What is the next stage with reading?

[BrittaPerry]

DD1 is 5, in reception. Her teacher is lovely, and says that she is the best reader in the class and that they have problems knowing what to do with her during guided reading etc. The school reading books give DD no challenge at all, but that is fine as she enjoys reading them and they seem to be building her confidence.

Out of school she will happily read pretty much anything - she likes to read to her toddler sister as I think she likes the subjects of the picture books, Thomas comics, and being able to do the voices and so on, she will chat on facebook to family, she reads the newspaper headlines over our shoulders and asks awkward questions, etc - the only words she seems to struggle with are ones where she doesn't know the meaning. She reads with expression and can answer questions about the text. She can read in her head, which for some reason amazed her teacher - I think DD being so vague means that she surprises people sometimes :)

She does have some chapter books - horrid henry, pippi longstocking, my naughty little sister, roald dahl type things, but I don't think her stamina is up to it as she will read a couple of pages and then wander off, although she does that to a lot of things - she is a daydreamer.

So, what can I do at home with her to encourage her along? I'm thinking stamina is the thing - once she can read books, the world is her oyster

Maybe some kind of reference skills? We've done the basic using a dictionary and encyclopedia stuff, but didn't get much further than knowing what the contects and index are for and knowing the alphabet.

I am well aware that reading isn't the be all and end all - it would be very unusual for most of the rest of the class to not get to this stage very soon - but I think that it would be lovely for her to be able to "unlock" books a bit more. We are a very bookish family, and she is like a little sponge at the moment.

NOBODY SAY "oooh, but she's five, she should be doing fun things, not reading!" Reading is fun. Learning stuff is fun. DH is out at a quiz night, I am about to have a bath and read an OU book - these are fun things. Why would I not want my children to be able to do these things? I'm hardly standing over her with a stick!

I don't know about the reference stuff particularly as DS1 was very into reference stuff and would happily sit down and read adult history encyclopedias when he was in reception without any encouragement needed.

DS2 currently in reception however, enjoys reading fiction. Whilst he could physically read the longer chapter books, I tend to read them to him and he does a quick scan down the page and tells me the words he wants to say when I am reading . I have found the Early Readers on amazon great as they aren't too long but are split into chapters so he wil sit down and read them. We started reading a page each until he realised he could just read the whole thing himself and it was enjoyable rather than long and arduous.

'stamina' will come in time.

You are having a PFB moment.

Read chapter books to her at bedtime. Comics are great. If you have younger children she can read their baby books to them. Leave a ream of cheap paper lying out with a box of pencils and encourage her to write her own 'books'.

If she can read, she can read. Consolidate her guided reading by subscribing to Reading Chest if the school books are crap.

Your mum is right........

That's a good idea - splitting into chunks :D

DD will read the encyclopedia (or at least bits of it) but I doubt that I could ask her a question and she would know how to find the answer without google, iyswim. She has quite a few non fiction books, but she reads them in the same way you would read a story, instead of looking stuff up, etc.

She will read loads of picture books in a row (especially when she is meant to be doing something else -sigh) but she seems to get overwhelmed with longer books, even if it is the same amount of writing as the ten picture books that she would happily read, iyswim.

I looked at the reading chest and didn't see the point - it seemed to be basically a subscription library. What I tend to do with new books that I buy (I am a book people and amazon junkie) is just casually leave them on a shelf so it keeps things fresh.

You might be right with the pfb (although I am the same with my DD2) but my mum is the woman who told me not to "let" my child read about greek myths etc as it just wasn't "right" for a child to be too educated. Sigh.

They have a box of printed out colouring, puzzles etc, plus paper, pens etc out all the time, which seems to be helping DD write a bit more (she isn't as confident there)

Wait a year . Sounds like she is doing fab and enjoying reading which is the main thing. Just keep encouraging and it will happen. This is my idea anyway! Do you get books out of the library? I'm finding now DS is a bit further along with his reading there's a lot more to choose from and to tempt him with. Also, I have to say a bout of being ill has encouraged his reading- he's stopped running around due to lack of energy and started reading books! He's probably similar to your daughter in terms of being able to read all the simple stuff but not got the stamina for anything longer, hence my first comment.

I do believe quite a bit is about maturity- of course some 5 year olds can sit and read long chapter books, but I should think they are a rare breed, perhaps many do have other important things to do . One little trick that works with DS is to read to him something so so exciting/engaging that he can't help himself- he will read it himself after we have said good night. I'm not sure he manages that much of these stories as they are probably a bit beyond his reading capabilities often, but chuffed he tries!

Another tip someone on the children's books thread gave me was to encourage gently by leaving books gently lying around etc. Let them get into it on their own terms. Good tip!

Sorry cross posted!

Does she read those rainbow fairy books? Yes I know they are not going to win any literary prizes but they did get DD (yr 1) happy to read chapter books.

Enid Blyton is ideal at this stage; Naughty Amelia Jane, Naughtiest Girl etc; read to her and stop at an exciting bit, she can finish the chapter herself. Soon she will be starting the next one and off you go!

Books with really short chapters are good at this stage. DD loved Rainbow Fairies (bleurgh...), but also the Magic Tree House series, and Ms Wiz. There are also lots of other mass-produced series for children keen on puppies/ponies/fairies etc - not great literature, but good for building confidence.

Max and Molly - would be ideal. Short chapters, very funny books about cheeky twins. They have nearly (but not quite yet) got DS (age 6 1/2, poor reader) to start trying on his own to read. He has found Roald Dahl too much even when being read to, as the chapters are too long for him to concentrate on.

Has the school tested her reading age?

If you think it's her concentration skills or stamina which is holding her back then perhaps you could train those skills in another way unrelated to reading. So perhaps some board games which take a while to play or jigsaws which are a bit hard. In the mean time audio books might be a good way of unlocking more advanced stories for her.

Some brilliant suggestions here - I will get her some of these either from Amazon or the library. Thanks :)

I have no idea if school have tested her reading age - I seem to spend all my time talking to them talking about her social skills (or lack thereof), but the teacher has said she is amazed. Tbf, DD is good, but she is hardly reading war and peace...hardly amazing.

I never understand it when teachers say they don't know what to do with a child. Dd (also reception) is way ahead of the 'top' group, reading lime books, Roald Dahl at home etc. But her teacher puts her with different guided reading groups. One of the lower groups might be sounding out say a book with lots of 'ou' or 'ea' or 'ph' sounds so DD will sit with them to reinforce certain phonic sounds for her writing. Or if a higher group is testing comprehension she'll sit with them. She doesnt mind as long as she's included!

As for books she's enjoying Jacqueline Wilson, but I do have to vet them because some of them are too old for her, and the awful Rainbow Fairy books

I suspect sometimes a parent put the "don't know what to do with" angle on it, rather than the teacher meaning it. My dm had someone said that to her and she was because she knew that this girl was not the best in the class by 2 or 3 children. Other parent had a shock when she found that her dd wasn't the best in the class.

What dd1 did in reception was started reading the Rainbow fairies with me next to her. If she didn't know a word she'd ask. Then after about a week, I'd be around her, but not listening, and she'd call "mummy, what does d... e...t...(etc) say?" and I'd tell her. By a fortnight she didn't need that.

Dd2 loved the silly fairies by reception as dd1 had introduced them to her, but got stuck on reading them, wouldn't read anything else-and as they'd only take about 20 minutes to read got through them very quickly. So I took to taking a book I thought she'd like and reading her the first chapter, then leaving her to read what she liked. If she'd enjoyed the book then she would almost certainly pick up the book and finish it. Moved her onto Famous Five and Little House books which was a great relief.

My DD loved the Usborne Young Readers at this sort of stage-have you looked at those? They have beautiful pictures and very short chapters.

www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-Wonderland-Edition-Usborne-Reading/dp/074606781X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337680847&sr=8-2

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wizard-Usborne-Young-Reading/dp/079451457X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337680872&sr=1-2

I would be more concerned that the school say they don't know what to do with her in guided reading. DS1 was the same but they still made sure he was doing guided reading at the correct level for his ability.

They must have the top group in Y2 doing guided reading so presumably they manage with them?

I agree that she should be doing fun things, at the end of the day she can read so if she is not mature enough to read full chapter books on her own yet then read them to her and the rest will come in time.

I am all for encouraging children to reach their full potential but not if they are not quite ready as it could put them off. DS1 has always been able to read to himself (even at 3 when reading the very simple phonetically spelt books) but we still read to him most days then let him read a chapter or so to himself in bed if he wants.

Is guided reading that, important as long as the child is reading and understanding their individual books?

Like the OP my dd is not being challenged during guided reading(teacher mentioned this a few months ago), I wasn't overly concerned about this as DD is very happy at school and her reading is still progressing well (two book bands since the talk with the teacher).

Should I be checking what is happening? I just sort of assumed that something was being done as the teacher told me.

Guided reading should be more important, how can they not be challenging them in guided reading? This would really concern me - there are quite a few teachers on these boards that can explain better than me.

DS started YR on Y2 level books but was challenged in guided reading as they usually read a level above the one they are comfortable with in order to challenge them.

Milly Molly Mandy - my dd loved those at the end of reception & the My naughty little sister.

You may find that the guided reading clicks into place in Year 1. When my DS1 was in Reception, he had a friend who was reading way way above the rest of the class. I think her mother found Reception a hard time because the school were concentrating on her DD's social skills, rather than her academic skills.

By year 3, other children had caught up - not to the same extent, but enough that they had a decent group to do guided reading. The DD still reads huge numbers of books for pleasure (she is 8 years old and reading and enjoying Dickens now), but most importantly, her social skills have improved and she is a popular child.

I think what I am saying is, don't worry too much about school reading right now. I think libraries are a fantastic starting point for expanding reading, and agree that the fairy books, although mind numbingly dull to an adult, have a certain something to a child, and are fairly quick to read. Same with some of the Enid Blyton (Faraway Tree book chapters are perfect to read one a night).

Thanks for the advice on guided reading, I think we probably have the balance about right given that this is YR and the focus is learning through play. We read more challenging books at home and dd seems to be happy with how thing are. Will just see what Y1 brings :)

And BrittaPerry sorry for the hijack

Britta, I think the content is the key - but also the tricky bit, . My ds ( just turned 5) and I are also in this quandry. He can read pretty much anything very well, but I find the early readers/ first chapter books don't really capture his attention as they aren't aimed at his age, e.g he doesn't relate to a lot of the silly stuff in horrid henry.

I would also advocate longer fairy tales, and also encourage the continuing reading picture books to her sister. It feels to me a lot of the books read to toddlers ( julia donaldson, shirley hughes) etc are just as enjoyable for 5 - 6 year olds

In my opinion the best practice for reading is to read newspaper because it improves your vocabulary.