come and stop me saaying something stupid

[blackeyedsusan]

AAGGHHH

I need you lot to come to our playground, Rugby tackle me, sit on me and generally stop me yelling at the teacher in frustration. (well it will do no good will it!)

I know it really doesn't matter

I know there are books in the library

I know we are carrying on at home

BUT every now and again the frustration builds and I want to shout,
"Why can't she have a harder reading book?"

(because she won't talk about the ruddy pictures)

and yes I also know that confidence will come ( though it seems to take forever)

The teacher heard her read last week and wrote in the diary,
"Lovely talking about the pictures." grrr

I just want to write, NOW can she have a harder book.

God knows what we will do when she is reading books at home without pictures...I can see us reading Harry bloody Potter before she finishes the pink band books at school!

Right rant over... your turn...

Learning to become a proficient reader is a complex skill that takes time. In order to read fluently you need to be able to do more than simply look at the words and know what they say. For example, can the child read the words with the correct tone of voice and expression which would demonstrate their understanding of the story and characters? Are they able to take note of the punctuation in the text which will influence the way they read the words? Are they able to answer questions about the story that demonstrates comprehension? Can they stop after a few pages and predict what might happen next in the story which, again, demonstrates a secure understanding of the plot? Are they able to look at the pictures and discuss how the characters might be feeling by looking at their facial expressions? Are they able to use a text to gain information by picking out key words etc. These points don't only apply to more complex books for older children but also in the most simple books that younger children will be using when starting out as early readers. I speak to so many parents who think their children need to be moved up a level because they claim the books are too easy and they believe this to be the case simply because they can read each word in the book correctly. I know this doesn't apply to all parents but there seem to be a lot out there who get frustrated with teachers not giving books at the correct level and it just might be worth considering that teachers are often looking for slightly more than children to simply read each word correctly. By the way, younger children will often memorize words in books, particularly in some of the early levels as there aren't that many words to a page! Would they be able to read the same words in a different story or in a non fiction text? Just something else to bare in mind when you worry that they are not reading material that you think is challenging enough.

CK32 we are talking about 5 year olds here and much of what you describe is not going to develop until later when they can read words and understand what they are reading they will begin to develop fluency and use expression when reading.

What is wrong with teachers? The children need approval and reinforcement from the teacher. They need it. Do your own thing? What about the children with parents who don't?

Granted. Perhaps I was getting a bit carried away! Having said that, some of what I describe would be applicable to 5 year olds - asking them to have a go at predicting what might happen next in the story, talking about characters etc and obviously this would be done in an age appropriate manner with age related expectations to match.
I suppose I was just trying to make the point that we shouldn't approach reading from a technical aspect only i.e he can read all the words in this book so he clearly needs something harder, but instead try to encourage children to enjoy books and help them develop an understanding of what they are reading alongside learning to read individual words.

Comprehension is certainly going to develop alongside actual word reading and is definitely age appropriate but he isn't going to either comprehension or word reading skills without a book (with words) to read CK32.

So what age do you expect "reading with expression"? I'm curious as I don't remember learning to read and have no experience of learners other than DS1, just 5.
I also need rugby tackling not to talk to teacher too often about school books. Did have a word earlier in the term when DS1 (who was reading when he went to school in September) told me he couldn't practise reading at home with me as teacher said it "was too hard for reception children". Now I know that he is NOT a reliable witness, but I did want the message to be clear from both sides. He is still getting books which he describes as "easy peasy lemon squeezy" from school (band 3, reading 5-7 at home), but I am trying to go with the flow at school and just do lots of more challenging stuff at home. We talk about expressive reading, reading the punctuation etc and when he's not too tired, is happy to give it a go, but needs prompting not to revert to (fluent) monotone.
On the subject of pictures, can they actually distract a reluctant learner, who tries to guess what's going on, rather than decode the words?
Telling a story of their own is a different skill, I'm sure and can be based on a series of pictures, or not.