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Original poster

When can I stop making DS read his reading book out loud?

13 replies

SarkyLady · 06/04/2011 23:42

He is year 1 (age 5). Book band white. (ORT 10?)

He is an avid reader and chooses to spend most of his free time reading. But he doesn't really enjoy reading out loud though, and tbh neither do I. The non fiction books are fine as they give us stuff to chat about but he'd far rather read the stories quietly by himself.

Is it still important for me to hear him read out loud?

I know if I ask his teacher I'll not get a clear answer :)

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BaroqueAroundTheClock · 06/04/2011 23:43

Yes - you still need to be listening to him read out loud as you can still help him practice his comprehension and understanding of what he's read. I made that mistake with both DS1 and 2..........and now I'm paying for it.

(I'm sure someone else will come along and explain it much better than me)

Original poster
SarkyLady · 06/04/2011 23:46

I just worry that it is making reading a chore.

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Original poster
SarkyLady · 06/04/2011 23:47

What do mean by 'paying for it' ?

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blackeyedsusan · 06/04/2011 23:49

why not ask him to read a few pages quietlly to himself and then tell you about them? i think you may need to hear at least some reading out loud to check he is not guessing at unfamiliar words. and leave him to read his own books in his own time in his own way.

oh and bribery helps as well Grin

MrsShrekTheThird · 06/04/2011 23:50

imho they need to do a little bit of reading out to make sure they're putting the words together in whole sentences and not doing the awful robot-talk thing that lots of small children do. My ds2 is a fantastic reader who also hates reading out, as I do myself - so we tend to read out mad things on cereal packets, maps when we're out and about, leaflets, and stuff that sort of catches him unawares Wink As you say, we hate reading stuff out esp the ort crapola books. (and I'm a teacher btw Grin) I tend to let him read stuff for himself and then ask him stuff about it, like what was the story about (being able to recount and summarise are important literacy targets) and what was his favourite part? We sometimes dip back into it and he'll show me a picture and explain it in his own words. sometimes if he finds a word (all free readers these days) that he doesn't understand we get a dictionary each and do the dictionary-challenge so that we basically race each other to find the word and then he can read the meaning and we discuss its context. Not as heavy duty as this sounds, honestly! :) If you think that by making him read aloud, you'll spoil his enjoyment of reading, then remember there are many more ways of skinning a cat Wink

blackeyedsusan · 06/04/2011 23:50

I really should spell check...

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 06/04/2011 23:51

I mean that in YR5, and YR2 respectively I have 2 very competent readers who struggle with comprehension, admittedly there may be other issues at play with DS1, but they understanding of what they have read falls far below "what" they can actually read.

I suppose at least if you read the stories as well (separately) and ask him about them afterwards, or stop him part way through to ask him what's happened so far, how the characters are feeling etc you can avoid that actual reading out loud bit.

Original poster
SarkyLady · 06/04/2011 23:54

Some great ideas there. Thanks.
I guess I'd lost sight of why we were doing this.

He doesn't do the robot voice. Comical silly voices are more his style :)

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timetosmile · 06/04/2011 23:56

How about letting him read his school book to himself (I am guessing they are pretty thin ones?) and then reading you his favourite page out loud? Or with you skimming through "Hmm, that's a funny picture, read me that page..."

It gets more fun as they get older, as they try to read you the funniest bits without snorting with laughter as they do so.

Good advice from mrsshrek too.

MrsShrekTheThird · 07/04/2011 00:02
Grin

ohh, one of our fave aids for comprehension is the argos catalogue... it can be absolutely amazing what they're able to read and understand when given a page of stuff of their own particular interest. Impressively so for my dyslexic ds1, I must add Wink

Original poster
SarkyLady · 07/04/2011 00:03

Another great suggestion. Thanks.

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RoadArt · 07/04/2011 00:13

To answer the OP question, yes it is extremely important to encourage your DS to read out aloud. This improves comprehension and flow and helps them when they are older when speaking out in class. If they can articulate the story in a clear entertaining or formal way that makes what he says interesting to listen then this can only benefit him.

A lot of extremely good and capable readers are lousy at reading out loud, so if you can encourage this as a necessity but not a chore from an early age, you will help him in the long run.

Get him to talk to a mirror, to his toys or even record his reading if he doesnt want to read to you.

Mashabell · 07/04/2011 07:20

Go to the library together and try to find him some books that are more fun to read aloud than the ORT ones?
Dr. Seuss? The Pied Piper? - Books that he and u can put a bit of expression into.

If u are sure that he can read now, then reading aloud need not be for anything but fun.

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