Yr1 teachers (or parents) plse help!

[clare40]

My DD is in yr 1, and she has recently moved school (because of a house move). In her previous school she was doing really well, nearly reading. She was doing a lot of blending sounds. In her new school I have been told they don't blend sounds in to the second half of the school year and they are still doing just the letter sounds! I am so frustrated! She was doing so well - and now she is stalling (even slightly going backwards)! The teacher said more able chidren will be given "harder" books but they wouldn't not be working on blending yet.

I know I could teach her, but I don't have the confidence that I am doing it right.

Can anyone please help? How would you handle this situation?

I'd go back to the teacher and say that you'd like your dd to progress at the rate she was before. Ask what their phonics and reading scheme is and then look at their website for parent resources.

If you want to do it yourself, start by making the sound of the letter c-a-t, then blend the first 2 sounds together ca-t. Make it as fun and enjoyable as you can. Have a look at Oxford Reading Tree and Jolly Phonics if you get no joy from the teacher! There's no magic formula, your dd sounds like a bright little girl who could cope with moving at a faster pace. IMO it's a bit remiss of the teacher to effectively say she'll have to wait until I'm ready to teach it!

I'm no expert, I'm afraid, but I struggle to see how some of the children are bringing home "harder" books if they aren't already "blending" - I understand that phonics work goes on well into year 1, but surely they need to be learning to blend these sounds as well if they're going to make any progress with their reading.

I can't believe a teacher would say that they aren't working on blending yet in Y1! [shakes head and wonders about some schools]
Phonics work should continue right through school Y1-6 and they should begin blending as soon as enough sounds have been taught to make words - in Jolly phonics the first 3 sounds would allow you start blending

I guess I need to know is what are most Yr 1 classes doing? Also, how do most classes deal with more able children (not that I particulary think she is!)

That does seem strange to me as a verteran parent of a 6yo just entering Y1

Seriously though, ds1 started on the blending work in the second term of reception, even before that iirc. By which I mean, the whole class did. Not sure why your school is or can hold that back until the latter part of Y1. That wouldn't seem to fit with the national cirriculum at all. I think I'd be asking to speak with the head teacher.

In the meantime, there are loads of really good workbooks about that you could use with her (WHS or the supermarket), oxford learning tree is great, there's also a brilliant set of jolly phonics and first reader card to accompany them. Check out the local library as well.

Clare, by 'blending' do you mean putting together sounds like c-a-t to make cat or do you mean common two letter blends like sh, ch, br, fr etc? The former is something which Yr 1 children should certainly be doing; the latter is a skill which comes later in Yr 1 for some children. I agree with others who recommend taking a look at Jolly Phonics, ORT etc. I agree with mrz that as soon as you know 3 letter sounds, you can start making words.

Does she know all her sounds? If so, play games with cut up letters, putting them together to make simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words like bat, sit, pod etc. Play lots of rhyming games such as asking your daughter to say words which rhyme with eg dog, write them down looking at the letters, the patterns, asking her to read them back to you. Don't forget fun stuff like I Spy, or I hear (with my little ear, something that SOUNDS like ....)

Good luck

www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Reading-Tree-Songbirds-Phonics/dp/0198466978/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284406111&sr=1-6#reader_0198466978

I would expect an "average" child to be reading something like this

ch & sh are taught as reception phonemes (digraphs not blends) fr & br aren't taught as a unit but would be included in a phonics session in words f-r-ee or b -r -u -sh

When she was in her old school she was grouped with the older children and was doing sounds like "sh, ch, ee, oo, igh, er". She has know the sounds of letter since nursery, which is what they are doing in her current class!

Mrz - my dd could read that with a little help.

That sounds pretty weird to me - my DS was blending when he was in reception and wasn't exceptional in any way.

Well, afaik the Reception class at our dc's school teaches blending to all pupils in Reception. Both my dds were reading within the first term of starting and I don't think they were that unusual.

Ds won't be, though, bless him.

Right, so I am definitely going back to have another chat tomorrow!

In jolly phonics they start learning blending after they have done the first group of 6 letters.They cover 2/3 letters a week so that would be in the first month or so of reception.It sounds very odd to me.Are you in a very deprived area?

brassband the Jolly Phonics programme recommends teaching 6 sounds per week although I find 1 per day easier to manage and you can start to blend as soon as there are enough sounds that can be combined to make words - s-a-t ~ a-t ~ a-s with only 3 sounds
s-a-t-i = i-t ~ i-s & s-i-t sp 6 words with 4 sounds 10+ with 5 sounds etc

Yes I know that.but the primary schools I have had any dealings with do them slower than that.The current school start the first day though so I suppose they don't want to overburden little children who have enough on their plate just getting used to being at school.

2 sounds a week is too slow - Even Rose recommended that phonics needs "pace" I teach 5 sounds the first week of reception and you know what ... they not only cope but it makes them feel so proud that they can read words after only one week!

You might be right for many children and to be fair I would have thought most children know most letter sounds coming into reception anyway.
However there is a thread on here at the moment by a parent of a stressed out 4 yo who is moving too fast.I think they need to feel very comfortable 'in their water' at school before attempting blending which for some of them will be a new skill.

The difference is the four year old child is expected to learn 5 words before they have been taught to read Brassband. In my area it is extremely rare to have any children arrive in reception knowing any letter sounds so obviously they would be at a huge disadvantage compared to those who arrive knowing all their sounds.

I'm very surprised that they are not blending in Y1 as a policy -some of these kids will be nearly 6. Surely it should be child-led based upon their ability. At our school, they started blending pretty quickly in Reception though of course, some kids got it earlier than others. I wouldn't be at all happy if I were you