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Original poster

Six year old struggling with reading - tutor or can I help him myself?

48 replies

TheRealYellowWiggle · 02/04/2014 21:12

I'm probably over-reacting from parent's night this week but ds1 seems to be in the bottom group for literacy, and doesn't know all the necessary sounds etc yet. His teacher seemed very negative to me also. Recent books have included level 3 ORT ones, he is in his second year of primary school (Scotland).
I'm not trying to hothouse him, but would like to get his reading up to a level were it was easier for him to access the curriculum (and maybe move out of the bottom set!)
So, is an expensive tutor the answer? We would struggle to afford this but would if best for him, though I worry about choosing one etc.
Or is there anything I could do myself? Despite being a teacher I have no idea about phonics and feel pretty useless trying to help him.
I feel we have not been supporting him enough really and want to fix this. Sad
Any advice gratefully received Thanks

OP posts:
brettgirl2 · 06/04/2014 09:19

I hate gender stereotyping but I read somewhere that boys prefer non fiction books to fiction. There are loads of children's non fiction books that you can share the reading of.

In my defence I bought some to read with dd, she also likes non fiction Grin .

PaulinesPen · 06/04/2014 09:30

My dd struggled too and what kick started her were Dr Seuss books.

Something about them just clicked with her and she took off with reading. I think it's the way they bounce along with little words and are funny. It's satisfyinig to feel you are actually doing it and reading alone (like wobbling off unsupported on a bicycle).

Out of my 3 dc (dd now 12) she is the most voracious bookworm and is glued to her Kindle. But we did have a lot of tears and worry when she was younger at not getting reading at all and I did worry back then about how to help her.

Sometimes it just takes one thing to make it all click into place. And for dd Biff, Kipper, Chip et al from school just weren't hitting the spot.

Original poster
TheRealYellowWiggle · 07/04/2014 10:18

Cecily I think you're right re the teacher, though the way the groups are she doesn't actually teach him reading - she was basically reading off a sheet.

He is very interested in the general learning at school, the topics they study each term for example, he talks a lot at home about those.
Will check out all the other recommendations, thank you all Smile I do feel need to have been putting more work into this, another guilt to add to the pile!

OP posts:
wonderstuff · 07/04/2014 10:29

I point out the phonic patterns to dd, to help her decode rather than read the word for her. She's 6.5 and getting there slowly.. She's also in bottom literacy set, I think she's really bright, he vocab and number work is good but she finds reading and spelling tricky, I was a bit lax with homework but now really try to do a few minutes every night and it is making a difference.

Original poster
TheRealYellowWiggle · 07/04/2014 13:03

But how did you all learn these yourselves? Is it just a sign that I'm very old that I know nothing of phonic patterns etc?

OP posts:
pointythings · 07/04/2014 14:17

When my DDs were at school they sent them home in a big folder so that we parents knew what they were and how to use them. Very useful. I'm very old too, I've just been lucky.

wonderstuff · 07/04/2014 14:58

I teach SEN, so that obviously helps. THRASS charts are a pretty good start, google for the website, there are 44 sounds in English, a THRASS chart breaks down how each is spelt, lots of common words are irregular though, so it's about frequent exposure and learning from sight. I found I picked some stuff up from reading with DD, didn't realise that an 'a' after a 'w' makes a short o sound until recently. You can generally just figure it out as you go along, breaking the words down to s/ou/n/d/s. They will be teaching at school that two letters making a sound is a digraph and three (like igh) is a trigraph.

I wasn't taught phonics, and reading was never an issue but my spelling was shocking and has improved so much from learning some phonics. I can see DD now making more sense of letters and having a stab at writing (tomaitows were on the shopping list yesterday) it is complicated English, it's unsurprising children sometimes struggle.

mrz · 07/04/2014 15:09

Beware THRASS doesn't meet UK criteria for teaching phonics

Quckstart · 07/04/2014 15:35

This is going to sound ridiculous but has he lost his first baby tooth? I heard on R4 (when DS2 was 6yo and struggling to read) that they only reach the maturity required to read at around the time they lose their first tooth.

Obviously there's no direct link between teeth and reading but I am prepared to believe there could be a link between the physical maturity needed to read and to lose your first tooth. Anyway DS1 lost his first tooth in nursery and was reading fluently by 4yo, DS2 didn't lose it until almost 7yo and was very late to read.

By yr6, they were both ahead of the national targets and in fact DS2 did slightly better in his SATs

Feenie · 07/04/2014 15:43

Sorry, but that's ridiculous - none of my teeth came out at all, the dentist pulled the first two out when I was 7, but I could read well before starting school.

Ds lost his first at nearly 8, but has read well since the end of Year 1 and would have before with decent daily phonics instruction.

Quckstart · 07/04/2014 15:46

Yes, Feenie, that's what I said Grin

My real point was that it sorted itself out and there was no need for daily phonics instruction. When DS2 was ready, he read.

Feenie · 07/04/2014 15:48

More likely he worked out the code for himself rather than not 'needing' daily phonics instruction.

mrz · 07/04/2014 15:55

I've never taught a child who hasn't read long before their first milk tooth fell out Confused

mrz · 07/04/2014 15:56

I thought we off with the Steiner gnomes for a minute

maizieD · 07/04/2014 17:30

I think there could very well be a need for daily phonics instruction!

Leaving aside the fact that phonics is the most effective method of teaching reading, the OP said that he doesn't know all his 'sounds' yet, so he needs to keep practising until he does know them. And, even good phonics instruction won't complete teaching the simple and complex alphabetic code in under 2 years; though some children may pick up the principles very quickly and 'self teach' quite early on.

The fact that he seems to be getting ORT books to practise on, rather than decodable books, which focus on the sounds they are learning and revising 'sounds' already learned, won't be helping.

Original poster
TheRealYellowWiggle · 07/04/2014 19:15

Well I've just pulled out some of his teeth to see if that helps (kidding) - he has lost some during p.1. I see the teacher's reference to not having all his sounds must have been over-simplified if it takes two years to learn them all. I can see I'm going to need to knuckle down and do some work on phonics myself, I do have another DC so should be useful for the future too.. I have quite a strong regional accent (not the same as my dc's) so worry my oohs and ows are different to theirs Grin
At school they do some Songbirds books as well as the Kipper ones.

OP posts:
maizieD · 07/04/2014 19:40

I have quite a strong regional accent (not the same as my dc's) so worry my oohs and ows are different to theirs

That's not a problem as long as you are aware of it Grin Just teach them to their accent. I know it feels odd. That's what I had to do as a Southerner working with children from the NE.

Quckstart · 07/04/2014 19:46

My mum was a teacher with a very different accent to the local one where she was teaching. It wasn't a problem, the children (and now my children too) just translate! So, mum reads Johnny got in the bath, child reads back Johnny got in the barrr ff th

Did give us a giggle when DS1 referred to an Anti-Aircraft gun (in a book) as an Aunty-Aircraft gun (pronounced arrnty)

Original poster
TheRealYellowWiggle · 07/04/2014 22:48

Anti and auntie sound exactly the same to me
See this is why a tutor might be easier! Though I'd have to sell organs to pay for it.

OP posts:
CecilyP · 08/04/2014 09:38

I wouldn't worry, 'auntie' is an oddly spelt word in anybody's accent. Unless your DS speaks broad Glesga and you want a tutor to speak the same!

mrz · 08/04/2014 12:45

is a spelling for /ar/ or /a/ depending on accent in words like aunty and laugh and draught

kw13 · 08/04/2014 13:46

My DS at 6 was a reluctant reader - and then we discovered Top Trumps. He realized how much fun could be had, the importance of being able to read, and got his speed up. Other games followed really quickly. Children's scrabble was more fun and work for him that I thought it would be. Good luck!

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