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

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

Primary education

Ds's first reading book has no words...

87 replies

Bagina · 12/10/2016 17:58

Should I be worried? I'm not really a pushy parent, but this seems a bit crap. He's in reception. He's a bright child but more with numbers. Reading and writing hasn't clicked yet, but he uses his sounds and blending, and can read some words. It is like pulling teeth though. Do I just chill and up the "encouragement" slightly? What the hell do I do with a book with no words? I know we discuss the pictures, but that's going back 3 years surely???

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lacebell10 · 14/10/2016 01:27

My dd school doesn't do a reading scheme. The children have free choice in reading books from no words to fact books. The schools philosophy is if they are interested in it they will want to enjoy and share it. We are told to work on enjoying them, getting children to predict what will happen and seeing if it does, understanding feelings, picking out sounds they know. Not to get pedantic on the correct word but the meaning if they say farm not field or cold instead of cool; just keep going and let them continue with the flow.
more important are the skills of storytelling, enjoyment, comprehension and prediction skills rather than decoding at this age.

mrz · 14/10/2016 05:12

prh47bridge · 14/10/2016 08:06

more important are the skills of storytelling, enjoyment, comprehension and prediction skills rather than decoding at this age

A common argument by those who are apparently happy that 20% of children should fail to learn to read and refuse to adopt the approach that has the highest success rate.

The idea that synthetic phonics somehow stops children enjoying reading is rubbish. You can't enjoy reading unless you can actually read. Decoding is the central skill needed to achieve that.

WhattodoSue · 14/10/2016 08:37

Learning to read requires a huge amount of effort. For both my children, what has made it enjoyable is getting to the stage where enough words are read automatically (achieved after reading them many times, not out of context memorising) and they have a mechanism for approaching new words (e.g. sounding them out). It doesn't make sense to me to allow children to use strategies which ultimately are not going to allow them to progress - when the pictures are fewer and the words are more complex, surely a child is just left with ineffective strategies and gets frustrated. But this isn't a reading strategy thread so anyway.

user789653241 · 14/10/2016 08:37

Problem is if the school said those to parents, we just have to believe what they say.
People who comes on MN are lucky, they can learn what is correct way, or if the school is not doing something right.
But for most parents, they have no choice. And even some teachers on MN insists on wrong methods... It's quite scary for a parents to know each school differ so much.

gruffaloshmuffalo · 14/10/2016 08:45

My ds is in reception and is on books with no words. Although the first words were on a sign in this book. His teacher told us he'll be on books with words over half term as he's ready for them. We don't stress about it really.

Bagina · 14/10/2016 09:36

Thanks all. I got loads of fun books from the library yesterday. I read a few then switched to a very basic book, where he managed to read about 5 of the words I asked him to such as: of, the, dog, cat. He sounded them out and blended them. I'm happy to keep doing this at home and he is proud of himself. It's very casual.

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Butteredpars1ps · 14/10/2016 09:48

Why / who put your children's reading level on Facebook???????

Another reason to avoid it.

Bagina · 14/10/2016 10:03

I'm referring to parents who like to give a blow by blow account of their child's greatness on a day by day basis on fb. I know they do it cos they're insecure, but it actually made me question myself. I'm not on it; dh told me. I can't bear it. Nobody has put my son's reading level on.

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Feenie · 14/10/2016 12:54

My dd school doesn't do a reading scheme. The children have free choice in reading books from no words to fact books. The schools philosophy is if they are interested in it they will want to enjoy and share it. We are told to work on enjoying them, getting children to predict what will happen and seeing if it does, understanding feelings, picking out sounds they know. Not to get pedantic on the correct word but the meaning if they say farm not field or cold instead of cool; just keep going and let them continue with the flow.

Ah yes - that famously successful method of learning to read by osmosis! Unsurprisingly, learning to read using real.books only does not have a great track record - and if this is a state school, they are also not following the statutory curriculum.

jayisforjessica · 15/10/2016 12:57

Have you thought about helping him write some of his stories down?

I realize it's a separate issue from the reading and the wordless books, but you said he's a sensitive, creative kid with a great vocabulary. I wonder how much fun he'd have if you let him dictate a story to you that you could type up, print off, and have him do the pictures for? It could be really fun for both of you, and a great learning experience for him if you're worried the school isn't extending him enough just yet?

(Just my two cents, feel free to disregard!)

PrincessHairyMclary · 15/10/2016 13:09

The OXford Owl website is free to use (just need to register) and has a tonne of Ebooks. We often used this when DD hadnt changed her book as they are the same ones they use at school.

Bagina · 15/10/2016 13:33

jayisforjessica what a fantastic idea! Thank you, we'll try that! And do a nice front cover!

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Bagina · 15/10/2016 13:35

PrincessHairyMclary thank you. Do you just put the new title in the reading diary, even if it wasn't allocated by the school?

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mrz · 15/10/2016 13:42

I wouldn't bother writing them in the diary unless the school ask you to record any books read at home

smellyboot · 15/10/2016 20:06

Perfectly normal and loads of schools use them to start them off.

Wigeon · 15/10/2016 20:12

The Snowman has no words but is absolutely gripping. Anthony Browne books often have very few words with lots going on in the illustrations. We got this book called Journey from the library recently and it's absolutely beautiful and tells a lovely story, despite having no words.

So enjoy having a book with no words! I'm sure he'll get books with lots of words in it soon.

mrz · 15/10/2016 20:25

The Snowman is very different to ORT wordless reading scheme books

PrincessHairyMclary · 15/10/2016 21:21

In Reception I only wrote down the school ones and the teacher brought up that she'd notice we didn't do much reading and that more frequent reading benefits children during our first parents evening so I explained I didn't realise I should write down other books. Since then I write pretty much everything she reads in her Diary only takes a few moments during breakfast in the morning. If she reads to herself I just write the book name and 'Independent reading'. She finished her reading book 2 weeks ago and hasnt changed it yet.

We normally have three books on the go; school book, her independent reading books and then the ones I read her which are normally classics with less common language than the ones she reads Alice, Narnia etc.

bangingmyheadoffabrickwall · 15/10/2016 22:19

Started on 'Lilac' books if following Book Bands.

I am a teacher and we start our YR children off on Lilac. It is good for children to tell stories using their own words and to associate pictures with sequencing of stories. So much teaching can be utilised with pictures.

My own DS came home with his first reader - a lilac book. DS was a bit perplexed as to why there were no words but as soon as I said "read me your story', he was off! 'Reading' the story using the pictures and his own words.

mrz · 16/10/2016 05:29

But he isn't "reading" the story. He's "telling" a story. It's a very different thing, a composition skill not a reading skill.

Idliketobeabutterfly · 16/10/2016 08:18

Only books to read together so far here. But the school just started read write inc this year so think still getting their bearings

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heateallthebuns · 16/10/2016 08:36

Just ignore the Facebook posts! Pride comes before a fall!! I'll not put any boasty posts on till it's a degree they've done!!! That's what my dais did and all the boasty people from through the years who's kids were now flitting from dead end job to dead end job weren't so chipper then!!!

As a side point my nephew learned to read in Sweden where they don't even start till they're seven, at the time I was worried he'd miss out on Ronald Dahl etc. But he easily passed out his English cousins once he started!

katand2kits · 16/10/2016 10:54

The Julia Donaldson songbirds box set is great, the first few stories are very easy to decode for beginners. My son has also just started reception, we had a couple of weeks of these picture books, I wrote in his reading record that he can decode simple 2 and 3 letter words and then we got a pink band book this weekend. Its rubbish though, it isn't a story. Usborne also do a phonics box set, have a look on the book people site.

mrz · 16/10/2016 11:01

Can I ask what reading scheme Kat?

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