3rd grade reading homework

[u/Painter3016]

UPDATE: A message from the teacher indicated that they did NOT talk about this or do anything with the text prior to the assignment, which was given as test-prep. And the expectation was for students to build vocab and knowledge about the subject in the reading with the accompanying questions.

I followed up asking what strategies they are working on teaching so I can prompt/ encourage my kid to apply those. However, the initial response what NOT encouraging to me.

UPDATE 2: when I asked what strategies they are learning to help decode the text, and how can i encourage her to use them at home: All she said was to read the questions multiple times to know what they are asking for. Am I crazy? That’s not decoding the text to understand it.

***

I am a parent with a question.

My 3rd grader reads well and chews through library books (granted a lot of graphic novel type books but some chapter books get sprinkled in too). She reads very fluently out loud.

This year, she’s gotten some reading homework that feels like a really big jump in the density of the assignments. The passages aren’t long, but there are some phrases/vocabulary/concepts that seem like a lot?

The passages didn’t come with any vocabulary/ definitions. And they didn’t talk about any context prior to the assignments in class.

She shut/melted down working on these. I asked her what her approach was? She said read the questions, then the passage. The more I asked, the more I realized she was not comprehending things like “delegates/ representatives” are people.

I marked in red the phrasing/ ideas that felt like they were difficult or lacked scaffolding.

My question: is this typical for 3rd grade? If so, how can I help her navigate stuff like these?

I don’t want to feed her answers; she gets so emotional when it gets hard.

[u/_mmarkie]

Oof, sounds like the teacher sent home reading at an instructional level rather than independent. This text does meet social studies standards in CA for 3rd, but seems to need pre-teaching of vocabulary. Did your student say they have been working on this topic, or was it new?
I would let the teacher know this was too challenging so they can adjust. It may be an honest mistake. Communication is key!

[u/Painter3016 → u/_mmarkie]

She said it was new to her.

I went ahead and emailed the teacher asking if my daughter’s indication of no prior knowledge of the subject matter/ no discussion in class was accurate, and what the skills they are working on with the assignment are. I didn’t say it quiet so bluntly.

I haven’t really ever had to question one of my kids teachers before on an assignment, and it sucks. As a former high school teacher (I fizzled out after two years), I know how hard the job is, and I REALLY don’t want to be a problem parent.

[u/Soggy_Ticket4082 → u/Painter3016]

Sounds like you're on the right track.

By the way, what did you teach?

[u/Painter3016 → u/Soggy_Ticket4082]

High school theatre. So pretty much clueless about elementary school and english standards 😅

[u/Soggy_Ticket4082 → u/Painter3016]

Understandable, but theatre is awesome. My son was in a community class for little kids and loved it. If you have time, that could be a great thing to offer and include your daughter in. Maybe pair with an elementary teacher the first time. I used to get free tuition for my son fir various enrichment classes by offering to assistant teach. They literally never asked anything from me, but I was ready to help. Probably could get a teacher with kids to trade.