to be upset son in year 1 has moved down 2 reading book levels over the summer holidays?

[Mumofaboy123]

My son was on red level when he completed R year and was " exceeding " in reading on his report.
We kept up the reading over the summer hols apart from the last week as we were then on holiday.
He was assessed on his first day back at school and they have given him pink books :-(
The comment written indicated this was because he sounded out all of the letters in order to blend the word although blending was strong she said.
How do I get him to blend silently in his head as he said he finds that very difficult?
Not sure now if he should have ever been on the red book to start with but I'm confused to as what's gone wrong.
My mother says I should now get in a tutor - what are your thoughts?
He is my first and only child so I haven't been here before.

[ghostyslovesheep]

nothing has gone wrong he's a child!

[VioletBam]

Chill out. He's tiny. He will get there. He does not need a tutor! He's just out of the routine of school and I am assuming he has another teacher this term? One who works in a different way.

[milkjetmum]

It will come with practice, no need for a tutor. I think teaching the live if reading is more important than perfecting reading techniques early. So read to him, get him to read to you and it will come when he's ready.

With regards to the level, I think they do take it easy the first few weeks back so that they settle in without being upset that they can't do it. Some parents don't read with children over the summer so they often need a warm up for a while to get back in the swing of things.

In other words don't worry

[milkjetmum]

*love of reading

[TheWitTank]

No need to be upset, concerned or hire a tutor. He is at primary school. Keep up the reading and make sure he is enjoying it, he will progress.

[RiverTam]

A tutor? FFS. He's a very small child back at school after a long break. Unless you (or his teacher, more importantly) have any genuine cause for concern just leave it, and leave the teaching to the staff.

[Tezza1]

As an ex-teacher (K-6) and librarian, just encourage him to keep reading in any way that suits him. In my opinion, for what it's worth (I read 4/5 books/week), reading should firstly be pleasurable and other skills can follow. It's when it becomes a chore that the child becomes resistant to the activity. Find items that he wants to read and finds enjoyable. Let him read to you, you read to him and also let him see that the others who are around him perceive reading to be a pleasurable and important activity.

Additionally, when I was working as a teacher-librarian, I used to see many class teachers doing things that I was sure would put children off reading for life - as least, reading for pleasure.

[Humidseptember]

Op my DD used to sound out words at school because she thought she had too! she was reading quite fluently at home!!

Make sure he knows this - sounds silly!

[catkind]

Aw bless him. That's only one level down though isn't it? It sounds like the new teacher has pretty strict criteria, maybe different from what reception used. At DS' school they didn't let him on to yellow level until he was sounding out in his head, and I thought that was strict compared to most.
I don't think I'd even push for sounding out silently really, it's quite useful to hear them sounding aloud in the early stages to check they're doing it right. Though might be worth checking he knows he doesn't have to sound aloud if he doesn't want to, some don't realise it's not compulsory!

[CecilyP]

He doesn't need a tutor. If he has to sound out most of the words (whether silently or out loud) in the higher level books, it becomes a tedious decoding exercise which the previous teacher may have been OK with. The new teacher probably moved him back a level so there are not too many new words at once, more practice and consolidation.

[MephistoMarley]

Chill out dude
The worst thing you can do it put pressure on him and make reading a chore. Keep reading with him and to him for pleasure and relax.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

How do I get him to blend silently in his head as he said he finds that very difficult?

You don't if he's not ready. It's perfectly normal, if not expected at this age and it shouldn't affect the books he's being given. Sounding out and blending is fine as long as he's reading accurately.

[Mumofaboy123]

I think it's pink / yellow / red so he's gone down 2.
Maybe the reception teacher should never have allowed him to move up until he was reading without doing it out loud then?
I didn't have much faith in the reception teacher to be honest
He doesn't seem to enjoy reading very much and never has but loves being read to and picks 2 books without fail every night for us to read to him.
My mum is a headteacher and thinks tutoring should start about now when needed but I disagree and I know my son would hate it.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

It's not the reception teacher who's wrong, if the situation is as you've described. If the only issue is the blending, he shouldn't have been moved down.

[MakeItRain]

Red and pink level are pretty similar really (simple sentences/lots of repetition). If your year one boy is strong with blending already he's doing really well. I would step back a bit from levels, just share lots of books at home, praise him for every skill he shows you, and let him feel that reading with you is something fun that he's good at.

[Humidseptember]

op I rattled off a response and didnt read your whole post.

If you go on the primary boards you will see regular posts about reading levels, they are a cause of angst among parents esp in the beginning so don't worry!
Reading is a very fluid thing and the child can suddenly race ahead but is still on basic reading level at school.

I learned the hard way to pay little heed to be honest. I was told in the early days they were often kept back due to writing skills not matching reading skills, ie ability to create good sentences and stories so it was good to keep them on simple sentences until their writing caught up.
Then I was told it was comprehension skills, but my questioning dd she seemed to me to have very good depth of understanding of various texts.

Then I was told by the last teacher that her reading was beyond expectations and way ahead for her age but in terms of the reading level books ( she is on 12) there is no where else for her to go ie other books too old for her and yet many other schools would just make my DD a free reader!!

Mention reading levels on here and you will have teachers come on and say - " its their comprehension, they are just de coding the words" when as a parent its clear that they do understand!!

So to cut a long story short, primary school board is the place for this advice generally, dont worry too much about it, what I and many other dp do is simply foster a love of reading at home, whether thats through magazines, comics....whatever, its helping to create that love of reading thats key above all else, and as far as reading books at school go, pay little heed to them really.

[Humidseptember]

and picks 2 books without fail every night for us to read to him

This is KEY and wonderful.

My dd is a brilliant reader now, but it only got going mid year 1 age 6 ish. So there is plenty of time

[totalrecall1]

People get so hung up on book colours. One of my Facebook friends continually posts "DD has just got to red books I am so proud". They all get there in the end. You seriously don't need a tutor just keep up what you are doing at home.

[Longlost10]

nothing has gone wrong, he is a child he is progressing in a zig zag rather than straight linear line, just like any other child, his teacher wasn't wrong to put him on red, she used her opinion and judgement, but these things are not absolutes, and another teacher might have had another opinion and judgement, neither of them are wrong.

[Longlost10]

when as a parent its clear that they do understand!! what a child achieves and understands in a classroom always lags behind what they demonstrate cosily at home, this is normal.

[Discopanda]

Don't stress about it, just try to keep reading fun, the summer holidays are a long time! He'll soon catch back up.

[Seekingadvice123]

A tutor? In year 1?? have I misunderstood that?

[Mumofaboy123]

No my mum as a headteacher is deadly serious about a tutor

[CrohnicallyAspie]

Yellow is higher than red.

He has gone down one level, not uncommon after the 6 week holiday. Although you have kept up reading at home, there are different ways of learning to read (phonics/sight recognition/context clues) and maybe school are using a different method to you- now he is in year 1 they will probably be wanting to make sure his phonic skills are up to scratch (year 1 phonics test in May).

[Clutterbugsmum]

Your mum should be well aware that most children drop levels over the 6/7 week holiday.

I'm going to take a wild guess your mother did not teach at KS1.

You need to lighten up other wise your child will not like reading or any other school thing if you and your mum are putting so much pressure on him now.