Group Reading

[TeddyBare]

DS is in year 2. He read individually with his teacher once last half term and twice with the TA. DP and I read with him every day but DP reads with him in his language. I read the school reading scheme book once or twice in the week and apart from that we do library books. I have spoken to the teacher about the lack of reading with her last half term and she said that they generally use group reading in the school. I have seen the group reading plan for this half term and some groups are reading with the TA and some are with the teacher. Most of the groups read 3 times per week but DS's group are only reading twice, once with the teacher and once with the TA. I'm worried that he isn't doing enough reading at school. AIBU to be worried or does this seem a bit off to you?

My Yr2 DD reads once a week or once a fortnight on her own and then does guided/group reading once a week (I believe, certainly not more than once a week).

As far as I can work out DS doesn't do any individual reading in Yr 1. They do guided reading in a group, I think 2-3 times a week but DS is not a reliable witness. The teacher said she makes sure she hears each group herself at once a week.

I'm not worried as such, a bit surprised maybe. DS is a strong reader though, I hope they do more individually with those that need it.

They also do phonics sessions every day, I guess that would still be happening in Year 2? And there's reading involved in other lessons, so it's not like they read twice a week and that's all.

Guided reading twice a week and occasional individual reading seems pretty normal to me!

As long as he is happy and progressing is the main thing. And if he is bilingual, that is good too, though could make it a bit harder for him.

This may be helpful:

An inexpensive and easy to use book, that can encourage children with reading, spelling and writing is mentioned in the MN Book Reviews section. In “Children’s educational books and courses”, the Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary presents words by their initial SOUND, unlike a ‘normal’ dictionary, which is always in alphabetical order. Thus, in the ‘S’ section are words like ‘cinema’ and ‘cycle’, which have a ‘S’ sound, even though they are spelt with ‘C’.

The Dictionary is colourful and amusingly illustrated, and can be used by children on their own, or with adult support, from Reception age right up to the start of secondary school.

The review has a link to view sample pages, and purchase if you so wish.

Teddybare:

Just a parent - but the general rule of thumb is once they're free reading (and I don't quite know where your DS is on that path) is to encourage 20/30 minutes of pleasurable reading a night.

We found after bath/ before bed was a nice quiet lull in our evening and could accommodate this. One DD could read to us whilst the other was having their bath.

If they're still learning to sound out words (and finding it a bit tricky) - my advice is that if you're worried he's not getting enough reading time in school consider doing more at home:

Maybe increasing number of times he reads to you each week (from 2/3 to 4/5) also consider something like audio books - don't underestimate the value of hearing English children' literature for pronunciation/ vocabulary/ comprehension. Many newspapers have free CDs every now and then (particularly the Guardian). You can also check them out from local libraries.

Many libraries have story time for children - where adults read them stories - and this is ideal for children that are starting to read well, but still having a few struggles (maybe pronouncing more complicated words). Often local libraries do more during school half-terms/ holidays.

Y2 isn't too old for CBEEBIES bedtime stories: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jdlm2/episodes/player - on nightly 6:50 p.m. - also listen out to see what the plays/ stories are on BBC 4 (sometimes they do classics which are appropriate for children - e.g. Harry Potter books at Christmas one year).

If you're worried that your own abilities with English aren't as good as the teachers' - consider asking the school if your child can read with a native English speaker once a week (most schools have parent volunteers for reading that fulfill this role). This may be a solution that suits the busy teacher and also helps you feel he's getting plenty of 'reading time' in school.

HTH