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Primary education

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

Original poster

Year 2 and reluctant reader.

60 replies

Spiderpigspiderpig · 18/09/2016 21:06

Ds is in yr 2, he's the oldest in the class. Turned 7 last week.
He's on the red books for reading and at the lowest level in his whole class. I know as I volunteer listen with them all.
He reads a page every day, but he hates it and is very reluctant and it takes ages to just get him to read a sentence.... Hence the only 1 page.
Also from being a volunteer listener I've also noticed from the other kids reading diaries that ds reads the most at home than any of the other kids.
So why is he so behind? I'm getting so frustrated with him that I sometimes get cross.
Does it just come naturally to some?

OP posts:
louisejxxx · 18/09/2016 22:47

Is he still decoding the words as in he can't read or is it more messing around as in he won't read?

IsItMeOr · 18/09/2016 22:54

Bluntly, if he's only reading a page a day, then he won't be reading more than other children at home. By the start of Y2, DS would be able to read a whole school book in about 10 minutes.

What's your instinct on what the problem is?

ChablisTyrant · 18/09/2016 22:56

What phonics scheme do they follow? The whole book banding thing can be very confusing for beginner readers. A child in a supportive home read environment should be making good progress by year 2...

sirfredfredgeorge · 18/09/2016 23:08

So far this term DD has three entries in her reading diary, totalling 10 minutes of reading, she reads for ~30 minutes in bed every night, she reads all sorts of stuff all day, it's simply not recorded in her diary because such a thing would be nothing but make work for everyone concerned.

I think you need to look into more why he's struggling, rather than worry about comparisons with others.

tooyoungtobeagrandma · 18/09/2016 23:26

My grandson at the start of Y2 had a reading age of a 5 year old, now at the start of Y4 he has a reading age that matches his real age. Sometimes it takes longer to kick in. His home environment had always been supportive and he had been surrounded by books since birth. He loved being read to. It makes me so mad that late readers are automatically assumed to have an uninterested home life. We, and the school, went back to basics in Y2. The school gave him extra phonics and I went through the whole range of Biff and Chip from level one with him. We have just finished the Planet X series from Oxford Owl and he asks to read to us now. Talk to the school and see what extra resources they can put in for him and be patient with him.

Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 07:00

I'm not really interested in how much the ither kids are reading, I just know that my ds is right at the bottom if the class.
We read a page a day as that's all I can coax out of him. It can take up to 5 minutes for him to read a sentence. By the time he's read it I'm frustrated and he's annoyed.
Plus that's what his teacher suggested to me as he's so reluctant that it's better to read something than nothing at all even if it is only a sentence

He is still sounding out easy 3 letter words like 'not' & 'bed' but he also knows how to sound out harder words like 'train' & 'here'

OP posts:
Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 07:02

We have always read to him at home. I read chapter books to him of an evening now as he's more interested in the advanced story.
He struggle with reading the banded books as he finds the story boring.

OP posts:
InTheDessert · 19/09/2016 07:16

Can you find something simple that would interest him?? It doesn't matter what he's reading, just that he is reading. DS1 much preferred factual books, and superhero comics to biff and chip. So if there is anything (however horrified you are at it) he would be interested in?? Beano comic is often popular. Or sign up for the Lego subscription one. Anything with text that might grab his interest.

Sirzy · 19/09/2016 07:24

Have you spoken to the teacher about it? What is her view?

If he is struggling so much with those books I would consider asking to go back down a level so he can read them easily but learn not to be scared of reading.

Important thing to remember though is it's not a race!

MrsKCastle · 19/09/2016 07:33

It sounds as though the key may he finding something to motivate him.

Some ideas: earning a specific reward for each time he reads e.g. 20p pocket money.
Get a small whiteboard and write a 'secret message' each night, just a simple sentence e.g. 'We will go to the shop' (making sure he knows or can decode all the words). Or a silly question that he can answer- 'Is this a big green cat?' With a picture of a dog.
If he still needs to practise CVC words, write 5-6 on cards and scatter them face up over the floor. 'Find 'bag'. Go and stand on 'hat' etc.
You're sharing chapter books- give him one word per page that is 'his' words to read, point it out at the start of the page so he knows it's coming and as soon as he has read it, move straight on so the flow isn't interrupted too much.
You could also try something like Reading Chest which is like a library but books are sent through the post.

user789653241 · 19/09/2016 08:07

How about cartoon/graphic nobel type books? Less words each page to read, but you can still talk about lots of things and fun to read.

Does he like using computer? Try something like Poptropica
You have to read simple instruction to play the game.

CodyKing · 19/09/2016 08:15

Look up precision teaching - it's something like James and gwen-

You pick 5 words - put them in the table and they have one minute to read as many as they can

Pick 2 they know and 3 they don't

There's a list to help you decide

Try it

Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 09:55

Some great ideas. Thank you.
He has been known to sit in his room and write full page stories - with lots of spelling mistakes but he's keen in that sense.
It's just reading. He loves to flick through dino fact books & deadly 60 books but he never reads. Just looks at pictures.
I think a lot of it is lazyness.

I'll try rewards, thanks castle some great ideas.
Comics I'll try too. Thank you.

OP posts:
Believeitornot · 19/09/2016 13:02

Maybe you getting cross doesn't help.... Plus you being in the class volunteering. That must put him under massive pressure!

My ds is nearly 7, in year 2 and I had to stop doing reading with him very quickly and got dh to do it instead because he's more patient than me. His reading really came on and he relaxed more.

So can your dh, if he's about, do it instead?

Believeitornot · 19/09/2016 13:03

I will add, ds doesn't like doing his homework with me - I had to leave him to it and he actually did it without me nagging him. He really feels self conscious in front of me with these things even though I've never overtly said anything!

Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 16:36

I no longer volunteer, but he did enjoy me coming in and was less reluctant in school.
Dh isn't an option I'm afraid. I don't get too cross more frustrated.

OP posts:
Phoeba · 19/09/2016 16:49

It's worth seeing if he's got mild Dyslexic.

Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 18:03

I did wonder that pheoba
He started wearing glasses at age 5. Which has made a great difference, but not enough to be at the level he should be for his age group.
The teachers haven't mentioned it but I'll ask them. Thanks

OP posts:
jennielou75 · 19/09/2016 18:18

There is a series of books called the amazing secret diary of pig by Emer Stamp....they are great and have loads of fun voices for the different characters as well as the words poo and fart! I read them to my year 2 class with lots of am dram and many of them are reading them at home. I know one parent who is using it as a reward for doing homework and reading school books.....whatever works you just need to find the type of book that hooks him in.

QueenofTinyThings · 19/09/2016 18:55

I cant add much to the ideas already suggested -

Try not to do the school book at bedtime when he may be tired.

I sometimes do a page each to keep momentum going, child reads a page, I read a page, child reads... when decoding is slow.
Choose a different place to read - under the duvet with a torch, in a den with a blanket etc.
Perhaps choose some ebooks - oxford owl is a free site with scheme books available to read . It might seem less like a chore if its on a tablet.
Echo reading can also help if the scheme books ds is reading are getting babyish or boring. Choose a harder book and read together, you reading aloud, pointing to each word and ds reading along with you, following the print and 'echoing' you, ie saying the word the split second after you.

Maybe your ds is not a phonetic learner, how does he cope with reading the 'tricky' words, that are not decodable? I have had children that could not read tiny words like 'at', 'in' or 'if' but could quite happily read words like 'people' or 'children' as they recognised the shape of the word.
Mild dyslexia may be a problem, however all children learn at different rates, so maybe he is just not ready yet. I would have a chat to the class teacher to see what they think.

mrz · 19/09/2016 19:45

What are the school doing to help him?

Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 19:51

Thanks jennie if it has the word fart in he will love it!
It just trying to encourage him to read it and not wanting me to do it

OP posts:
Original poster
Spiderpigspiderpig · 19/09/2016 19:57

Thanks queen I do do alot of reading for him, I read to him every day. It's not that he's not interested in books, he's just not interested in reading them.
He hasn't progressed with his reading much at all, since reception.
Reading is slow and painful, he can sound out many words but he's sounding them out and not taking in the story.
He's the same with tricky words as with easy ones, and often refuses to try.

mrz the school are giving him extra phonics sessions in school and extra tasks at home but he knows all his phonics sounds easily. He just can't seem to see them when reading.

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Coconut0il · 19/09/2016 19:58

Will he read to anyone else? I'm a TA and the children at work are always willing and enjoy reading/discussing with me. Would my DS1 ever read willingly? Never. From Y2 up we had 40 mins crying and moaning before he would read one page. He had no issues he just didn't want to do it. After a couple of months of this I got my mom involved and he would read to herConfused He's 13 now and we have a great relationship but we still cannot do any kind of learning/homework activity togetherGrin

Also if he is still on red books in year 2 I would expect the school to be providing some sort of support. Even an extra 10 minutes of daily reading could help.

Coconut0il · 19/09/2016 20:01

There is an app called teach your monster to read that we use with some of our reluctant readers. It's free at the moment, you make a monster and there are different levels. Just something different to try.