Reading books

[rac321]

DD has just started reception this September and has only had reading books with no words in. She knows most of her letters but can't seem to put them together to sound out words. Most of her friends seem to be bringing home books with words/sentences and her older brother was fine with his reading when he started and kept up with the rest of the class. Does anyone have any tips for helping DD to sound out the letters to make words?

We found with DD that things just suddenly clicked, your DD has only been at school 6 weeks. We sounded out words when we spoke e.g. Do you want a d r i nk? School also put sound buttons under words so when you touch the button she says the sound, if you touch the buttons faster then she says the sounds faster and they blend together. Some children came to school with no phonic knowledge at all and some arrived reading now in yr 1 they are mostly at a similar level. Please don't worry about anyone else - she will go at her own pace.

Hi rac321:

Yes it is a little surprising that your DD hasn't had a book with any words at all.

If you have a reading log - you might want to question this in the log. Alternatively just go and speak with the teacher.

I'd ask what phonics system they are using at the school - and then see if you can get some supporting resources at home.

For example: Jolly Phonics has some lovely workbooks that teach the sounds in order but have lots of colouring and letter formation practice (all great fun & good stuff).

If you haven't encountered it yet: Try having a look at Oxford Owl: www.oxfordow.co.uk - there is a reading & a maths section for early learning with lots of suggestions & advice for parents & free e-books/ games/ etc...

Phonics made easy section will give you some ideas on how to teach your DD to start sounding out letters, vowel sounds, etc...: www.oxfordowl.co.uk/home/reading-owl/expert-help/phonics-made-easy

HTH

Just to say DD had books with no words until Christmas in reception, she is now in yr 1 and a free reader, so has passed through all the levels and can choose her own books.

perfectly normal not to have books with words in at this stage, much depends on the school- are these friends in the same school/class?.

At this stage in reception DD was still learning the initial sounds and no blending yet. DS is now in reception and can blend well but doesn't quite know all the initial sounds yet either. It's very early days

Thanks for your replies - hopefully it will click soon, and I will try the sound buttons. I think she is doing jolly phonics as she keeps singing songs, like 'a,a,a,a, ants on my arm'. and making drumming actions when she is saying 'd'. We have parents evening soon, so I will ask more then. thanks for posting the website links - I'll definitely have a look at these. Luckily DD hasn't yet noticed that her friends get the books with words in and she doesn't.

Alphablocks on CBeebies is great, there's also an Alphablocks magazine which has good activities.

Second noblegiraffe on alphablocks

but...

HEALTH WARNING - just watching for a few minutes may leave you singing the tunes all day...

link here: www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/alphablocks/

you can watch old episodes, play games, colouring activities, etc...

HTH

rac321

If your school is doing jolly phonics then you may want to try their work books. We didn't discover them in time for DD1 - but DD2 started Year R with them and seemed to take to reading much more quickly (although of course every child is different).

link on amazon - so you can see what I mean here: www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jolly%20phonics%20work%20books - but these are available from most book shops/ large newsagents.

If you scroll down the amazon page - there are look inside versions so you can get more of an idea of what is included.

HTH