Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

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

Original poster

Y1 DD - phonics and literacy

12 replies

sralways · 04/02/2013 10:41

Hi there

My daughter, 6 is in Yr 1 at a state school. This morning was the first morning ever, she said she doesnt want to go to school. When asked why, she said its because she doesnt like phonics/literacy.
We already know that English is her weaker subject, she LOVES maths. She is in the top set for phonics and maths.
She says she doesnt understand what she is asked to do, and wasnt to go to another group because its a lot easier. I have no problem in asking the teacher for her to be moved down a group (did this last term with her reading book), but I dont think she should be moved she she herself says the other groups are easier. Shoudl i speak to the teacher? I already feel the teacher has classed me as a pushy parent (i work full time, so whenever i see the teacher, always ask how shes doing, and get told she's fine etc)

Also, i feel that though my daughter loves stories and has an active imagination, she doesnt like reading? I feel she doesnt want to try.
We read with her every night, and her reading fluctuates daily, where sometimes she will read fluently and sometimes she sounds out words.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

OP posts:
learnandsay · 04/02/2013 10:55

Can't you read books with her that she likes? What level is her reading at? There are all sorts of great Ladybird books. There's a possibility that Rainbow Fairies might be a bit too easy for her. What is she interested in?

Original poster
sralways · 04/02/2013 11:00

Thanks for your reply. :-)
she is very much intrested in fantasy, so dragons, monsters. Our routine is that she reads her school book, then he reads her book, and he has been reading a very abridged pictorial version of teh hobbit, and she LOVED it. so if I coudl find more books like that, i suppose.

Do you think that she will be happier with phonics/literacy lessons if her reading improves?

OP posts:
learnandsay · 04/02/2013 11:14

I would imagine so. What was her reading like when she was reading the Hobbit and what kind of words did it have in it? Were they simple and easy to read or quite challenging? If she can read well when she feels like it then it's probably not her reading which is at fault but what she's being asked to read. Certainly yes. Spend some time looking for fantasy books. Take the Hobbit book into the library and show it to the librarians. If they know of anything else I'm sure they'll tell you. If she's in the top group for phonics then she's probably doing well. Maybe she wants to go down a group because she's finding it hard to see what benefit working hard at phonics brings her personally and so she'd rather take it easy for a bit. Maybe you could ask the teacher what they're actually doing in phonics at the moment and in the near future and then try to find some resources which make it fun. I've never heard of phonics being fun (I don't think.) But I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be.

If she likes fairies do look at the Rainbow Fairies series but they might be too simple.

simpson · 04/02/2013 12:27

Sounds like she is good at reading.

Is she in the top set?

What part does she not understand? The reading or writing?

I think you definately need to speak to the teacher but I would try and get as much info as you can (out of your DD first).

Original poster
sralways · 04/02/2013 13:17

Thanks again for your replies. :-)

She is in the top set for literacy, but is probably around average or just above for the reading books she brings home. Sometimes she reads the same books fluently, and sometimes she'll struggle on alost every word, i put it down to tiredness, but maybe there's more to it.

Regarding her evening routine, maybe we do it wrong, but she is reading her school reading books to me or my husband, and then he reads her a book eg. The Hobbit (which i would say is probably the favourite part of her day). is she too old to be read too? mabe thatshere we are going wrong. But going to the library and finding similar books, definately sounds like a good idea.

In school, she says she doesnt understand what the teacher asks her to do, so the writing part I would say?

I must sound like a completely ignorant mum... :-(

OP posts:
learnandsay · 04/02/2013 13:19

Did you say she's six? There are many years of being read to left at that age.

learnandsay · 04/02/2013 13:24

I know getting info out of children can be a job in itself. Is there any way you could get her to tell you a bit more about what kind of things the teacher is asking her to do that she doesn't understand? In a way that's impossible for her to answer because if she doesn't understand it how can she explain it to you?!!

But your problem when you see the teacher is if you don't know what she's having a problem with then you can't explain it to the teacher either!!

Maybe you could role-play schools. And let her be the teacher and ask you to do phonics and literacy. Perhaps you'll get some idea of what goes on and what she's having trouble with.

Original poster
sralways · 04/02/2013 13:27

Yes, she is 6.. and I and my husband love reading to her, I find it very stress-relieveing. I was just wondering how we can improve on her reading? but like you suggested finding similar books to the Hobbit etc.. and maybe in turn that will help her enjoy literacy at school.

Its good writing thoughts etc down here, helps putting things into perspective.. :-)

OP posts:
learnandsay · 04/02/2013 13:31

I think maybe focussing a bit more on the problem your daughter told you about (the not understanding part) is important. If she has enough of a problem to tell you about it you probably should do something about it. But I think the difficulty for you is getting her to explain a bit more.

Original poster
sralways · 04/02/2013 13:35

yes, you are right. I will try what you suggested tonight.

OP posts:
Tiggles · 04/02/2013 13:54

I still read to my 10year old :)

Have you seen the Beast Quest books, they are aimed at boys, but if she likes the hobbit they may suit her. Not sure if they will be a bit hard, depends on her reading level. I think a lot of boys get into them around age 7. (Warning they do get a bit monotonous after reading book 7million in the series Wink ). It might be that she is finding reading hard work, and not as enjoyable as when you read to her, so finding very easy books for her to read which aren't a struggle at all, may be confidence building for her.

Does she bring phonics homework home? DS2 is in year 1 and has some every week. He finds it annoying as he has to write all the answers down, when he would rather just tell me all the answers and be done with it. He is perfectly capable of the work, but would definitely just rather not have to do it.

prettydaisies · 04/02/2013 14:20

I read most nights to my DD who is in Y7. She loves it!
I think reading to your daughter is very important - when I taught Y1 or reception, I always used to tell the parents that reading to the children was more important than them reading, especially if they were tired at the end of the day.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread