Encouraging DD with her reading

[scrappydappydoo]

DD1 is in yr 2. She is on Turquiose reading level. She is the only one in her class at that level, everyone else is higher (confirmed by teacher).
I swing from being slightly concerned to fairly laid back about it knowing that all dc develop at a different rate and she also tends to suddenly jump in progress. We read every night and encourage her as much as possible. Her teacher at parents evening said she needed to work on her reading but didn't seem massively concerned.
The big problem is that dd knows that everyone else is on a higher reading level and we have frequent meltdowns over this. After yet another weekend of tears and tantrums I'm floundering.

So two questions really

• is there anything else I can be doing to help dd? and more importantly how can encourage dd and stop her feeling like a failure when she's not?

[MilkRunningOutAgain]

I'm no expert but am fairly sure turquiose is a standard grade for yr 2. My own dd is in yr 2 and loads of the children are on turquoise, and many are on bands a lot lower. DD's is a fairly average achieving state school. I don't think you need to worry and it's a real shame your dd feels the way she does. Your school must be a high achieving school. I'd try to make reading fun for your dd - get some fun books (library or buy) and read them with her, or to her if she won't join in, and keep it all low key. and perhaps emphasise that what is important is the effort she makes.

[redskyatnight]

Is this quite an academic school? She certainly wouldn't be the worst reader (by some way) in my DD's Y2 class. I think she'd be pretty much in the middle :)

I guess your main issue is to convince DD that she's not a failure (I agree that your view that she is likely to progress in her own time and certainly nothing to worry about)? We have this a lot with DS - he convinces himself he is bad at something and won't try. I think the only thing is to keep encouraging, praise any progress she makes, point out other things that she excels in. Also keep reassuring her that she is doing well - do you read to her as well as her reading to you? If she really develops a love of reading, I guess that will help. When DS was at this stage, we found that getting him to sometimes read easy books (ie below his reading level so it wasn't an effort) really helped to build his confidence.

[simpson]

I read with yr2 kids in my DC school and turquoise is certainly not the lowest...

There are a couple of kids still on yellow....

You can check out the Oxford owl website and I agree about building up confidence so trying slightly easier books first.

[learnandsay]

I'm not massively familiar with reading bands and the books contained in them. www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands so I'm looking here. from the looking that I've done the purple ones don't read all differently from the turquoise ones. In your opinion what's wrong with your daughter's reading? Did the teacher give any specific advice about what your daughter needs to work on? (She needs to work on it isn't massively helpful advice, I don't think.)

My own view is yes it does matter if your daughter is stressed out that she's on a lower level than everybody else. I'd hate to be on a lower level than everybody else and I'd make sure the teacher was aware of the fact that my daughter hated it and it was stressing her out. From what little I've seen of the books I think the solution would be to just give the child a higher book.

[iseenodust]

Not a teacher!
DS suddenly got a lot more interested when we bought the Faraway Tree book flip which you read on the nintendo DS (sort of Kindle style but with noises). We still read alternate pages.

[scrappydappydoo]

Thanks for your thoughts - I'm not so much worried about the level she is on it's not a particularly academic school just more that in her particular class there seems to be lots of good readers I think there is a broader spread in other yr2 classes. It's more about DDs confidence and keeping her on track. I do read to her and occasionally if she's in the mood I read a paragraph then she'll read a paragraph with help.

[crazygracieuk]

My ds is the same age and on orange (one lower than turquoise). He's at a academic school so orange/turquoise is a low group but nationally it's average.

He knows that there are people on higher levels but that if he practices he can catch up and he is better than other people at other stuff. For example he can run faster than one friend and ride a scooter better than another.

[learnandsay]

scrappy, I don't know which turquoise books you're referring to, but the text inside the ones I've seen is relatively simple. There was the occasional long word. When you say your daughter reads a paragraph with help, what kind of help does she need? I presume you mean that there are words in the text that she can't read and you have to help her with the? But I really really don't want to put words into your mouth. Can you be specific about

What type of sentences she can't read.
What type of mistakes is she making?
What do you do to help her?

[scrappydappydoo]

learnandsay her teacher didn't say anything particular just that we need to keep hearing her read. She is quite good at expression but I think its just fluency and she gets stuck on some words. Her teacher told us that we shouldn't tell her the word but let her work it out herself. I have to admit I struggle with this as it can be excruciating (I never let this show though!).
Her teacher is good at swapping to a different reading scheme/type of book if she's getting fed up with biff, chip and kipper for example. I don't think there is a massive problem like I said she tends to plateau and then suddenly jump.

[scrappydappydoo]

Sorry learnadnsay - what I meant is that when I read chapter books to her I read a paragraph and then she reads one - not her school reading books just ones that we have a home or from the library.

[learnandsay]

She shouldn't have to struggle with words she should just sound them out. Really small children can manage really long words if they sound them out. Can you sound out words? (I'm guessing that you can.) It isn't cheating to help your daughter sounding the words out. And if you notice her repeatedly having the same problems in different words you can just help her practice the little bit she's having a problem with. This happened to me and someone else in the forum recently, her daughter was struggling with "ou" is would, could, should etc. Her mum has clearly sorted that out. It happened to me last week. My daughter couldn't understand hop(e), mop(e) etc she would call them hoppy and moppy. So I taught her the magic e and now she's zipping along. It's really made a big difference to her reading because it was spoilt before.

[Tgger]

Booooo! to the tears and the tantrums.....when do you get them? Is it because she struggles with the reading books? How is her phonics.......I just wonder if she's plateaued a bit if her phonics isn't yet solid and this is frustrating her and you- perhaps you can ask her teacher about this?

Other than that I agree what level she's at compared to others shouldn't really be an issue, more important to keep reading and enjoying. Then actually at some point she should fly- they are all different but DS zoomed up from turquoise to lime pretty quick really- sometimes it's a question of finding reading material that really engages them, perhaps make the school books just a small part of the whole experience if it's causing stress, focus on the stuff that gives pleasure.

[Tgger]

By the way, there is nothing wrong with telling them words sometimes if this aids fluency and enjoyment, as long as they are using their sounding out skills sometimes- well that's my opinion!

[learnandsay]

I rarely tell my daughter a whole word but I often help her to work one out. Most words she can sound one she often has trouble with is "straight" because she knows "igh" sounds like eye so she calls it straa-eye-t and I let her call it straa-eye-t and she looks puzzled for a couple of seconds and then says straight. I told her the word "sold" the other day because it was right in the middle of a story (Elves & Shoemaker) and she'd read really really well and just got stuck on this one word. I told her what it was because I wasn't prepared for the word. I really regret telling her now because she can read the word old. If I'd hidden the s she would have made old. Then if I'd have put the s back she's have made sold. But it's too late now!

[Blu]

Readiing practice with DS use to be excruciating until a friend who was a parent of a child the same age and a teacher told me to:

• read the book thorugh to the child first
  
• read WITH the child. So let them read words they can read but as soon as struggling kicks in, supply the word and move on.
  

Then I used to go over a couple of words with the same blended sounds in them and we'd practice briefly, but not so that we reached a phase of resistance or resentment.

Also, make sure you don't leave reading practice until they are exhausted.

[Jenny70]

What does she enjoy? Can you find books on that in the library? maybe she can read some and you can read some - if she's enjoying the content, she will learn to love books more.

Something will CLICK and then she'll be off and racing... but trying to encourage that click and make it happen is the key (in my non teaching perspective!).

[scrappydappydoo]

Thanks all - I might have another word with her teacher.
She has loads of books and loves going to the library - she tends to pick chapter books about cute animals and those rainbow fairy ones - I'm but anything to get her into books. I've even downloaded some books onto my kindle which likes to borrow and read. She does get tired after school but if we're to practice reading regularly that's the only time we have so I try and pick the best time.

[ickywickyyicky]

Have you tried Usborne Young Readers - they still have the illustrations and the stories generally read pretty well with good range of harder words, plus decent sized print for when they are tired. DD (also Yr 2) has been known to be drawn towards Magic Puppy books and glittery books yep thats what came back from the book fair but raced through UYR at school, and loved reading them even when completely knackered. which can't be said for the rest of the books in the reading scheme

I think they go in leaps - I also think that they can get jaded and it contributes to the problem when they are stuck on one level for ages.

My DD does well on being told exactly what she needs to do - and unfortunately the only thing that can help reading is practice - and realising you can do it. Or going back over the phonics, and working out wher the gaps are - does she struggle over similar types of words?

Can you get up 10 - 15 mins earlier and let her read to you in your bed - being fresh is when DD made the breakthrough. Sorry if that's unrealistic - but I have a DD that wakes up at 6.30am, so I woke up too and listened even if rather bleary eyed.

[mrz]

Don't worry turquoise book band is perfectly fine for this stage in Y2, as people have pointed out she's mastered the basic skills and the rest comes from practice. Remember learning to read isn't a sprint it's a marathon !

[learnandsay]

The OP isn't so much worried that turquoise books aren't appropriate for her daughter she's worried that her daughter feels stigmatised that she's reading books that are below the ones everybody else in the class is reading. And if I was reading books below everybody else I'd feel stigmatised too. When you're feeling stigmatised being patted on the shoulder and told that the books you hate are perfectly appropriate for a child your age doesn't make you feel better it makes you feel worse because the people who should be helping you to get books the same colour as everyone else are doing exactly the opposite.

[mrz]

It would be far worse if the OPs child was given a book at the same level as her class mates and couldn't read it ... imagine how you would feel then!

Unfortunately learnandsay not everyone arrives at a point at the same time, some move quickly and some move more slowly. But most people get there in their own time ...it really isn't a race.

[yellowsubmarine53]

An alternative approach to trying to push someone to do something that they've got mixed and strong feelings about so they can be the same as everyone else, is to remind them that everyone progresses as a different rate and isn't learning to read a fabulous, enjoyable experience?

Then to identify and celebrate strengths, skills and abilities that the person has at the moment.

And remind yourself that the person is progressing perfectly well and, most importantly, has a good, solid foundation to build on.

[Cat98]

I think different methods work better for different children. My DS needs me to sometimes supply the word or he gets incredibly frustrated. But if I supply the word/a particular sound, after we've read the book we go over it again to reinforce it.
If I try and get him to sound out every single word he struggles on it really interrupts the flow of the book and he loses interest.
It's obviously working so far as my ds is progressing really well, however as I mentioned I think diffferent ways work for different children so all you can do is try things until you find the best way for her.

[learnandsay]

Cat, does it ever depend on when you read and how tired he is? Mine is always happy to sound out, (but she's a patient girl.)

[Cat98]

No, it's pretty much all the time! But then he is very much like that - if he thinks he will struggle with something, he won't even try. It is something I am worried about actually as he is very able in lots of areas according to the school - but I notice this perfectionism/tendency to not try in case he fails which is a shame.
How old is your dd, learnandsay?