Parent-teacher conferences provide a valuable opportunity to check in on your child’s literacy development and find ways to support their reading and writing skills at home. Whether your child is learning to decode words, working on comprehension, or developing writing fluency, coming prepared with thoughtful questions can help you make the most of your time with their teacher.
Key Questions to Ask About Literacy
How is my child progressing in reading and writing?
Ask about their strengths and areas for growth. Understanding where they excel and what needs improvement will help guide your support at home. Many curriculums have practice materials to use with students, but teachers may not have the print budget to send them home. Ask if they can send digital copies of practice in the areas of spelling, phonics, and reading fluency. Then use those materials for extra practice or let your child show off the skills they are learning at school by going over them.
What assessments are used to track my child’s literacy development?
Many schools use assessments like DIBELS, FASTbridge, MAP Growth, or unit assessments from the core curriculum. Ask about your child’s recent results and what they indicate.
Specifically, ask how your child’s scores compare to grade-level benchmarks or national norms. This helps you understand whether they are on track, need additional support, or are excelling in literacy skills. If your student is being progress monitored, ask to have the progress monitoring graphs sent home each week for you to review and celebrate growth.
Is my child reading at grade level?
If not, what specific skills need improvement? Phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension? Pinpointing the exact area of difficulty can help you provide targeted support. Again, ask for materials to be sent home for practice with specific skills your child needs support with.
What strategies are used in the classroom to support literacy growth?
If structured literacy, explicit phonics instruction, or writing workshops are part of the approach, ask how you can reinforce those methods at home.
The Iowa Reading Research Center has a phenomenal resource on its site called the Caregiver Hub with many resources to consider.
How can I help my child with reading and writing at home?
Whether it’s reading together, practicing sight words, or encouraging daily writing, teachers can offer specific, research-backed suggestions.
Research-Based Resources for Home Support
To build strong reading and writing skills, parents can explore these highly researched resources with practice opportunities for their students:
Iowa Reading Research Center – Offers evidence-based literacy strategies and parent resources to support reading at home.
Reading Rockets – Provides articles, book recommendations, and literacy activities for parents on its Literacy at Home page.
The National Center on Improving Literacy – Research-based tools and strategies to support struggling readers.
Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) – Free, research-backed activities for reading and literacy development for families.
Keys to Literacy – Focuses on structured literacy strategies for all students, including those with dyslexia.
Achieve the Core – Offers high-quality instructional materials aligned with the Science of Reading. Look under Classroom Resources.
International Dyslexia Association (IDA) – A great resource for parents of children with reading difficulties or dyslexia.
AdLit.org – Focuses on adolescent literacy with research-based strategies to support older students in reading and writing.
Final Thoughts
Parent-teacher conferences are an opportunity to build a strong partnership with your child’s teacher. By asking focused questions about literacy and using research-backed resources at home, you can play an active role in your child’s reading and writing success.
We can help if you are looking for support in exactly what questions to ask and how best to support and advocate for your student in the area of literacy both at home and with the school.
What questions do you plan to ask at your next conference? Share in the comments!
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