Learning to read - seems to be no structure to it

[grumpypants]

I'm a bit frustrated at the moment - ds (5) is in Y1 and brings home two books a week, one to read to me, and one to have read to him. There is just no continuity to the books he is meant to read and he is just not reading as well as i thought he would be by now. Older ds also couldn't read (worse than this) buy the end of Y1 and we hired a tutor for Y2 - he is now a free reader (Y3) and has a brilliant reading age.
The school read in groups, and apparently use several reading schemes.

Any thoughts?

"And parents also interpret teachers in the way they want to "I wouldn't buy reading schemes for use at home - we've got lots at school. Why not buy some other stroy books instead? is interpreted as "I feel threatened by parents buying books - how very dare they?"

Seeker, you make your own interepretations and assumptions -- a dangerous thing indeed

"what will he read in Y2" is a direct quote.

Mmm. I must confess to a slight degree of scepticism about the achievements of the children that mrz teaches - particularly given the long list of things she posted on another thread that she expected children to be able to do before they became 'free readers'. Presumably 'The Hobbit', 'Alice' and Shakespeare have been selected by the teachers to teach those points.

Literature isn't hierarchical - there isn't a continuous straight line that you mustn't deviate from. Why must they have 'progressed through all the children's literature before moving on to Shakespeare?'

Most children encounter the witches' rhyme from Macbeth at a very young age - and love it.

As I said on another reading thread, a parent who tells you theiri 6 year old has just finished David Copperfield is actually saying that they have just put a copy of David Copperfield on top of the Match magazine on the child's bedside table. It looks as if this applies to teachers too!

Ha ha - see this has moved on. As ds is still on cvc words I think I'll leave the hobbit for later...thanks for all the links - I will look at them all properly later. Apparently he is 'in the middle' of the class, which I think is a bit worrying.

I think I am disappointed that he appears to be going down the same route as ds1 of starting Y2 unable to read much more than cat and dog with a few sight learnt words chucked in.

They are two very different children and so that concerns me - ds2 should be reading by now based on what he was like.

Bonsoir, I am just looking into jelly and bean but it seems to start with phase 2.. what about phase 1? Does phase 1 exist? My ds is starting to learn letters/sounds in spanish so I am just starting to look into resources to support him learning to read in english and this looks really interesting.

sorry for thread hijack...

End of Y1 I would say -- really ought to be ORT stage five six seven at least.

Moving back to your original point, OP, rather than getting a tutor or ORT, I'd supplement with a phonics scheme. I used the Ruth Miskin Read Write black and white books with DS2 to secure his knowledge of sound-symbol correspondences when the school was still using mixed methods (5 years ago). Lots of good links provided.

Good luck. Think you're right to leave The Hobbit to later....

No no, ORT!

as you read you just say that's eee

then you say it again

then they know it

it's so EEEAASSSSYYY

But that's just it - ORT is a sight reading scheme, and some children don't find that easy, far from it.

It's not for teaching letter sounds but once you've got the sounds it's good for teaching the phonemes. I think it's absolutely perfect for the average child. It's repetitive but still interesting for a kid, and if you have the right TA or a parent who doesn't behave like it's boring, then it just can't be bettered.

My children didn't learn to read by sight and memory with ORT, they worked out the words. Deconstructed or whatever you call it. All the classes I worked with did.

we did buy some ORT a while ago - kind of shot in the dark as i wasn't sure where to pitch it. i feel like i need to do some sort of structured thing, but maybe not according to the advice on here. ! it's just not ok where he is now tho.

(I don't mean, my precious darling is so clever he should have a reading age of nine, btw)

I like ORT once they can read. From about Stage 5 it's fine. But it's very demoralising early on for children to come across, for example, 'fence' and 'frying pan' and 'bored' before they've internalised all the phonemes.

And, although many children will remember 'ee' if you tell them, most of them won't remember it after just one telling; in ORT they don't necessarily come across enough 'ee' words to embed it. If you use Ruth Miskin's 'ee' book (and off the top of my head I can't remember what it's about, but probably a bee, some trees, some seeds and somebody needing something...) virtually every child will get it after just one book.

Mine started with the picture books. They were never demoralised.

No seeker they are reading The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland - although Shakespeare is a child's version.

and no Gooseberrybushes they aren't selected by me they are library books chosen by the children

I'm quite shocked that posters think these children are gifted or that it is unusual. [puzzled]

singersgirl it is perhaps because I don't tell 4 year olds to bring books from home because the school has none to offer that our children are reading confidently for pleasure... the list is the government's criteria not mine

Mrz if you consider this normal aren't you utterly horrified and dismayed by the OP's experience? Her child is so shockingly far behind by your standards as to merit complaints and even an approach to the head.

another vote for reading chest. We started it in the Christmas holidays when it became apparent that all they would be given to read in reception was a set of look-and-say books from the 80s. DS knew his phonic sounds but not much more: he saw cat and had to say c-a-t cat, for example. He started with the pink level books and is now confidently reading the green ones after we worked through the floppys phonics and collins big cat schemes together. This is in one term, with us doing 10 minutes or so every day. He is also reading real books with me doing the hard words. If I'd left it to his school, he'd still be struggling. It has been lovely to see him gradually "get it", as if little lights are switching on, and to catch him checking my internet shopping receipt to see if I've bought any sweets, and trying to read his favourite books himself :)

I've just gone back to check: and you are only "concerned". If it's normal to be reading the Hobbit in Y2, and this child is barely reading at the end of Y1, that must be a travesty of early education in your eyes. But you still recommend the method of different reading schemes, and you are horrified at a parent buying reading books herself to make up the difference?

Something doesn't ring true here.

Sorry confusing I'm not accusing you of lying, I mean I cannot understand your reactions.