At what stage do children normally get heard reading at school less often?

[namechangesgalore]

If they are a good reader does it mean they tend to get dropped down in reading frequency at school?

Mrz does the literacy strategy give any guidance on how often children should be doing guided reading?

I think once your child is reading silently and reading books with pages of proper text, asking them to read very long passages aloud is really off-putting.
Not only is it slower to read out loud, it is tiring to the voice and I personally often stumble over words (getting my tongue round them IYSWIM) that I can actually read fluently in my head. Furthermore the voices/sounds/characters that come out when I read aloud bear no resemblance to the characters I build in my head when reading, so it's quite disappointing too.

So long as the teacher is hearing enough to understand your child's progression, I wouldn't be pushing for extra reading aloud.

So how do you check on a child's comprehension of a passage,improve said comprehension,his expression etc.

Also my ds was silent reading at 5,way too young to be left to his own devices.

I also have another son who albeit a good reader is incredibly lazy ie he skips passages(very common). He'd never read a complete book if he wasn't heard regularly,questioned about what he's just read and how it fits in to the story as a whole.

"So long as the teacher is hearing enough to understand your child's progression, I wouldn't be pushing for extra reading aloud."

Because reading should be a lifelong joy not a chore done for the benefit of adults.

Also even though we've been told little individual reading will go on in school we've been told to hear them individually every night whatever their ability so even the school thinks there is some value to it.

Now if it's so unimportant why can't we all just ditch individual reading at home?

The fact is it is very important and schools are relying on and asking parents to make it happen. Not really right imvho.

Re your last point PIp not all children enjoy reading.I have 2 complete bookworms and one who'd far rather play with his Lego. You can't make children into bookworms. You can provide them with books,model being a book lover and encourage but it doesn't guarantee anything.

I have twins treated exactly the same,1 adores books and 1 is indifferent. I provide Mr Indifferent with books I know he'll like but he'd far rather not bother. Reading is just a useful skill to him(something that means he can read Lego catalogues) it's not an activity he'd ever seek out to do.

He loves doing other things and I have 2 reading addicts so it certainly doesn't bother me. Pretty sure he's going to be an engineer like his grandad who also isn't that fussed about books.

My DD is reading Laura Ingalls Wilder books at the moment at home. We talk about the books, she tells me interesting facts, sometimes we read sections together. it is clear that she is reading and understanding the books.

The books that come home from school are read by me (on my own, silently). She then reads them and I can talk with her about them.

But I don't sit down and make her read chapters aloud to me.

I have 3 young children reading chapter books,sorry I couldn't possibly read every book each of them read.I barely get time to read my own books.

And my indifferent son would never read if left to his own devices.

Also hearing a passage is a great teaching aid. You can focus on points which can be taken away to use later. You can model expression, discuss prediction,setting etc it aids their writing.

Your daughter is missing out if you never hear her read.

Pip, surely the fact you stumble over words is a reason to read out loud from time to time. It doesn't have to be chapter books, could be articles to discuss in newspaper/First News/Beano. There are jobs where reading out loud is required. It's a different skill. In Y1 dd1 was reading Worst Witch et al - we didn't read those, rather poems, recipes (that's a good one for boys), articles, own books.

My son was also indifferent, and dyslexic. Through reading out loud quite a lot, he's now (according to his Y9 Eng teacher at grammar school) able to hold his own perfectly well reading out a part in a Shakespeare play or a passage of text. Without reading out loud, I wouldn't have been able to keep such a close eye on his progress.

Some parents can be a bit odd - I signed myself "Catnao" (first name) in reading diary once, and parent signed herself "Mrs X" in capitals!!

I read with mine once a week each, the whole class are heard once a day by TA/helper, and my TA changes the books every day. I decide if they are going to change levels after I have read with them, and my TA flags up anyone she thinks should change levels and I then read with that child, if it's not their "turn" with me anyway to assess.

Should add that my class is now year one - I did the same system when they were Y5/6 in previous years. Seems to work OK.

IME the children who are better are reading are listened to less. Also they are more likely to be listened to by a TA or parent helper, the teacher tends to listen to those who are struggling. This seems fair enough to me, mine are at the top end of the class for reading and I listen to them at least 3 times a week so to me it is only fair that those who need a bit more help and attention are given it.

What if the more able never get listened to at him and not often listened to by the teacher,do they just not matter then?

Not "him" but "home"

It's not the pupil that doesn't matter - it's reading aloud to a teacher that doesn't matter (once you can read fluently).

It's a nice to have. It's desirable. But it's really no big deal if it doesn't happen. The kid can read.

You seem to have no idea how lucky you are to have kids who can read fluently.

I am a TA in school (Y1) and am amazed at what parents sometimes expect from a teacher and a TA.

We have a class of 30 children. 5 days a week so that should work out at listening to 6 children per morning.

Sometimes it is just not possible. Assessments need to be done so there has to be a full class input to what is expected = no reading.

Sometimes I get pulled out to go into nursery, leaving my teacher alone = no reading.

Displays need putting up = no reading.

Yesterday I had a meeting with caterers for the school = no reading.

It is sooooooo important that children read at home because there is literally NO TIME IN THE DAY for the teacher to hear the children read. My teacher and I have now arranged that I try and do most of the reading and she goes into assembly and she listens to readers on a Wednesday and I go into assembly.

We now have Y6 children who come down for 20 mins to read with Y1 & 2 in the afternoons but very few parent helpers come in.

I do concentrate on the poorer readers when I do have time because the chances are that they dont read at home and the top readers have good support at home. Sad but true.

Did you not read my previous posts,it b*y does matter .

My kids were fluent readers at 5(as are several of their friends) so thats it finito,nothing else to learn,no support needed-I think not.

So we as parents don't need to hear them read at home,expression,tone,book talk...all these things don't matter??? Of course not,how ridiculous.

All kids are entitled to their teachers time not just a few.

What do you think 'hearing someone read' teaches them? I teach literacy, phonics and guided reading (which does include hearing them read individually) - all lessons which include teaching skills for reading. Sitting and listening to a child read one at a time every day is not a great use of time for teaching reading.

Who are you shouting at MilaMae?

Oh and it comes to something when putting up a display counts more than hearing kids read.I used to put up my own displays when my class went home.To be frank I'd rather my kids had bare walls and were heard to read more often.

I agree MilaMae but sometimes it happens that way. All the TA's for KS1 had to go into the hall in January to take down the Xmas display.

Parents who help with reading have generally children who are stronger readers.

Guided reading and phonics are important in the teaching of reading but so is individual reading.

I've lost count of the amount of kids I've taught who just didn't suit guided reading. Some hate being put on show,some groups have dominant personalities,co-ordinating a quality guided reading group in a busy classroom is not always easy etc,etc.

To be frank a poor guided reading session just isn't worth the time it takes to do it.

You learn soooo much from individual reading,you can really focus on a child and home in on next steps that are needed. Guided reading involves group targets not individual targets and kids differ in reading styles and needs. Individual reading is important.

Also as I said before some kids who struggle with reading are struggling because they just don't do it enough at home. ie it's not an SEN issue.I think it's highly unfair that kids who do read regularly at home are penalised because of this.

Collision I'm staggered that TA time is wasted on taking down an Xmas display

MilaMae, I couldn't agree more. I do some supply and have a dyslexia/lit PG cert. Listening to children individually can show you so much. It's well worth making the time to do it. It happens in some classrooms including dd3's, so it's obviously possible.