My Reception DD not allowed to sound words out aloud

[allyfe]

I just wondered if this is normal, but my reception DD told me last night that when she was doing reading with the teacher, she had chosen a much easier reading book than she normally reads because "we aren't allowed to sound things out at school, we have to do it in our heads". She was worried she wouldn't be able to do the harder book, so she had opted for a very easy one which she could read without sounding out. Is that normal? Do they have to sound things out silently? I was a bit surprised because I would have thought that they would be encouraged to sound stuff out, however they do it! I should add, that I realise this is my daughters interpretation and it might not be accurate!

DD has been told to stop sounding out words she already knows, she seemed to think for a little while that you have to sound out every word first even if you already know what it says. Has your DD maybe been told something similar?

I think she might have misunderstood, hope so anyway.

like Adikia has said they have quite possibly told her not to sound out words she knows or to try and sound it out in her head to then just say the word. Or they might have told her they will be starting to move towards sounding out some of the words in their head and she has taken this as a 'she MUST do it in her head'. If the words are all cvc words then she can probably do this but has lost her confidence in her ability.

Does she have the option to choose easier books? my daughter is in reception and she has to choose from her leveled box and I don't think she could choose from one of the boxes below hers.

I would try to catch the teacher at the end of the day and basically just say you aren't sure if she has misunderstood something because she says... and see what the teacher tells you.

Yes, speak to the teacher- it would be a very strange message for them to give in reception. I would bet there's been some misunderstanding.

Sounds like a misunderstanding, but I'd go and ask the teacher what the situation actually is. If it's not a misunderstanding then do check if the teacher is teaching whole word reading. In the current educational climate it would be a bit weird if she was. But who knows?

It might be worth asking the school to hold a meeting for all interested parents to discuss how they teach reading, if they haven't already held one.

Thanks so much everyone. They did hold a meeting about how they are teaching reading. They use a variety of methods, so they don't 100% use phonics (we still get some of the old ORT books), but they do use phonics - they have been teaching them all of the letter sounds, and are moving onto more complex combinations. She basically told me that she chose a purple book, although she is on blue, so I will just ask the teachers about it! She does read quite a lot without sounding out, but it was just the fact that she thinks she isn't allowed to I was a bit baffled by! I'm glad you all think it was a bit odd too.

I think it is odd, but if the school uses mixed methods it could be true. Some teachers have an obsession with 'fluency' and don't understand that a child may need to sound out words a number of times before they go to long term memory.

I hope that the 'misunderstanding' explanation is the right one, but be aware that it might not be and that it wouldn't be unusual.

In my DD school they are encouraged to "fred in their head" (sound out in their head) and words that they "should" know and if they get stuck then to say it out loud. Any new or more complicated or new words they are encouraged to sound out loud.