DD in year 3 distracted in class

[monkeytree]

I've just come back from parents evening and I've found myself feeling a little disappointed in some of the feedback given by the teacher regarding DD.

It appears that DD is becoming distracted whilst doing her literacy work i.e chatting to class mates. DD tells me she is the only girl on a table of boys and that certain boys on this table distract her. It would be easy to blame some of the boys for this outcome but I am not convinced that DD is blameless - she participates in the chatting despite being advised not to become distracted.

This did not come as a complete surprise as her literacy teacher had mentioned this previously but the situation still continues. The teacher said that she would move her up to the next group if she progressed but despite lots of support from me - working on apples and pears etc encouraging with writing and rewards for writing she has not been moved up a group. One of the areas of difficulty is her spelling. DD does well in her weekly spelling tests but this does not come through in her written work. She spells works like frustrated but will then miss a 'h' out of when or spell a work correctly on one line and incorrectly on the next (despite being advised to check her work). It appears that she does not rush to put pen to paper. DD also holds her pen incorrectly despite ergonomic writing aids etc.

Am I worrying unduly as she is just 7 years old? Also any suggestions regarding the distraction issue? I don't think the situation is going to change unless there are physical changes within the classroom. Any advice welcome as I plan to speak to the literacy teacher soon.

The spelling thing is entirely normal at this age. Think about how many things you are asking them to think about simultaneously when writing - spelling, grammar, punctuation, paragraphs, content, etc. As adults, we do it all automatically, but children struggle to multitask. It'll come.

I had the same issues with DS in yr3 . I am reluctant to write this but it was the start for us of a long drawn out process and he was diagnosed with ADD 2 years later. I am not suggesting this is the case for your DD however, my advice is to keep channels of communication open between you and teacher and ask leading questions "is she distracted in other subjects" (my son was at his worse in Literacy) " does she respond to rewards (DS didn't because he couldn't) "is the distraction becoming more pronounced?"
If it is just a disinterested yr 3 child because of teacher, subject or kids on her table, then she will improve. If it is something else then it won't. I would keep a diary over 6 months and if no improvement ask to see learning support. Be careful, teachers don't suggest a ADD or ADHD test. They use words like "lack of focus" "inability to concentrate" We actually had "Because of his limited attention span he will never achieve his full potential" from our yr 3 teacher. He was 8.