Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

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

Flip

Original poster

Reading with a child from the year above

11 replies

Ouroboros · 06/10/2014 14:38

Hello, just wanted some advice as not sure how to go ahead with this.
My DD is in Year 1 and can read at a higher level than the rest of the class. Her teacher has suggested that she could read with a child from Year 2, as there is not enough time to read with her individually. I talked about this with my sister, who thought that the teacher or the TA should make time to read with my DD. She also thought it might ostracise my DD as I have worried about her social skills in the past (she has friends but tends to do better one on one than in groups and isn't one of the more popular kids, which is fine as that's just how she is).
I was happy with the teacher's suggestion, especially as I was in the same position at primary school, and still remember having to read on my own, so thought that pairing up with an older child would actually benefit my DD socially, but now don't know if I should tell her teacher that someone should find the time to read with her individually in class.
Any advice gratefully received, thanks!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

TrisisFour · 06/10/2014 14:47

OP, my DD is in a similar situation. In YR she was the most advanced reader and had to always read on her own. Because of that she has no experience of reading in a group.

She's now moved into Y1 and it is a Y1/Y2 class. They have moved her up yet another level in reading and now she is in a group with 3 children from Y2. She can read the words without a problem at all but the teacher is saying that she is struggling to answer questions about the book. I asked the teacher whether they had explained to her how to read in a group. They hadn't. I said that she is 'just 5' and that she's never read in a group before. She will need some assistance in how it works (listening when others are reading etc).

Having said that, DD's expression in her reading has really improved from being in a group so it looks like this is going to be good for her.

I would give it a couple of weeks of reading with the Y2 child and monitor it. Other than it being new for DD it hasn't phased her at all, reading with the Y2 children.

WorraLiberty · 06/10/2014 14:52

But it's not either/or is it?

The teacher or TA will still read with her now and then and I'm sure you'll be doing the same at home.

If she does better in a one on one situation, that's great. It means she'll probably make a friend in the year above as well as her own year.

I don't know why she thinks it might ostracise your child, why would the other kids care or even notice?

Amateurseamstress · 06/10/2014 15:58

Do they definitely mean her reading just with the Y2 child? Sounds more to me like she will be in a group of 2, reading with a teacher/TA. If so, I'd be very happy with that.

Original poster

Ouroboros · 06/10/2014 16:01

Well, I thought it would be fine but once somebody says something negative in your head you can't help overthinking things!

OP posts:

Original poster

Ouroboros · 06/10/2014 16:03

Superfluous 'in your head' there, that's obviously where you think!

OP posts:

hels71 · 06/10/2014 16:05

I think it depends on exactly what they mean. If they mean the only reading she will be doing is to another child then I would object. If they mean she will be doing group reading/reading with an adult with older children then that should not be a problem.

WorraLiberty · 06/10/2014 16:33

In my DC's school, they do paired reading...where they pair up a slightly more able child with a slightly less able child. This makes sense (as long as the kids get along) and has good proven results.

I'm assuming (though perhaps wrongly), that as your child is the most able reader in the class, it makes sense to pair her up with an older child?

If that is the case, the teacher/TA will still hear her read but just not as often.

Original poster

Ouroboros · 06/10/2014 22:29

Thanks for all the responses, will have another chat with the teacher to work out logistics. Ostracised was probably too strong a word, think my sister meant DD might get left out of things with her own classmates.
She has been doing group reading since reception which has been good for her confidence and comprehension, but now there's not much point in reading with her group in Y1. I think it's just hit a nerve with me as I can remember feeling a bit segregated over reading and that was 30 years ago...

OP posts:

StripyBanana · 06/10/2014 22:32

In our school they split all 3 yr1 classes up for reading, so the top few are reading together at their level. Do they not do anything like this? I was worried about my daughter standing out (as I did) but where they mix everyone up, everyone expects to move around without taking much notice where everyone else goes.

18yearstooold · 06/10/2014 22:32

My dd used to read with an older class for guided reading which worked fine until about yr4

Yr 5&6 was an awful lot of repetition

mrsmortis · 07/10/2014 13:47

Last year when my DD was in YR she and two others from her class did their literacy with Y1 from about half way through the spring term.

It might have been a bit different because there were 3 of them (I'm so happy that she's in an able year and has peers to stretch her) so I didn't have to worry about her being the only one who was different. But she loved it and it was really good for her especially when it comes to her vocabulary and the fluency of her reading.

Flip