Learning to read in Y1 & Y2

[learnandsay]

How unusual is it for a primary school to focus its attention in YR on teaching the letter sounds, maybe some digraphs, perhaps one or two trigraphs (or maybe not even) and learning (whatever that means) lists of HFW, but not to any great extent turn attention to reading actual books (of any kind)?

And the school thereby, presumably, places the emphasis of learning to read books (of whatever kind) onto Y1 and beyond? And, if one's school has such a system how does one approach it if one's child already reads books quite well and has done throughout Reception? Getting the Reception teacher up to speed with the child's reading has taken a while, but it's getting there. Does one expect to have to introduce every teacher at every early years level to the child's ability to read?

"I can easily judge when something is too easy". That is the point or "the beef" as you put it. Chances are you can't as you are part of the double act and have been for years and don't listen to her read independently.

It sounds like you don't want to change and that's fine, I just wanted to point out to you that this is why partly you are at odds with the school.

I don't think you can get a reliable 'reading age' test until 6.5 years? (And even then they can vary massively depending on the test).

Rudolph, we are doing that. And I just got a return phone call from our library children's literacy coordinator. I think the school is genuinely trying to do the right thing. Our teacher is lovely. Whether or not it/she can do the right thing remains to be seen. But even if she can't I don't think it will have a major impact on my daughter's reading. It will simply be a wasted opportunity and a frustration for me as I'll constantly be having to comment on hone reading books that are rubbish. No big deal in the grand scheme of things, but could have been so much better...

I also know how frustrating it is when your child is sent home with too easy books and I hope you find a middle way with your DD, but I stand by my point that perhaps you don't really know where she is at, and perhaps you do not really want to know (re not wanting to do scheme books and phonics stuff).

Do you let dd read a new school book to you completely on her own, unprompted/unaided, lands?

Only because I'm sure if you've been her teacher for two and a half years it must be really hard to sit back and let her just 'read' (and the teacher 'teach')?

A genuine question - no side/edge/sarcasm intended (impossible to prove on the internet I know!).

I wonder what you would like your DD to have sent home that isn't "rubbish". Hmmmmmmmm...........real books, oh yes, you don't really get those until your decoding is up to speed. Oh dear.... oh well......... just don't comment on the "rubbish" then .

Sips wine, realises you can lead a horse to water.... and goes off MN..

Yes, tgger. But you don't know that, and neither do I. Neither of us can judge just what my daughter can do or can't do with or without me. Of course I'm aware of the possibilities. But possibilities on their own don't explain what the situation actually is.

You could if you were prepared to change and let her read more independently.

(still a drop of wine left..)

Maybe she is a fluent reader? But not if you are helping.....and we go round in circles...

If I weren't teetotal, tgger, I'd ask to share...

Well, if she was reading with me the situation would always be the same because I would always be there. But in fact she does read without me at school!!!

And the results are encouraging.

I know you're there, but are you helping her sound out/blend/remember etc?

Jolly good. Happy to share BooksandaCuppa, in spirit anyway .

learnandsay hope you get it sorted soon, it does sound encouraging.

yes, BooksandaCuppa that's wot I meant too .

A genuinely curious question learnsay.... why don't you let you dd read independently?

Tgger's probably right that the disparity between your view of your dd's reading and that of her teacher (which doesn't seem to be a particularly large difference from what you've said) is the the EYFS assesses in terms of independence and your focus seems to be elsewhere.

Thanks. I'm taking a 'cuppa' to bed to read my 'book' (and making sure ds - 12 - is not doing 'secret reading' on my way up).

Night all.

Of course I am!

The books that she gets at school are easier. Those are so easy it's a joke. I don't have to help her with those.

She can't read the King James Bible on her own yet. But what are we after? The child is 4.

Night......thanks for the chat all.........it's been fun .

Tgger, I don't tend to let my daughter read without me.

Oh, so why did you say this then?

I did have to push ask my DD to start reading to herself by lying and saying how proud her teacher would be if she read to herself without me to help etc etc....

But I have noticed that if she picks a book to read to herself she will go for a much easier book (which is fine by me).

Also I had been getting phonics books out of the library for DD by doing what LandS does (flicking through it and thinking it was too easy -so a no, or it would be ok for her iyswim).

And DD told me very firmly to stop doing this (last week) as she just wants chapter books (because she wants to be like her brother) so I am led by her and let her decide what she wants to read (as muxh as I can as she is not there when I go to the library as I go when she is at school).

The same with Oxford owl, sometimes she will choose a book that is too easy/ hard but I let her choose as I want her to have control over her reading if that makes sense.

.

Not sure yellow if that was of course I am letting her read independently or of course I am helping her. As I said must be difficult to sit back and not help when you've been so involved for two and a half years.

Good luck learnandsay.

Hug my dear.

My day wasn't too awful. The bigger girl has been sick overnight. So I sat with her all day. Hope your troubles are over.

I'm not sure that there exists a worldwide problem with this reading assessment malarky. The obvious thing to do is to do what our teacher seems to be doing which is to give the girl non decodable readers until she encounters a problem. Rocket science it isn't.

Of course tgger and Books are right. Mum has no chance of assessing her child in order to objectively test what she can read.

But do exam boards let parents tests their own children? And if not why not?!!
Because if they did they'd all pass!!!

But that doesn't mean that all self taught children can't read and can't read well.

I think what people are trying to say learnandsay is that as a teacher I would be looking for a child able to pick up a book they had not previously seen/read and to be able to read it completely unaided with no prompting from anyone.

BooksandaCuppa there are reading tests that go down to age four. The test we use starts at age 4.5years and tests fluency and comprehension both literal and inferred but we don't generally test reception children.