{{{{{{{{{Bridgie}}}}}}}}

I wish you didn't have to stress out so much about this. You might try asking your son how he feels about it. Ask him what he thinks would be a good plan to help him read better (meaning read more). If you let him design a solution and express confidence in his ability to improve, he just might.

To be honest with you, the school told me the exact same thing about my son at that age, too. I did do what AAAAA suggested and took him to the book store and you know what he picked? CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!!! So I made a deal with him. I would buy him one Captain Underpants book if we would also read one from the approved reading list. So, he went for it. He could bring a book home from school and when he had read it all and written his report, then we would go get the one he wanted from the bookstore. I could hardly see the comparison but it made him read so what the heck. He really didn't start having to read a lot until fourth grade, age 10, I think. He simply decided it was just something he had to improve on.

Some people might think I was a bad parent because my philosophy was to let the child motivate themselves. My son always knew school was his "job" and I have never had to make him do homework. But, I also took what the school said with a grain of salt. If you allow them to create a lot of anxiety in the student and the parent, that makes learning a negative experience and you lay the groundwork for failure. How do YOU think he is doing? Do you think THEIR standards are reasonable? There were some instances when I thought my son was doing fine but the "standards" disagreed.

I'm not sure where you live, but some communities have "Reading Is Fun" programs (RIF) which meet after school. I wonder if yours does. If not, why not start one. Maybe some of the other parents of children who need more reading practice might be interested in helping. Maybe you could get the local library to participate.

Take care.