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My Child’s Teacher Emailed Me About Academic Concerns—Now What?

My Child’s Teacher Emailed Me About Academic Concerns—Now What?
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academic concerns

Which school teacher has the best communication style?

If you’ve ever received a note from your child’s teacher about academic concerns, saying they’re struggling to organize ideas in writing, apply math concepts to real life, or make inferences while reading, you’re not alone. Many parents see these messages and wonder, What does that actually mean? And how can I help at home?

I hear this concern from friends and family all the time. Instead of asking the teacher for clarification, they turn to me for advice—worried they might sound uninformed. But here’s the truth: It’s not ignorance or bad parenting. It’s a language barrier! Teachers often use academic terms that parents may not be familiar with, making it hard to translate concerns into actionable steps.

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That’s where I come in. I break down what these academic concerns actually look like in the classroom and offer practical, at-home strategies and academic resources to support your child. And here’s my number one tip—don’t be afraid to email the teacher back! Teachers and tutors are on your child’s academic team and can provide valuable insight into what will help.

Below, you’ll find 10 common academic concerns for elementary and middle school students—what they mean, how they show up in the classroom, and simple ways you can help at home. Parents should feel empowered, not confused! 

Writing Skills

1. Difficulty Organizing Ideas in Writing– The student struggles to structure sentences, paragraphs, or essays logically.

  • In the Classroom: Writing lacks logical structure; ideas jump around. Struggles with sequencing in essays or stories.
  • At Home: Use graphic organizers (story maps, outlines). Encourage verbal storytelling before writing. Use sentence strips to arrange parts of a story in order.
  • Resources:

2. Frequent Grammar and Spelling Errors – The student makes consistent mistakes in punctuation, capitalization, or word usage.

  • In the Classroom: Consistent punctuation, capitalization, and verb tense mistakes.
  • At Home: Play spelling and grammar games. Read daily and point out grammar patterns. Use magnetic letters or Scrabble tiles for spelling practice.
  • Resources:

3. Weak Sentence Structure – The student writes incomplete, run-on, or awkwardly structured sentences.

  • In the Classroom: Writes incomplete, run-on, or simplistic sentences.
  • At Home: Practice expanding sentences with descriptive words. Play sentence-building games where each person adds a word to create a complex sentence. Write a simple sentence and ask your child to expand it with adjectives, adverbs, or clauses.
  • Resources:

4. Limited Vocabulary and Word Choice – The student relies on basic words and struggles to use more descriptive or academic vocabulary.

  • In the Classroom: Overuses basic words like “good” or “big.”
  • At Home: Introduce a “word of the day” challenge. Encourage thesaurus use and descriptive writing. Keep a word jar and challenge your child to use new words in sentences. Play “word swap” – replace basic words in a story with more vivid choices.
  • Resources:

Math Concepts

5. Struggles with Basic Math Facts – The student has difficulty recalling addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts quickly.

6. Trouble Understanding Multi-Step Problems – The student finds it hard to follow the sequence of steps needed to solve complex math problems.

  • In the Classroom: Gets stuck or skips steps in problem-solving.
  • At Home: Use drawings or visual aids. Break a word problem into parts, writing each step out. Use real-life problem-solving, like calculating a recipe for a different number of servings.
  • Resources:
    • Websites: Khan Academy (word problem lessons) 
    • Books: Bedtime Math by Laura Overdeck

7. Difficulty Applying Math Concepts to Real-Life Situations – The student struggles to connect math skills to word problems or practical applications.

  • In the Classroom: Struggles to solve word problems or practical math applications.
  • At Home: Have them calculate grocery costs or cooking measurements. Have your child budget for a grocery trip with a set amount of money. Ask them to double or halve a recipe to practice fractions. Play board games that require math (Monopoly, Yahtzee).
  • Resources:

Reading Comprehension

8. Struggles to Identify Main Ideas and Details – The student has difficulty summarizing or distinguishing key points from supporting details in a text.

9. Difficulty Making Inferences – The student struggles to read between the lines and draw conclusions based on context clues.

  • In the Classroom: Cannot “read between the lines” or make predictions.
  • At Home: Watch silent short films and guess emotions/actions. Ask open-ended questions while reading, such as “Why do you think the character did that?”
  • Resources:

10. Slow or Inaccurate Reading Fluency – The student reads at a pace that makes comprehension difficult, either too slow to understand or too fast with errors.

Supporting your child’s learning at home doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. When you receive that email or note from the teacher about academic concerns, you now have clear, actionable steps and academic resources to help. Whether it’s improving writing organization, mastering math concepts, or strengthening reading comprehension, these strategies will support students both at home and in the classroom.

Parents and tutors should feel empowered and educated—not confused—when addressing these challenges. By understanding what these academic concerns mean and trying out different resources, you can tailor support to fit your child’s unique needs. And remember, teachers and tutors are part of your child’s academic team, so don’t hesitate to reach out for guidance. With the right tools and collaboration, every child can grow and succeed! And every parent can smile more and sigh less!

private online tutoring available with Jennifer Donaldson at Tailor Joy LLC

Want more help? Hire a private tutor. 

https://tailorjoy.com/5-reasons-to-hire-a-private-tutor/

https://tailorjoy.com/overcoming-learning-challenges/

Want more academic resources?

https://tailorjoy.com/education-services/education-links/

Table Talk: Which school teacher has the best communication style or newsletters? Do you find your child’s teachers approachable – why or why not?

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