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Original poster

Ok I am getting a bit paranoid about dd1's reading, can you tell me what sort of books your 8 year old (yr 3) is reading (g&t need not apply!!)?

76 replies

TheHonEnid · 06/02/2008 15:11

She cannot really sound out words although after having a tutor for a while she did improve. She is off the reading scheme at school and onto library books - she is not confident so is daunted by long pages of text but manages Usborne illustrated books like Puss In Boots very well. She is definitely the 'worst' (horrible word) girl reader in her class which I can live with but not sure whether I should be doing anything more than reading with her every day which I do - school listens to her read every other day or so and has mentioned difficulty in sounding out and tendency to guess but not really suggesting any way of improving...so I guess its down to me...

OP posts:
Wisteria · 07/02/2008 09:58

Although I am a huge Enid Blyton fan - mallory towers, famous 5 and the faraway tree being comfort reads for me sometimes if I've run out of books I think they would be far too difficult for your dd if she is struggling.

What about the Topsy and Tim series - they're not daunting. A page of text might be offputting if she is not a natural reader.

My dd (who is now 11 ) still loves Horrid Henry but started reading them to herself at 6 - so it might work for an 8 yr old?

Slouchy · 07/02/2008 09:59

ooh yes, Olga da Polga. Fab.
Does she like Dahl? Some of those are simple to read - Fantastic Mr Fox/George's marv Med and very rewarding. Also Revolting Rhymes?

I second the 'read together' suggestion. This was something I tried to encourage parents of reluctant readers to do even in Y7/8 - it can be a really special time for both child and parent. Read a paragraph each, or a page each. If she struggles through a sentence, read it back to her cos they can often concentrate so hard on the owrds that they lose the sense of the story, and thus the enjoyment, IYKWIM.

And I would be talking to her teacher as well.

ingles2 · 07/02/2008 10:01

PMSL 100x... but you are SO right!
The more time I spend on here the more I'm convinced ds2 has dyslexic problems. The problem is getting the school to listen to me

Fennel · 07/02/2008 10:03

Yes I would do that I think, 100x, contact the dyslexia institute. My 7yo dd1 is a bit like Enid's and I did wonder about dyslexia at one stage, but the teacher laughed when I mentioned it because dd1 does read OK (though not amazingly, certainly not G&T, but she enjoys reading chapter books).

But she has the poor memory and poor organisation, relatively poor writing and spelling for her mental abilities, dreamy nature, forgetfulness, etc. I do think my dd1 is borderline on a dyslexia spectrum, I wonder about my DP as well who is similar in some ways.

Enid your dd1 sounds like mine but more so.

Bluebutterfly · 07/02/2008 10:05

When I was 8 I loved this series of books because the "heroine" was a girl and 8. May be a bit out of fashion now, but I would recommend them for reading to/with an 8 year old...

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

ingles2 · 07/02/2008 10:05

Fennel
this
But she has the poor memory and poor organisation, relatively poor writing and spelling for her mental abilities, dreamy nature, forgetfulness
could be ds2 word for word
but also he 's really struggling with maths as he has such poor memory he has no recall.

ingles2 · 07/02/2008 10:07

Does she like listening to stories on CD? As I said ds2 really loves this, and I think it helps as he has a really good grasp of expression etc. 1st thing he does when he gets in is put a story on. Stig of the dump at the mo!

flack · 07/02/2008 10:50

She's about ORT 5, isn't she, HonEnid? DD had that Barn Owl book, too It's great for animal lovers. I bet your DD can read and will like, too The Little Giraffe.
I hope you're not feeling disheartened, we all want deep down for our kids to be superstars at everything. It's wonderful you've had so many responses, people really want to help. The red/blue/yellow bananas series should be in any public library, btw. Your DDs reading to each other is handy, don't you think?! I'm planning down the line to get DD to read bedtime stories to her little brothers for me .

Good luck, she'll get there.

MrsWobble · 07/02/2008 11:34

Have you seen the Animal Ark series - similar in standard to the fairy magic books I think. Equally formulaic but revolve around an animal loving vets' daughter.

bundle · 07/02/2008 11:36

dd1 brought home a red/blue (can't remember which colour..) banana reader which was fab - good mixture of text/illustrations and slightly more interesting stories than the average.

Original poster
TheHonEnid · 07/02/2008 12:38

I think I have seen the little giraffe in the school library so I will go with her in the morning to get it

trouble is, they are supposed to pick a book for themselves from the school library. dd1 can pick any book with an orange sticker and the range is HUGE - from the Usborne puss in boots and the ginn 360 barn owl book (good) to Pippi Longstocking on the South Seas (not good but immediately attractive to poor dd1 who then has to face the fact that she cannot manage it).

Who are the Dyslexia Institute and what do they do? I know one child who is dyslexic and he is very classically so - totally off spelling etc - dd1 can learn her spellings for the week with some practice.

OP posts:
Twiglett · 07/02/2008 12:40

we had a breakthrough last night and DS free-read for pleasure for the first time ever ... 5 chapters ...

may I recommend Mr Gum and the Goblins .. (will get the others in series but this is the first we've tried)

Twiglett · 07/02/2008 12:42

the benefit of these is there are about 10 - 12 proper lines on a page .. but it is a proper reading book

I think she might love it (I certainly enjoyed reading it, rather amusing)

ahundredtimes · 07/02/2008 12:49

DS2 can learn spellings for a test too, but his spelling in free writing is a little erratic to say the least. They are different skills.

I sound like I'm pressing for her to be dyslexic, but I don't mean to be. I mean, she might just be very mildly dyslexic, in a way that doesn't even need a diagnosis but might suggest she could benefit from some extra support?

Here is the institute, oh I see they are now called Dyslexia Action

I have known children that just go along and get some specialized help during term time I think. Not sure.

ooooh but there is a link on there for suggested books which might be helpful too.

ahundredtimes · 07/02/2008 12:53

DS2 is dyspraxic by the way - and you know these labels are sort of meaningless in a way, they are helpful to communicate with but with ds2 I can tick things on the dyslexia list, dyscaulia list and the AS list.

It all overlaps. I like information that's all, and intervention and if you think her reading skills are behind what you might call her 'natural' intelligence level, then something isn't kicking in the way it might, and it's worth finding out about it.

Maybe.

Pollyanna · 07/02/2008 13:00

my dd who is 7 has just got onto the fluent reader books at school. I would say Enid Blyton is too difficult for her.

She absolutely loves reading Horrid Henry books at the moment - I was very surprised as she is a very girly girl, but she is really enjoying them. they are short, so not overwhelming.

Oh yes, she also likes the animal ark and the little animal ark series.

I would say that assuming she hasn't got eyesight or other difficulties (and I assume her school would have thought about this), it is just practice she needs and it will click one day.

Aero · 07/02/2008 13:03

Dd sounds very like this. She is is 7.5 and in yr3 and also still struggles with reading. Large blocks of text put her right off and she is much happier with books aimed at younger children. She enjoys reading with ds2 who is 4. She has other issues as well though which are under investigation and which I feel strongly are holding her back. She can also do spellings for the week with practice, but might not remember them again in a fortnight iyswim, though this is improving slowly. She is also dreamy and easily distracted.This has been picked up by her teacher as a problem, whereas before her struggling was put down to age/immaturity etc.

I think it is worth having your dd tested for dyslexia not last for peace of mind. I think there are varying degrees. My friend's son has just been tested as he's struggled so much with reading, writing and spelling, but is fine with everything else and is of good intelligence. His results came back as positive were more significant than even she thought herself, which surprised her. Now that he's been dx'd, there is lots more help available to him because of the severity of his condition.

LadyMuck · 07/02/2008 18:21

Ages ago I found a list which compares levels between the various reading schemes here. Unfortunately it doesn't have every book on it (eg Barn Owl is missing!) but it may give you a starting place to compare schemes (and it has some non-scheme books in there as well eg Horrid Henry).

The list is also available in graded order as well.

I would try a few different styles with her if you can. The reason I was suggesting plays is that somehow these feel more like play than reading.

I can confirm that ORT seem to go on forever.

I have to say that I would feel a little peeved if I were in your position as it seems as if your dd isn't getting the best deal from the school. Did you stop the tutor?

ingles2 · 07/02/2008 20:24

I just wanted to say Thanks a lot to 100x and also for this post really. I've been worried about ds2 for a couple of years and school have been really unhelpful. Anyway earlier I downloaded the dyslexic checklist from dyslexia action and I can safely say, we ticked every box. So I'm going armed to school tommorrow. Thanks ladies.

hellish · 08/02/2008 01:16

Just remembered ORT have a huge range of non-fiction, and anthologies/ life stories.

My dd1(8) loves the Gaskitts too.

hellish · 08/02/2008 01:20

ORT do go up to age 11 - they even have versions of classics (Wuthering Heights & Silas Marner etc.)

They also have a whole set of poetry at all the older levels and plays.

(starting to sound like I work for them now aren't I?) I don't, I just did a lot of research and bought a huge set with a group of friends - we live in Canada where the school doesn't do reading schemes or give books for reading at home at all.

RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 08/02/2008 01:27

Enid - I have this with DD2 - eight next week - and she has the problem of DD3 (5) being almost more fluent than her already, not to mention being aware that at her age DD1 was able to read effortlessly all the books that she needs to have read to her because she can't manage them by herself. She finds chapter books daunting - I buy her annuals - old ones from car boots and charity shops like Bunty and Judy and Mandy and new ones like the Brownie annual. The mixture of short stories and picture stories works really well.

Eliza2 · 08/02/2008 11:05

Horrid Henry got my son reading at about that stage.

Original poster
TheHonEnid · 08/02/2008 11:29

Annuals are a great idea especially old ones

She had an Orchard Crunchie book yesterday 'dog to the rescue' - perfectly pitched.

tbh we have lots of books at home that she can read. I think it is more the school library which is the problem - the strange mix of books for her level.

OP posts:
hellish · 08/02/2008 13:00

ISWYM about the school library, my dds bring home a very random selection of books. No input from teachers at all into what they choose.

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