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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Reception reading - give me your tricks please

31 replies

DrowninginDuplo · 26/02/2012 21:40

Ds1 is bored of learning to read. Started off all enthusiastic, but as far as I can tell doesn't see the point of the effort for the sheer naffness of the stories. He can sound blend etc

Conversations on the subject tend to go as follows:

"very good darling ds1 but look at the words on the page"
"sweetie good try, but the word by for finger is the one we are after"
"look at the word on the page darling, don't just guess"
"LOOK AT THE JEFFING WORD ON THE PAGE" (obviously don't actually swear)
DS1 then read the words moderately well.

So any tips? Is everyone else having as much fun? Tell me he'll get the hang of it soon? Please? Pretty please?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

mrz · 26/02/2012 21:44

What books is he expected to read?

notnowbernard · 26/02/2012 21:46

reading has suddenly 'clicked' for dd2 (Y1)

she was like your ds in Reception but all of a sudden can read a book! Amazing (A month ago she was needing lots of help with her Red Level books, now she's off on her own)

PrisonerOfWaugh · 26/02/2012 21:47

Don't overdo it on the books, read more in the environment - road signs, car makes, shops, menus etc. etc.

Fact books can be a more interesting to some readers, DK do some nice early reader ones, DD loves one called 'Diving Dolphin'

Stick some labels up around on objects at home

Play games with words written on cards e.g. match words, see who can find a word the quickest, remove a word from a group and see if they can identify which one is missing etc.

Original poster

DrowninginDuplo · 26/02/2012 21:47

Biff kipper et al. We get a couple a week from school that we are suppose to read with him.

OP posts:

mrspnut · 26/02/2012 21:52

Stop concentrating on the books and start incorporating reading into everyday life.
I detest biff, kipper et al and refuse to read the books but my daughter reads cereal packets, menus, road signs, bits of newspapers and library books instead.
She is also very fond of nature so reads non fiction animal and bird books most days.
So long as they are reading, it doesn't matter what the subject matter is.

PatsysPyjamas · 26/02/2012 21:54

Do you think the books could be too easy or too hard for him? If not, you'd think the sense of achievement would be what kept him reading (rather than thrilling stories).

Or could it be he just doesn't like the pressure of being told to do homework? Do you - like me - leave it until bedtime on Sunday night and then wish you'd done it after school on Friday?

There was a list on here a while ago, which linked 'normal' books to curriculum levels. I'll have a look if I can find it. He might prefer those to get him into reading. Also, my DD's class runs two book schemes in parallel (ORT and Dandelion) - might his teacher have other choices of books?

I just got her Dinnertime Rhyme out of the library and she thought it was very funny. I'm going to have a look for other books in the same 'Read Me' series.

anthonytrollopesrevenge · 26/02/2012 21:54

Get him some books he likes at the library and leave the boring school ones. Or ask his teacher if it's possible for him to take different books home (though our school makes you do ORT whether your DCs like it or not). Luckily DD quite likes them, which makes it easier. DS refused to read them completely. He preferred his atlas and history books. He's a good reader though and not reading his scheme books was irrelevant. Eventually in yr 3 the school gave up sending him home with ORT books and made him a free reader.

PatsysPyjamas · 26/02/2012 21:59

Oh I think it might have been mrz who added the list I mentioned, if she knows where it is?

Original poster

DrowninginDuplo · 26/02/2012 22:02

He likes reading on words cards. We do that abit. And I know it doesn't matter a damn if he can read or not he's only 4 but I kind of think that not doing homework is a slippery slope.

OP posts:

Original poster

DrowninginDuplo · 26/02/2012 22:06

Thinking about it he is better with normal books. Loves reading meg and mog. We read his book everyday- he is just better if he does it everyday there is then less argument about whether it is done. :-)

OP posts:

skewiff · 26/02/2012 22:08

Someone on here recommended the Songbird reading scheme, written by Julia Donaldson. I am usually sceptical about people raving/recommending things like this. Not sceptical, but I really couldn't see how a reading scheme could be that brilliant/exciting.

Anyway I bought a few of the books off amazon. You can get 6 books in one for a really good price (don't have to buy them all individually).

In the end I bought the whole scheme in the 6 in 1 versions. DS love love loves them. He chooses them over all the other books we have in the house at the moment. And he wants to read them to me. His reading has soared since he's started reading her brilliant books.

Original poster

DrowninginDuplo · 26/02/2012 22:11

Ooh we love Julia I shall have a nosy on amazon.

OP posts:

PatsysPyjamas · 26/02/2012 22:11

Yeah, I wouldn't really want to flaunt the rules so young either. It'd be hard to get back to the idea that homework is something you have to do.

Could it would be easier if he actually read more? My DD gets a different book home every night (if she's read the last one - which we got the impression was expected). At first I thought this was ridiculous for 4 year olds - and maybe it is - but we are at least in a routine now and know it's something we spend a few minutes on every night.

PatsysPyjamas · 26/02/2012 22:12

Oops X-posted there Duplo. Maybe the school needs to change books more often?

smartiesrule · 26/02/2012 22:18

The books in reception are not meant to be read word for word. The idea is for the child to be able to tell the story from the pictures. Give them heaps of praise if they do that, and they'll enjoy it more.
I always do my DS books at bedtime. So I say 'You tell Mummy a story, then I'll read you a story' Works a treat with mine.
Oh, and when you buy them a treat from the supermarket (if you do), try getting a cheap, small book instead of sweets. Just an idea.
Good luck.

Blu · 26/02/2012 22:18

It's pretty exhausting for them, flogging through sounding out every word.
We were struggling like mad until a friend told me to always read the story through first to them.
Then, as soon as they struggle on a word, give it to them to keep up the flow of the story, and let them move onto the next word.
I also threw in some silly voices - in Biff and Chip give the peripheral characters outrageous voices - DS enjoyed reading in voices!

Original poster

DrowninginDuplo · 26/02/2012 22:25

Cunning, read it to him first! You are a genius blu. He almost seems scared to start but if I've read it first that should really help. Why did I not think of this? Sometimes i think it is just tumbleweed between my ears. This is why MN is awesome!

OP posts:

PrisonerOfWaugh · 26/02/2012 22:26

If it's Sonbirds you are after (and I also highly recommend them) then The Book People have the whole set of 36 books for only £15 here

cabbageandbeans · 26/02/2012 22:39

If he hasn't read the book already at school, it is a good idea to look through it first and talk about what you think it might be about by looking at the pictures. Ask him questions about the pictures and what he thinks is happening...you can comment too - 'ooo yes it is a big dog isn't it?' That way they already have a clue before they even start on the words.

I second Blu on giving them the word if they struggle on it to keep the flow of the story going and keep their confidence up. I always say - 'yes that is a tricky/difficult word' (particularly if it can't be sounded out phonetically) and then just say what the word is.

TBH it sounds like he is not really concentrating/distracted by something, so maybe you should keep it short for now and only aim to read a couple of pages. At the end of the day when my daughter (also 4 & in reception) is tired it is very difficult to get her to sit still to read and she misses words or guesses. In the morning reading is much more productive. My daughter is not aware she has homework so I figure it ok to miss a day, or just do a page or two. We tend to do her reading on the weekends and maybe x3 mon-fri.

I also agree that reading anything else is a great way to keep them interested (ie. road signs, notices etc.)

I have also heard excellent things about the Julia Donaldson books to aid
reading.

cabbageandbeans · 26/02/2012 22:52

Oh yes, Songbird books. Very good and that £15 deal is so good! I think it is really nice for kids to have their OWN reading books (not just from school) means they can spend time looking at them and becoming familiar with them - rather than read and return to school. I have the floppy series from book people but might buy this one too!

DeWe · 27/02/2012 09:41

I use various techniques to motivate ds (reception) who would rather be running round.

The school are being very kind to him (and me!) and deliberately choosing non-fiction or books that (usually) interest him. Sometimes he comes out very excited and can't wait to read me the book because he likes it.

However if he's not as interested these are some of the things I do (not all at once obviously):
Read in the car when waiting for his dsis to do an activity. There's not a whole heap of toys waiting to be played with to distract him.
Make sure he's not hungy or thirsty.
Have something good (eg a biscuit) for "when he finishes"
Read alternate pages (we usually do 4 pages each)
If it's really not interesting him then occasionally I read the whole book
Ask what might be on the next page (sometimes he gets very excited to see if he's right)
On non-fiction sometimes we don't read in order. We look down the contents or index and choose by most interesting.
See how many times a particular word (like a name) appears (he reads, I count)
Guess the story from the title/front cover.
If it's set somewhere unusual then we've researched (with google/other books) the country first

And I've never seen the point in rereading the book unless he wants to. There's so many interesting books out there to read instead, I've never got why people would want to do the reading book multiple times. But I know a lot of people do.

Runoutofideas · 27/02/2012 09:47

My dd2 (reception - Aug birthday) loves the songbird books too. She can only read the first two levels herself, so there is plenty to grow into over the next year or so, and she does enjoy the stories being read to her.

She has just recently started enjoying playing with magnetic words stuck to the fridge. Like these She puts them in to columns of words she knows and words she doesn't, then we read a few of the tricky ones together and then she reads the whole column of words she already knows. This seems to be really boosting her confidence at the moment. I never ask her to do it though, it is always initiated by her. The words have been on the fridge for ages and she's only really just noticed them....

littleducks · 27/02/2012 10:04

I tried to get dd to read more phonetic books when she was first learning, like the songbirds mentioned and some ruth miskin ones. I didn't ever read these through first as she could then repeat the story without even looking at the words.

If the books weren't great and we have had some crap ones, then I would read a page, she would read a page to make it quicker and if she was hating a story I might read a couple . I always ran my finger along the words though, a bit like they do in guided reading.

I would be careful about heading towards looking for picture clues etc. instead of decoding. It has been discussed to death on here and I am no expert but it can cause problems for some kids.

DD really liked Biff and Chip but they suited her much better at the beginning of yr 1 when she was a better reader.

SoupDragon · 27/02/2012 10:12

Personally, I think you should leave him alone. Read great books with him which he will enjoy and get him to want to learn to read - help him love reading.

I used to read stories with DD (Y1) and, if we came across things like repeated phrases or particular phrases she could read, she did those bits and I did the rest. We shared the reading, no pressure on her if she didn't want to do it.

Thankfully her school doesn't have a crappy reading scheme so there is never any sort of pressure to read the shite books o

PatsysPyjamas · 27/02/2012 11:53

They must have some sort of reading scheme, SoupDragon?

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