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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Kumon Literacy?

7 replies

thwinka · 12/01/2014 09:10

Hi, my son has just moved up to year 7, Secondary school and we are very concerned with his Literacy? We were led to believe that he was doing ok before he left his last school and was almost at National Standard, but he has been dropped down to a level 3c since starting Secondary. This is very low for a child his age and I'm understandably very concerned Confused
I am going to be arranging a meeting with his Literacy teacher but also feel it necessary to get some outside help if he is that low. I'm not sure what would be best though, either a tutor or Kumon? I feel as though he has completely bypassed the basics as his punctuality is very poor, and he struggles with sentence structure.
I don't feel as though any help I give him at home is productive enough? Literacy was never one of my strong points in terms of Comprehension so I just don't feel as though I am best placed to help him? I can see where he is going wrong, but have no idea how to teach him or help him understand how to improve these things?
Has anyone here used Kumon for Literacy? What area of Literacy is Kumon really aimed at? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks

OP posts:
frankie4 · 12/01/2014 09:17

I wouldn't recommend Kumon for literacy as my ds tried it and I found it very boring, repetitive, and not at all helpful. A private tutor would be much better and better value for money in the long term in helping him.

I wouldn't be too concerned about his levels at the moment as a lot of children drop their levels in the first few terms of secondary school. And after one term they are basing the levels on only a few assessments.

thwinka · 12/01/2014 09:29

Thanks Frankie Is it usual for them to drop them so low though? A level 3c is the kind of level of what a year 4 student is looking at from what I have been told??

OP posts:
frankie4 · 12/01/2014 12:11

Yes 3c does seem quite low. Was he a 4c on leaving primary school? What are his levels in other subjects like? A meeting with his teacher sounds a good idea.

MrsSteptoe · 12/01/2014 20:09

A friend of mine said her son was assessed at one school at a 4c and then dropped to a 3a at his next school. From what she could reasonably work out, it seemed as though it was a combination of one school over-rating and the other being perhaps a little stringent. I'm sure a teacher will have something more useful to say on this, but I wonder if there's one particular area that he's a little wobbly on that's keeping him pegged at a low level, as well. These things are assessed on a framework, AFAIK, and it may be one component of that framework that's stopping him from moving up a level.

Your question was really about Kumon: we did Kumon with DS in KS1, so I'm not sure how it develops for slightly older kids but my feeling was that if you have serious catching up to do, Kumon will not get the job done. As another poster said upthread, it seemed to be based on repetition and practice; if you aren't getting high enough scores, you go back a level until you are at a level where you can work wtih perfection. Seems to me that perhaps your DS might need a more explanatory form of assistance.

Forgive me for asking, OP, but how much does your DS read? I do believe reading constantly and widely, a range of stuff (fiction and, for example, the sports pages of the newspaper, even comics or magazines), gradually nourishes an understanding of punctuation. It does take time, though.

Reading out loud, according to my DS's head teacher, helps in observing punctuation on the page and sentence structure because if you're reading out loud, it's harder to scan over stuff so you absorb it more completely. I believe this to be true, but again, it's a process that will take time. The reason I particularly suggest it is because this isn't an area in which you need to be particularly confident yourself to help him! All you need to do is make the time and keep quiet!

sorry for the long post, and hope you get both some reassurance and some help. I offer you baked goods. Cake

thwinka · 12/01/2014 21:12

Frankie, he was a 4b when he left school, but he rose very rapidly near the end, and I do suspect the school pushed them up in the levels to quickly and I don't think it was reliable. I did question this at the time, but was scoffed at pretty quickly by the teacher as though I should have more faith in my son! One subject, he was pushed up 3 levels in a fortnight! I don't see how that can be reliably possible but I may be wrong. He is national standards in his other subjects.

mrssteptoe thank you for such a detailed post. I have found it very useful. It is very possible that it is just certain components that are holding him back. He has said that the teacher has told him that he needs to improve his punctuality and sentence structure.

He does read a lot, but it is always the same kind of books. Not helped by the fact that his teacher told him at his last school that this was fine. (another thing that I queried) So I have left him be, but that will definitely have to change I think. He reads mostly in his head as well, so I will encourage out loud reading and hopefully this will help. Smile

OP posts:
MrsSteptoe · 12/01/2014 21:31

Good luck! Hope you find your teacher helpful. For the record, my DS didn't read nearly enough till recently. I think it's been the thing that's helped him the most.

MerlinFromCamelot · 13/01/2014 13:38

Suggest a meeting with his teacher to find out exactly what the problems are is the way to go. Would avoid Kumon for any child who is behind. I looked at it for DD1, very repetitive and extremely boring!!! Kumon was fashionable at the school gates i/e the mums when DD1 was in primary Some DC's did well with it and stuck with it for a long time but it also knocked to confidence of some. A lot if the work was timed. Guess if a child is finding something difficult putting a timer in the table could potentially really spook them. Once you had a chat with the teacher and you know a bit more perhaps it would be a good idea to find a tutor to work things through. You may not need the tutor for very long. You could also ask the school for advice as to what and how to practice at home.

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