently in for their classes. Just make sure to get permission first from the school before taking any pictures.
  • Practicing: Starting new routines can be hard for children with autism so by practicing the routine a week or two before school starts, your child will most likely be more successful on their first day. When practicing, consider all of the new variables for your child, such as wearing a backpack or school uniform, practicing carrying a tray of food, or waiting outside for the school bus.

On the First Day

  • Safety and Sensory Needs: It is always better to be over prepared than underprepared. If you are concerned about your child’s safety, consider an I.D. bracelet, which can be purchased online or at local stores such as Walgreens. If your child has any sensory needs, have their supports ready and available. These could include headphones, chew tubes, a fidget toy, sunglasses, and/or a compression shirt. Make sure if you are sending any of these to inform their teacher and administrative staff as well.
  • Other Materials: Sending an extra pair of clothes is always a good idea. While schools often have some extra clothes for children to wear, children with autism may be sensitive to different scents or textures and as a result refuse to wear the communal clothes. If allowed, consider bringing a water bottle or a preferred snack to eat at specified times.

Other Considerations

  • Dietary Needs: When you are finding the right school and preparing your child for success, dietary needs can be frequently overlooked. Communicate with your teachers and administrative staff what your child’s dietary needs are currently, such as small frequent snacks vs. a large meal or starting by eating in a quieter area of the lunchroom. While you can have goals for your child to eat the school provided meals with their peers in the lunchroom, moving slowly towards these goals will make your child more successful not just during lunch and snacks, but all day by not having your child feel hungry.
  • Communication: It is important to be very clear and honest about what type of communication you would like with the school and how often. Oftentimes children with autism are not able to recall and tell you what happened at school. An agreed upon communication system can alleviate this concern and also be used as a tool to work on recall.

After your child’s first successful day at school, make sure to congratulate not just your child and the school, but also yourself for starting the hard work early. As the school year unfolds, remember to stay in communication with your child’s teachers and administrative staff to make adjustments as needed and enjoy watching your child with autism succeed at school.

For additional information, check out our other Autism and school blogs.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!

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The Benefits of Bilingualism

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There are definitive advantages for children who are learning two languages simultaneously. Though parents may question whether or not they should teach their child to be bilingual, research has proven that bilingual children develop language skills in the same manner as peers who are learning one language.

Parents should begin using both languages from the start and continue to give their child opportunities tobilingual hear and communicate in both languages throughout their daily routines. Bilingual children typically have a dominant language; that is, one that they know better and use more proficiently. Learning two languages simultaneously does NOT hinder speech and language development. If a child truly has a language disorder, this will be evident in both languages. Additionally, bilingualism may confuse grammatical rules or use words from both languages in the same sentence, and this should not be concerning.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, research has demonstrated a variety of benefits to being bilingual including:

  • Being able to learn new words easily
  • Playing rhyming games with words like “cat” and “hat”
  • Breaking down words by sounds, such as C-A-T for cat
  • Being able to use information in new ways
  • Putting words into categories
  • Coming up with solutions to problems
  • Developing good listening skills
  • Connecting with others

Language learning follows patterns. Developing sounds in the first language may further support how a child learns and uses their second language. ASHA also reports that currently 1 in 5 individuals over the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home. Subsequently, simultaneously language learning is becoming more common and is expected to increase over time.

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NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

How Teachers Can Help a Child With Tourettes

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When you look at someone with Tourettes, all you see or hear are the tics. You don’t see the constant struggle, the constant commotion that is going on inside the person’s body. Although it might be easy to assume that when a person is not ticcing, they are okay or calm or not experiencing anything related to Tourettes, more often than not, that assumption would be entirely incorrect.

Here are a few tips on how teachers can help a child with Tourettestourettesteachermain

  1. Trust that if the person did not have an urge to tic, they would not be doing the tic. Know that although there might be some level of control for some kids some of the time, it is difficult to control and takes an inordinate amount of energy. The consequence of “not-ticcing” is often delayed tic-bursts, decreased concentration, lost instructional time and/or social time, and muscle soreness.  The consequence of ticcing is often embarrassment, shame, isolation, muscle soreness, decreased concentration, loss of instructional and/or social time.
  2. Ignore the tics. Don’t worry what the other kids will think or if they will become distracted. Be the role model. Keep on and so will the kids. They will get used to the noises just like you would get used to hearing the sound of a fire truck if you lived near a station or the smell of baked goods if you worked in a bakery.  If the noises bother you, just remember they bother the child a whole lot more…and he can’t walk away from himself.
  3. Remember that, as bad as the tics can be, they are usually just the tip of the iceberg. The common Tourette Syndorome (TS) co-morbid conditions are OCD, ADHD and Learning Disabilities.  Your student is battling, not only a body out of control, but some major disabilities that even adults have difficulty living with.  Remember this is a real, neurological disorder that the child did not ask for and does not want.
  4. Learn as much as you can about the disorder(s) and the child. Just because you knew one kid with Tourettes in the past does not mean that you know anything about the current student. Listen to the parents. Contact the child’s private clinicians. Ask questions. Above all, if the adults in the child’s life feel it is appropriate, talk to the child!  Let him know you are trying to understand, that you will do your best to protect him from the bullies, and that you care.  Let him know it’s okay to tic if he needs to and come up with safe places if he needs to leave the room.
  5. Does your student have behavioral issues? It’s possible that things you think are “bad behaviors” are manifestations of Tourettes. The shouting out? Tourettes. Doing what the teacher says NOT to do?  TS is a disorder of disinhibition. If the child hears “Don’t run” he will most likely feel compelled to run. If he knows he shouldn’t be saying certain words or doing certain things, the premonitory urge will center around those words or those actions and it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for him to control the urge.
  6. Work with administrators to schedule a teacher in-service for all the adults working with the child, including the related arts teachers, lunch monitors and bus drivers. TS does not go away when the child leaves your room. Children with TS need to know that there are in a safe place with understanding adults who will support them.
  7. With parent permission, set up a peer in-service. Have someone who is knowledgeable about TS speak to the students. There are organizations that have teens, young adults and adults who can provide this service.  This will help all the children, including the one with TS, feel less fearful and more comfortable with each other.

Click here for more information on what it’s like to live with Tourettes.

Meet-With-A-Neuropsychologist
About the Author: Shari was the 3rd person in IL to be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (1976). Her parents co-founded the IL TS chapter along with several others, including Joe Bliss. In 1978, while at a board meeting in her parent’s home, Mr. Bliss told Shari about his theory of premonitory urges and provided some tips and tricks on how to control the tics. It was the first time Shari felt “understood” and attributes much of her success to Mr. Bliss and his strategies. She co-founded the Illinois Tourette Resource Network in 2014 and is honored that she can continue the legacy of providing TS support to the Illinois community.

What We Can Learn From Julia: Sesame Street's New Friend With Autism

5 Things We Can Learn From Julia: Sesame Street’s New Friend With Autism

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This fun-loving friend is the newest member of one of our favorite childhood shows. The only difference with Julia is that she has Autism. In an attempt to increase awareness and provide resources to families of individuals with Autism, Sesame Workshop created Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children. These resources include videos from all different points of view, visual supports for daily routines, a visual storybook of Julia and Sesame Street friends, tips for anyone who wants to learn more about Autism, as well as, an outlet to share your own story.

Here are some things everyone can learn about Autism from Julia:

  1. Communication comes in all different forms. Individuals with Autism may use several What We Can Learn From Julia: Sesame Street's New Friend With Autismdifferent means to communicate their wants and needs. These may include vocal communication, sign language, picture communication systems, voice out-put devices, simple gestures or eye contact, or a combination of several. No one way is better than the next, it all depends on the child.
  2. Sometimes less is more. Speaking in fewer, more succinct words, can help individuals with Autism process the information more quickly. It’s important to allow people to be successful in their environment.
  3. Be patient. All learning takes time. Once skills are learned, that time is worth it.
  4. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Just because someone has a diagnosis of Autism, doesn’t mean they aren’t just as different as each other individual to the next. Finding and incorporating what makes them happy can create better and more long-lasting relationships.
  5. Sometimes everyone needs a break and time alone. Just like all children, sometimes individuals with Autism enjoy receiving attention from others, and sometimes they want to enjoy more simple things in life like calm and quiet. Be respectful to all of your friends and family and just remember, we’re all amazing.

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Reading Skills By Grade (7-10)

Reading Skills: A Grade by Grade Guide (7-10)

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Ready, set, school! Wondering what reading skills your child should have by the end of their respective grade? Refer to the grade-by-grade guide below, based on the Illinois’ common core standards.

By the end of 7th grade your child should be able to:

Analyze how elements of a story interact Analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a verse or stanza Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure contributes to its meaning Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal with a historical portrayal of the same time period
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound Analyze how two authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information

By eighth grade your child should be able to:

Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development Analyze how a text makes connections and distinctions among and between individuals, ideas, or events
Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text Evaluate advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to present a topic Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound Analyze two or more texts on the same topic that provide conflicting information

By ninth/tenth grade your child should be able to:

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences from the text Provide objective summaries of texts Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text Analyze how the structure of a text, order of events, and manipulation of time create mystery, tension, or surprise
Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the US Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work Analyze seminal US documents of historical and literary significance

All standards have been reported from the Illinois State Board of Education. Additional standards are expected that have not been stated above. If you are concerned with your child’s reading skills, seek the guidance of a neuropsychologist who can help refer you to the appropriate support system.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

Reading Skills By Grade (4-6)

Reading Skills: A Grade by Grade Guide (4-6)

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The new school year is upon us! Do you wonder what reading skills your child should have by the end of his or her respective grade? Refer to the grade-by-grade guide below, based on the Illinois’ common core standards.

Reading Skills By Grade:

By Fourth Grade Your Child Should Be Able To:

determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in text describe a character, setting, or event in depth explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose compare and contrast points of view
read and comprehend stories, dramas, and poetry explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in historical, scientific, or technical texts determine meaning of academic and domain-specific words or phrases describe text structures (problem/solution, cause/effect, comparison, chronology)
interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively and use it to understand text integrate information from two texts in order to write or speak about the topic knowledgeably accurately read unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context or out of context read on-level text with purpose and understanding

By Fifth Grade Your Child Should Be Able To:

quote accurately from text when explaining explicit information vs inferences compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events determine meanings of words and phrases, including figurative language explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fit together to provide an overall text structure
compare and contrast stories in the same genre determine two or more main ideas of a text, explain how they are supported by key details, and summarize the text draw on information from multiple print or digital sources to answer questions or solve problems efficiently read on-level with purpose and understanding

By Sixth Grade Your Child Should Be Able To:

determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through details describe how a story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes and how characters responds or change explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator compare and contrast experience of reading a story/drama/poem with listening to or viewing audio, video, or live version
analyze how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text determine meaning of words and phrases, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings integrate information presented in different media or formats and in words to develop understanding of a topic/issue read and comprehend literary nonfiction

All standards have been reported from the Illinois State Board of Education. Additional standards are expected that have not been stated above. If you are concerned with your child’s reading skills, seek the guidance of a neuropsychologist who can help refer you to the appropriate support system.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!