I'm angry with the school that my son can't read

[Teamumizumi]

my DS is 5 and has just finished reception. Reading has always been a struggle and he has "progressed" to level 1. I've been trying to get him to read appropriate level reading books over the summer and have now given up. He can only read basic words like "and" " to" "for" "at"..... I'mwondering what the school has been doing for 2 years -he started in their kindergarten so he has been "reading" for 2years. What he does is get the teacher/us to say the word out loud, then he memorises it. Now that he has read a couple of books cold i have discovered he cannot read at all. WHAT DO I DO???????

I would agree..you only need to do 10-15 mins a day.

reading eggs linkie

OP, a couple of questions

• Has he been receving daily phonics lessons in school in reception (he should have been, but some schools 'think they know better', in which case his failure to learn to read IS partially their fault)?

• Does he have a good knowledge of basic phonics (e.g. if you show him the letter 't' in isolation, can he make the appropriate sound - NOT 'tuh' but a very short unvoiced 't' sound)?

• Does he also know sounds can be encoded by 2 or more letters (e.g. if you show him 'th' or 'ee' in isolation, does he sound them out 't....h'/ 'e.....e' or 'th' 'ee'

• If he knows the sounds in isolation, is he having difficulty in blending them (ie if he sounds out 'c...a...t' several times, can he hear the word 'cat'? If he can't do that, can he hear words if YOU sound them out?)

• Do you read to him daily?

• Have you heard him read daily throughout the year (schools expect this, quite reasonably, except when there is a specific reason not to e.g. due to chaotic home background / parental illiteracy)?

Hopefully, finding out about your son's phonic knowledge will give you an idea of where to start. If he has a poor knowledge of basic phonics, then get a good book about it (Jolly Phonics Teacher's handbook is probably the most parent-accessible) and start from the beginning. Get him to spot letters and sounds in the environment (much less intimidating than a whole book!).

If he has problems blending, then lots of 'can you get me your s...u...n h...a...t' games will help.

Check that any books you ask him to read you are truly phonics-based (Songbirds are a good series and are often available from libraries. Avoid Oxford Reading Tree type books as they are not phonics based). And read to him ALL the time - perhaps asking him to spot a few letters that he knows, or to sound out a basic word or two per page if you know he knows the sounds.

Avoid 'whole word' type strategies - word cards etc - as it sounds as if he has been relying on memorising words rather than using phonics to get as far as he has, and this is not a helpful strategy in the long term (think of how many words there are in the English language - he cannot memorise them all!)

I wouldn't worry so much. My DS was guessing words and memorising stories and checking out the pictures to work out the story. I was worried too and would get all "you know this word!" and handled the whole thing wrong.

Then suddenly in Year 2 it was like a penny dropped and now there is no stopping him and he's gone from struggling to being ahead of his age group - but most importantly loving reading. 5 is very young to be concerned IMO. I wish I'd chilled out a bit but he's my first born and I didn't realise what was likely to come.

Just keep reading to him, let him read to you but I think keeping it fun and enjoyable is most important.

Get things he enjoys - could be Ben 10 magazines and other total crap but my DS loved that kind of thing.

My son is going into the last year of infants and can only read basic words, I go into charity shops, library's the work and everywhere that sells cheap books. I also buy work books

I believe without this he would be even further behind

OP, it is possible that the teacher says he is doing fine, because he is actually doing fine. For his age. Which is ONLY 5.

By the end of YR, my august born DD could read VERY few words. She had been in the school since just after her 3rd birthday, but they don't really do reading in nursery, apart from the odd flashcard. She spent most of our home reading 'sessions' during YR wriggling, sliding off the sofa, chewing her hair, getting upset, randomly guessing from the pictures, forgetting words I had just spelt out with her.... Very frustrating and miserable for us both, but quite normal I think.

Now she has just finished Y1, she has come on leaps and bounds. She still loses concentration easily, gets fed up very soon, and guesses words, but she is a lot more interested, and can read very simple 'proper' books on her own, albeit with a bit of guesswork (Not Now Bernard is her favourite ).

It will come eventually, and you need to remain calm and not start looking to a future of him not being able to read as an adult. It will click. And it will click soon I'm sure.

Can't believe the walloping the OP is getting here. Uncalled for. She sounds worried, FFS give her a break you harpies.

I am a parent volunteer at my DS's school and used to listen to readers in Y1. At the beginning of the year there was such a huge range of reading abilities, which reduced somewhat by the end of the year. I then helped in Y2 and the number of children who struggle with reading has reduced drastically. And those who need extra help get it in the classroom (and hopefully at home)

As a number of people have said for some children it just takes that little bit longer to get reading, but when it clicks it's amazing. You are doing all the right things by reading him stories and listening to him. A love of books is the first step.

One thing we got my DS is the Jolly Phonics CD (which drove us mad) but did go through many of the phonic sounds

Sorry, took me ages to type my post and I note that many of the questions have been answered - but I would quite seriously advise checking out his phonic knowledge and starting from there, and from single letters and sounds and words not whole books...

Also, get his eyes checked (good opportunity over the holidays) and find out if he can 'track' accurately (good way to do this is to get him to draw a big 'lying down 8 [infinity sign] with one colour, then see if he can easily draw over it EXACTKY again using a second colour. Ask him to watch the tip of his pencil. Can he do that smoothly? Or do his eyes move all over the place? Can he do mazes easily? Ring all the 'd's or 'p's in a short piece of text?). If there are any problems with eyesight or 'tracking' they have a big impact on reading.

This thread is crazy. Why are you all having a go at the OP - are we really expected to teach our children to read entirely at home?

Blimey.

I only have a 18mo but I can clearly remember being taught to read at school. That's what it's for, surely!

(I do read to my toddler every night of course). Just surprised.

I didn't read till I was 10, the school didn't notice god knows how? I memorised the books and looked at the pictures and make a logical guess.

I have a b and c in english lang/lit at GCSE level and I havn't found it has effected my life apart from still being shite at spelling, but then in my opinion there are worse things to be than bad at spelling!

I was diagnosed with dyslexia as a teanager, it is worth asking the teacher about this. One of the way's I learnt to read was to memorise the shapes of the words rather than the sounds.

start reading with him at home, just say, 15/20 mins a day, and also read to him at night and point to the words as you say them.

Noveg sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone. Mainly we can tell because the reading diaries don't get signed! :) I just find it odd that the OP makes out she's just found out he can't read! Surely if she is hearing him read every night, she wouldn't be having this huge shock?! I never blame parents. After all, I'm the teacher. However, education is a partnership. You have to practise at home too! (Bit like having driving lessons, but then never practising once you've passed your test, and then blaming the driving instructor because your driving isn't that great!) . Just saying that those parents that take an interest will definitely see more progress in their child. Surely a good thing? :)

OP You say you read to him 30-40 mins a night? It might help to know that children only have the attention span of their age plus about 2 mins (opinion on this does vary massively however). Regardless, I would only hear a 5 yr old read (or sit reading with him) for 10 minutes max. 40 mins is far too long. No wonder he doesn't like reading! Sounds like a punishment!!!!

I think the thread is batty too.

I think the OP was particularly poorly worded and I think aibu was a daft choice.

But the wave of 'teach him yourself' is very odd. In defending the unreasonable implication the op made about the school being useless, a tidal waveof people happily imply that teaching a child to read is a piece of piss and any parent is equipped to do it.

I am a reasonably smart woman but quite spectacularly shite at teaching my dc anything without getting frustrated and crabby. My DDs school pleaded with us parents not to try and teach our dc as it frankly puts more dc off than anything positive. Reading with your dc, enjoying books, listening to books brought home was all we were asked to do - which mostly parents do anyway.

And the 'how the fuck have you not noticed in the last two years that he can't read' comments are odd. Should the op have expected him to be reading at three?

He loves being read to and it's always "one more story"hence the 30mins not 15. And whilst i've raised my concerns before, I work in the office of my son's school and it's difficult to be seen to not be in fulsome praise of the teachers all the time without them getting edgy and defensive.

He is 5

Exactly!

I am a university lecturer with a PhD and tons of teaching experience. I have no intention whatsoever of attempting to trach DS to read.
I'll read to him, and have lots of books around, but phonics is not my job

oh, and let him pick what to read! Ben 10 good choice for e.g if that's what he's into! We are not expecting parents at all to teach their child to read. Please leave that to the professionals (not actually me, I don't teach early years!)

But we do ask that parents hear their child read and support/encourage. Basically getting involved. OP is now concerned. She may well be worrying about nothing if the teacher says he is fine. :) In any case, rather than trying to second guess, make sure you build links with your son's teacher in Year 1 and have open channels of communication. Then there won't be any shocks (hopefully!) in the future. Good luck :)

I think the Op's later posts indicate she has been very hands on, but the first post certainly came across as if she was very remote in her involvement in her dc's education.
That may have something to do with the responses.

Have a look on Amazon for Phonics books and other phonics materials.

By the way, I do think the way we (society) all panic about children not reading, writing etc at incredibly young ages is absolutely ridiculous. I refuse to get worked up about small children (4 or 5) not being able to read. Its crazy.

I'm convinced my DM never did all this navel gazing and panicking about the progress of 4/5 yos. In fact, I wasn't even in school until 5.

And I for one, am incredibly glad that I don't live in England, and have to put up with my DCs being 'screened' at the end of Y1 .

Bluemoon74

I was really bad at signing the book. Sometimes we would take her book up to bed, or read in the garden. I would then take the book back and put it with the diary and intend to sign it before it went in the bag but forget. Just so you don't only go by whether the diary is signed.

I am not coming out very well on here am I?

Why is it schools fault?

Surely you have done reading homework with him every evening as is the expectation of children in reception and above?

Is there not a home/school record book where you sign to say you have listened to him read?

Why have you not raised concerns before?

On this basis, YABU.

When your child learns to write, it's vital they learn how to forge your signature. It will have endless uses.