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oops, reading or remembering....

14 replies

freetrait · 11/03/2014 21:17

My DD in YR has now started reading the Magic Key books. Joy oh joy Smile, although I don't mind really as kids seem to enjoy them and they're good practice around the level she's at (green/orange band). However...here comes the oops...

About 2 years ago when DS was reading them, we read quite a few to her as she liked the stories. Some of them I think we read to her quite a few times. So, now we have a problem, in that I can't tell if she's reading the story pretty fluently (maybe one word or two in whole book she has to stop over), because she is reading it, or if she's remembering it. Does it matter? Well I think it does because I want to know how well she is really reading, not remembering- she has a fantastic memory and knows lots of stories off by heart, although I don't think these as we haven't done them THAT much Shock.

Ah well, I don't want to buy any more reading books, I guess I will have to visit the library and try her on others as well as these. I've just been surprised in a nice way at how easily she can read them (not a stealth boast, promise).

OP posts:
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Mashabell · 12/03/2014 07:34

U've answered your own question:
I guess I will have to visit the library and try her on others as well as these.

My daughter learned to read (many years ago now) mainly by following the words on the page when i or my husband were reading to her, and also by reading to herself nursery rhymes and stories she had learned by heart.

Lots of children learn like that. For those who are able to do so, it's a very fast and efficient way of learning to read, because English spelling is so erratic (an, any; on, only, once; through rough though).

So count your blessings and ignore warnings from phonics fanatics that this may lead to problems later. My daughter stayed an excellent reader and speller throughout her school days. But our son showed us how exceptional she was.

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simpson · 12/03/2014 08:20

Try the Oxford owl website and see how she gets on with other books she hasn't read at the same level.

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TeenAndTween · 12/03/2014 09:10

Try covering the pictures, and asking her to read words at random.
Then you can tell whether she knows the words or is just remembering.

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maizieD · 12/03/2014 11:03

So count your blessings and ignore warnings from phonics fanatics that this may lead to problems later. My daughter stayed an excellent reader and speller throughout her school days. But our son showed us how exceptional she was.

Perhaps the warnings from phonics proponents might be right, marsha, in view of the fact that learning by osmosis didn't seem to have worked for your son (if that's what you're saying).

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nonicknameseemsavailable · 12/03/2014 11:36

as Simpson has mentioned there are lots of free books on Oxford Owl. If she is green/orange level then she should be able to have a pretty good go at reading many of the picture books so anything you get out of the library can be co read, she can read the bits she can do and you can do the other bits or alternate pages etc depending on how confident she is. the Meg and Mog books are orange and I think all libraries have those so try some of them. my R daughter can't get enough of those to read herself at the moment.

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Mashabell · 12/03/2014 11:57

learning by osmosis didn't seem to have worked for your son

No, Maizie. He was not so lucky. Being more logically-minded, he was constantly disctracted and confused by the many phonic irregularities of English spelling (e.g. man - many).

Our daughter just took them in her stride, worked out the more consistent relationships between consonant sounds and their spellings for herself and got into the habit of looking for meaning when decoding tricky vowels. But above all, she was exceptionally able to recognise whole words after meeting them just a few times.

I was trying to say that if u are lucky to have a child who learns to read very easily, count yourself lucky and don't worry about them being able to skip much of the tedious phonics work.

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maizieD · 12/03/2014 12:30

'tedious' is in the eye of the beholder, marsha. Especially beholders campaigning to change English spelling.

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Mashabell · 12/03/2014 19:35

Maizie
Even able pupils need an average of 3 years to become reasonably proficient readers of English. Even the better ones keep being tripped up by phonic inconsistencies like 'defINe, marINE, engINE'.

In most other European languages, children become fluent readers in half the time or much less, as in Finnish. - That is what makes learning to read 'tedious' IMO.

If would prefer not to have to put children through such tedium. Sadly, most children have to endure it, because most adults see nothing wrong with it. Like u, they don't seem to be interested in maximising children's educational potential.

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mrz · 12/03/2014 19:58

Unlike the SIX years it takes for the most able Chinese learner to master basic reading

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columngollum · 12/03/2014 20:06

Or just write something on a piece of paper and ask her to read it.

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Feenie · 12/03/2014 20:12

Blimey, Masha, that's at least 6 posts I've seen from you recently that don't involve cutting and pasting. Have you given up 'listing' people for Lent?

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maizieD · 13/03/2014 18:18

Learning to read isn't tedious, marsha, it's exciting.

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maizieD · 13/03/2014 18:19

Given up cutting and pasting? You haven't been following the right threads, Feenie Grin

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Feenie · 13/03/2014 21:04

Given them up for Lent Grin

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