To think I cannot physically force dd to read! Sorry long!

[bangheadhere]

Ok I will start this by saying that I am a total book worm, we have a house full of books, I have always read with dd when she was small and I always have a book on the go myself.

DD however HATES reading despite the fact she has always had a good reading age. She struggles phonetically and has devised her own methods entirely. (She has some learning needs)

Anyway dds secondary school has a reading scheme. The school rule is that children must always have a library book in their bags all the time. At the start of year 8 dd went up a set to a new teacher. Following the year 7 teachers rules she went and asked the library staff what her level was and chose a book as she had always been told to do (they had done a test the week before)

As I posted at the time DD was 50 odd pages into the book and enjoying it which was within her level range and simple when they had their next literacy lesson. Dds new teacher saw the book and bollocked her.
Basically in front of the class shouted that she didn't know why she had chosen that book and when she was scoring 100% on tests then she could chose which books she wanted. DD was scared of this teacher anyway as she had heard she had called other classes stupid etc.

DD was having self esteem sessions at the time at school and real issues with feeling stupid, was asking to leave the school already and really not coping and is not the kind of child to get in trouble at school and so was heart broken to be shouted at in front of all the class.

She was left picking a lower level book which there were few choices and she had read them all at primary where her reading age was assessed as above average by the people who came out to assess learning difficulties. Ironically she did score 100% on the next test!

I spoke to school and said that if she required a lower level book I had no issue with this but was upset with how she had been left feeling given school knew of the issues she was having. The teacher made it all about the book saying that she wanted them to start from scratch so she could judge them which I had no issue with, it was made all about the book and levels which was not my issue.

Following all this dd will not read at all, She is meant to read two books per half term. She has read one since September, it has made her more determined not to read, the teacher is obviously not happy with this and has wrote a note in her planner. Her reading age has for the first time ever dropped and she is lower now than she was at primary school.

I buy her books all the time, I am always encouraging her to chose stories to buy. We have mounds of books. She never gets more than a few pages in and then leaves it. She cannot stand reading. I cannot physically force her to read and I am a bit at loss of what to actually do or what they want me to do when they cannot get her to read either.

[kawliga]

Wow, your daughter is really struggling at school

It is as if the school thinks you are quibbling about the reading level, so they are not seeing the bigger issues about how your daughter is being treated. Whenever you go in they think 'here's the mother who has issues about the reading level and book choices.'

I have had this with schools before. I think sometimes it's hard for schools to really see the complex issues, and they fixate on the issue that's easy to fix. I'm not bashing schools or teachers, I think it is just hard when they have so many kids and an institution to run. Also because your dd is quiet, I do think quiet kids suffer more with such situations. I feel sorry for her sitting out in the rain with her lunch, and nobody thought to offer her a better solution

[bangheadhere]

I am trying to get her to do it and not just moaning though 2rebecca.

When I found out she had been lying she was in home work club and she was in detention for reading/lexis homework I contacted school to tell them I knew and back them up and that I was dealing with it. I also did everything to encourage her. Bought books etc
DD was massively struggling with homework levels to the point she fell apart completely. I worked with the senco, form teacher, year head to help sort this. I got her support but still pushed her at the same time that it had to be done. Bought her a diary that she had to take to senco each night to check she understood the homework.

As a result of how much she struggled and others the following year sevens only do core subject homework.

If she didn't do maths homework I would encourage her, try to help her, sit down with her, make the consequences clear if she doesn't do it then let her get loss of credit/homework detention/homework report.

[2rebecca]

I would discuss things with the school but would also make it clear to your daughter that sometimes you have to do things you don't like in life. If she refused to do her maths homework would you just let her. My son had dyslexia and struggled a lot with reading and writing but doing his reading and writing was non negotiable. If he didn't do them he didn't do other stuff.
Moaning about it all being the school's fault for past misdemeanours will onlyget you so far. You have to tackle your daughter's reading reluctance now and that means reading with her, reading a book whilst listening to the audio of it, choosing books she likes. She has to understand that learning to read competently isn't just to keep the teachers happy but is for her. She doesn't do it for the teachers she does it for herself.
All secondary school pupils have books they have to read whether they like them or not.

[thetemptationofchocolate]

Just going back to the 'reading together' option, when a child goes to take a quiz they have three options: a) I read this by myself b) I read it with someone c) Someone read this to me (I think). Still OK to take the quiz if reading with another person, or being read to. Hope that helps.

[ProfGrammaticus]

It sounds as though you need to put a lot in writing to the school, without specifically criticising the teacher even though she deserves it. Focus on what the effects have been on your DD. And if you feel it is not in her best interests to read two of these books per half term, tell school she won't be doing it and why.

[bangheadhere]

The school librarian is lovely as far as I can gather so that may be an option.
I did actually complain about the issue to the stand in year head but felt fobbed off. The reply was made all about the book level. I contacted them again afterwards and clarified that my issue was never with the level but how dd who had been having self-esteem sessions was made to feel stupid in front of her class but she did not even bother replying to that.

She is in the sen main room now.

[steppemum]

YY to 85%. That is what ds has to have for his quizzes.

The literacy co-ordinator at ds school says to them that he is happy for them to read anywhere in there target zone.
If they read all easy books, they won't make much progress, if they read hard ones, they will, so they need to make that choice.

very sensible.

OP - you sound as if it is an uphill fight. Do go in, see the SENCO, get her needs back on the register, get her in the SN room at lunchtime. I know it is really hard to keep fighting, but don't give up!

And I would put you problem with teacher in writing, just as your OP. The issue was destroying her confidence, not the book, and how are school going to help resolve.

Does she like the school librarian? It sounds as if they were nice and helpful at the beginning? Could they help in any way?

[ConesOfDunshire]

YY to Amy Poehler's Smart Girls - they have loads of book recommendations too, so she could discover books around topics which interest her for herself.

Yes, AR is a product from Renaissance Learning. I forgot to mention one more point upthread which may be useful when you approach the school - AR advise that as long as pupils are getting 85%+ in their quizzes then the books are appropriate. The teacher needs to get past her obsession with 100%.

[bangheadhere]

Thank you, you are all brilliant. Is Accelerated Reading website the renaissance one? Yes I have debated reading it to her for her to do the quiz as clearly encouragement is not working. Think we will try that.

I am going to have to go back to senco again. I am actually a bit cross as a whole with them at the moment. I have had to fight every step of the way to get her allowed in the sen main room because she cannot cope with the yard and get help.

They identified her for a program, forgot to do her and then sent me a letter saying they were taking her off the program because she had done so well on it . She was the only child using the sen room in her year that was not taken on a trip (they left her behind in the sen room!) because she for some reason did not qualify. (I would have paid).

She has also commented the sen ticks on the register have disappeared this year. I think because she is quiet and mostly gets her head down even though she struggles and is finally making progress she is not seen as having sen but she did go up on the sen register on school action plus and an iep and has a diagnosed additional need so I do get annoyed.

She has been having packed lunches since year 7 because she cannot cope with the canteen for long periods and she could not cope with being in there in the noise for the massive amount of time it takes to queue and then eat. She was eating out in the rain in the year 7 yard for a while.
I have today found out there is a pass she could have had so she could have got her lunch at the front of the queue and eaten it in the sen room!

I am not bashing teachers what so ever. I am an ex HLTA, some of her teachers are amazing. She has an exceptional teachers in some areas who have massively turned her around.

But by God it is a slog to get the help she needs.

[zipzap]

I would be putting in a formal complaint about the teacher - about how they handled things initially, how they have continued to screw up your dd's education and killed her enjoyment of reading, and also bringing up the old complaint months later - particularly as she hadn't even understood what the complaint was about.

I'd also turn it over to the teacher in a very factual way, listing out the points a little like you did on here in your OP, stating that DD was reading and enjoying xx book, you shouted at her in class and destroyed her confidence, etc etc finishing with you have single handedly destroyed her enjoyment in reading and turned it from an activity that she enjoyed and was gaining confidence in, to something that causes her significant upset and problems. What are YOU going to do about putting this right, given that you caused all the problems.

Is there any chance that she could be moved into a different class with a different teacher?

[ItchyArmpits]

I'd also direct her to Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. There's a website and they also blog on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Many, many short, well-written articles about amazing things women of all ages are doing around the world with a good mix of spectacular and everyday.

[steppemum]

Actually, itchy has a good point. The quiz requires you to know the story, so if you read it 'together' then she could do the quiz

[ItchyArmpits]

Apologies if you have already done this, but if not:

Reading doesn't have to be a solitary activity. You could pick up a book she loves and read it together. Take it in turns to read a paragraph or a page, do silly voices, chat about what she thinks of the characters, and bucketloads of praise. Make yourselves hot chocolate and snuggle up together with a book. You could choose books a bit ahead of where she is now as you will be there to explain words or help her pick up on subtext. That might help spark her interest too. Key phrase "I love to hear you read".
An alternative is the reverse: if you have smaller DC or a friend does), ask her to help you out by reading with them or listening to them read and talking about the story - taking on a teacher role can do loads to boost confidence, and she will learn from it too. Again, bucketloads of praise.

As a teacher I usually leap blindly to their defence but on this occasion I'm struggling. for your dd.

[steppemum]

go onto the accelerated reader website, there one called bookfinder, and you can search by category, level or book title.

Unfortunately we can't do the quiz at home, he has to do those at school.

The principle of the system is that all published books are given a rating, so there isn't an 'approved' list, all books are there with a level.
In practice is isn't as comprehensive as that, but there are loads on there, including lots of non fiction.

[lostInTheWash]

www.arbookfind.co.uk/default.aspx


Is this it?- looks like you can search.

TBH I think you need a meeting with SENCO and head of year to discuss the negative impact on your DD and what they can do about it.

[bangheadhere]

Is there a way of finding out what books are within each level without the school? I will buy her the books she might read my self if needs be and flipping donate them to school afterwards.

[bangheadhere]

I have been doing that Prof, problem is school insist on two books read and two tests done from books in their scheme each half term (I think it is per half term). DD is obviously an able reader so the books are fairly chunky and there is very little within range she likes. She has brought at least four books home last term which she has given up on a few pages in. So she will actually be punished, I am guessing by either detention or homework report if she does not do that, so she is basically on enforced reading of certain books.

She has already been punished with an hours detention for not doing Lexia. An horrendous reading program where if you click on the wrong button by accident, easily done with a child with Dyspraxia, it makes you do the WHOLE unit again. She used to cry every time she did it. How demoralising for any child with sen. Thankfully they are doing a different program now where they can pick the topic so she is doing that now.

Where as I understand reading schemes in primary, once they are reading confidently I would rather she read for pleasure because lets face it the way it is going she won't ever read again when she leaves school!

She was externally assessed in primary school at 9 years and 10 months and had the following:

Neale reading age 12.01 years
Salford Sentence reading age 10.11
Salford Comprehension and reading test age 11.02

Suddenly she is 13 and her reading age is 12.04

[steppemum]

ds does accelerated reading at his school, and it is actually (when used properly) really helpful. You can chose any book from anywhere and stick it into the AR website and it will give you the level, so they can chose a book they like and check its level.

Only problem is the brand newly published books I gave him for Christmas haven't appeared on the system yet.

At ds school, they have to do 2 books per half term. The quiz is a pretty simple online test to see if they have actually read it. One quiz takes about 5-10 minutes I think.

The way they promote it is that each child should read for 20 minutes per day. Ds hates this, and is quite off reading at the moment (in favour of his phone) We have made it part of his bedtime routine, he has to read for 20 minutes in bed before lights out. He started to faff around so he had less and less time to read, so we said no reading = no phone tomorrow. Once he sits down with his book he enjoys it. he is now back to reading.

I think the key is though he can chose to read what he likes.
The school explained it that they are trying to get them to a reading age of 16 before GCSE as GCSE papers assume a reading age of 16. Which helped ds to understand the logic.

[lostInTheWash]

My yr 6 at ten feels she is too old for bedtime stories so I put audio cds on for her.

I've gone for audio books in areas where we already have lots of books - Roald Dahl, David Williams, Michael Morpurgo, Agatha Christie, Terry Prachet in hope it will encourage more reading.

[ProfGrammaticus]

Maybe just read to her at bedtime for a while? At least you reinforce that reading is enjoyable, the rest can wait (regardless of what school may think!)

[lostInTheWash]

greek myths

Marcia Williams

I bought these more for DS - pretty sure he is dyspraxic had huge problems initially with reading but did sound foundations books when much younger and now reads anything - only to find DD1 who is very reluctant reader sneaking them into her room to read.

They have the content and facts but the format is easier to digest them - less intimidating and doesn't look to young for her.

you wouldn't want to live without are read the books are sort of similar to previous one though my DC are younger than your DD.


Like you I have a house bursting at the seams with books.

[bangheadhere]

Ohh the science books look good!

We have the entire horrible history/science books unread sigh.

[lostInTheWash]

Why-Dont-Penguins-Feet-Freeze Could she cope with the New Scientist range of books ?- they are aimed at adult audience I think but don't remember the language being hard. Perhaps they are one's you could read together?

My DC enjoy maths - they've coped with Murderous Maths they like their history so horrible history books have been loved, as have other series copying those - as well as Horrible science and geography - full of facts.

I haven't read the what if series - though I'm adding it to my wish list.

[AdriftOnMemoryBliss]

i'm an avid reader, i will read anything, but i REALLY struggled with the books the school insisted i read.

i am having the same problems with my 9yo who has ASD/SPD/ADHD and Dyspraxia.

i have compromised, he reads me one page of the school required book, and then we switch to our own (i have a house full like you) and read together. At the moment we're working through "Star Wars in 100 lego scenes" on our own time and loving it! We just finished the MineCraft combat book.

[lostInTheWash]

the most able readers very quickly move on from phonetic decoding to sight reading, and many children learn to read without phonics at all.

There are an awful lot of phonics experts, who teach reading, in the primary section on here who can cite research saying otherwise - at least of who one says they worked intervention in secondary with poor readers.

Personally I've surprised how much I've benefited from doing phonics with my DC - there were lots of bits I wasn't taught and didn't get and that have helped me - though much more with spelling as my coping strategies with reading got me quiet far.

That said - getting my eldest to do some programs has been hard as she is a bit self concious and she is still at Primary school - we did dancing bears fast track AB and continuing to do C and also the spelling books. She flat out rejected the spelfbet stuff I think as she found it too young despite it being a good program. It's not always been easy to get her to do the work though and the spelling stuff is fairly intensive.

We did try engaging eyes - I'm no sure about it to be honest. The most useful bit to mine was all the left to right tracking stuff - which she was also practising with dancing bears anyway - with the use of cardboard cut outs. It was a one of payment but 12 months to finish - and while her reading aged improved it was over 12 months and it wasn't only thing we were doing.

I do agree she need to go back to books she loves and finds easy to read to build confidence up - the love books dyslexia section is very good IMO at finding books with older content but younger language.

The teacher here seem to be your real problem though. I hope you find something that helps her.