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?

I know there are teachers/schools who aren't doing their job well and that horrifies me too

Actually my first comment was postivie - get a reading scheme and whiz through it - nothing twisted there

all this is in response to mrsz's terrible negativity about that

be hard pushed to see where i was bitter, twisted and negative actually

and rather of a teacher to describe a parent as twisted after a bad experience? I'm tremendously glad I never came to you with a problem

Beast Quest - the same book, 68 times. Adam Blade must be pissing himself .

I'm always negative to spending money unwisely unless it's for shoes

and I've got no real problem with the Hobbit in Y2. Better than J Wilson or HHenry any day. But don't say the Hobbit in Y2 is normal and then be horrified at a parent of a child using a reading scheme when they still being taught at pre-school level in Y1.

I never said you were twisted. I said your views would inevitably be twisted by your experiences, which is vastly different. And I would like to think that if you came to me with a problem, I would help as much as possible. Whilst I agree that there a schools which are not doing what they should, I do think that your experiences are not typical, and therefore that your immediate response- that the OP should just take it onto her own hands, is unhelpful.

And I still maintain that the ORT is not the only way of doing it.

I think it is easier at the early stages to buy reading scheme books than try and find 'real' books that are at the right level (maybe I'm lazy but it takes a while to get it right and you risk putting them off if its too hard)

Once they get to a level where they actually are reading then it is much easier to read non scheme books

It might be a shame that parents have to resort to buying books but I dont see another solution, dd's school is ok, is ofsted outstanding etc. But they only change reading books in reception on Mondays. DD missed two consecutive Mondays (eye test, she needs glasses to read) and is now off for 3 Mondays for easter (without considering the bank holidays).

So that will be 6 weeks she has had the same book. If I hadnt bought other books, she wouldnt be practicing much. I dont have time to take her to the library, especially with the Easter holidays and I no longer work in one (government cutbacks!) so cant just bring books home with me.

It is not vastly different at all, you've just realised what you said and that it was pretty awful.

I'm sure ORT is not the only way of doing it, I've never said it is, but it's not a horrific way.

If The Hobbit was a normal level of Y2 reading in the Christmas term, and my child was being taught at a preschool level the Easter before, I would take matters into my own hands without apology.

I didn't say it was normal, just examples of what my class were reading over the last week or so in response to your question - free choice for pleasure. What they read in class were SAT papers

I agree littldeducks - sometimes it's the only way. Except you can hire them, apparently.

Never come across a child that dislikes ORT? Goodness, I have! Though equally there are some that love them (usually the ones who like repetition and familiar characters).

Project X far more popular with the chlidren in dd's class.

Then there are others (mainly girls, including dd) who like the 'tales from faraway lands' type books, myths and legends with lots of imagination and colour.

mrz Sat 16-Apr-11 15:43:13
I'm quite shocked that posters think these children are gifted or that it is unusual. [puzzled]

When I taught reception I changed reading books whenever they were returned (every day for some children - once a week for others). In Y2 where the books are longer most children change their book weekly

oh I see, it's only the boring children that like ort.

Right

ugh can't be bothered

I'm gone

night all

Dear me, the topic of school reading does bring out the worst of squabbles!

I think reading schemes are often deadly dull, but probably efficient. And buying one for home use a silly use of money, unless you live abroad and have no other access to suitable books. I am a teacher and am very happy for parents to do anything they feel will help their child at school. I do not feel possessive about teaching methods, nor undermined by parental involvement.

I read The Hobbit at a similar age; I didn't understand much all of it, but skipped over the most bewildering bits and enjoyed the adventure/magic of it. Reading all kinds of books at all kinds of levels nurtured my love of reading. Although Anna Karenina read at a very impressionable age did give me awful nightmares.

For what it's worth, I agree with Seeker - the general public/many parents do put the worst interpretations on the most innocent remarks by teachers.

I don't think any of my class are gifted Gooseberrybushes or that it is unusual for children to be capable of reading books of a similar difficulty. Last years class were more interested in Cressida Cowell books because the film was out. This year it's Alice in Wonderland ...

I think the problem was telling the OP to buy reading scheme books rather than hire them or borrow them. The latter makes financial sense, the former would be very very expensive. If I needed to dedicate £1000 to my child's reading, I think I'd get a tutor rather than some books he'd read once. As it is, I've spent 4x £16 on Reading Chest and he's now reading, so I think there are some economies to be made here. (I expect to remain a member for another few months, until he can access a wide range of library books - even so I don't think it'll set me back more than £100 in total).

Gooseberry - not true. I am generally very deliberate in what I say. Now you're coming across as hysterical, as well as bitter and negative.

Taking matters into your own hands may be the only way to deal with things, but should IMO, be a last resort, not a knee-jerk reaction. The OP's first port of call ought to be her DS's teacher. I would be very surprised if she was turned away.

I think it's terribly sad and pretty unimaginative that parents feel the only way to help their children with reading is to go out and buy the entire reading scheme. ORT and its like are tools with which to teach children the mechanics of reading, not the only way to do it. My mother was a primary school teacher for many years, and says that she always found it sad when children would refer to "reading books" and "proper books", as ALL books are for reading. At least on poster on this thread has already made this distinction, however inadvertantly.

My DTDs change their reading book every day. However, not every child in their class is at the same point, which I know from talking to friends. Some chidlren haven't got as far as books yet. Every child is dealt with in a way which suits them. I do not think that my DTD's school is unique.

I hadn't heard of Reading Chest before MN but it seems popular

one poster, not on poster.

Littleducks you might want to look at OxfordOwl free ebooks (variety of reading schemes)

I think reading chest is expensive, especially if you have more than one child and can reuse the books, but imagine that the books arriving in the post make kids want to read them!

This seems to be a thread about the pros and cons of parents buying 'reading scheme' books to help thier children learn to read. Clealry there are cost implications for some of these schemes.

I'd like to mention the brilliant books from www.piperbooks.co.uk. which provide very careful reading instruction from beginners (BRI ) to about a Y2/3 level in the ARI books. Cost-wise they provide excellent value, if you are looking at words per pound. In addition, it is unnecessary to buy the 9 sets all at once. Children can graduate at any point in the process - it just depends how much of the code they need to have explicit instruction. Some need to be taught every drop, others intuit much of the code for themselves.

The stories were written by children's authors, within the parameters set by the linguists, psychologists and teachers involved in their development.