Unkeen reader- Y1

[SuiGeneris]

DS2 has started Y1 today and has come home with an ORT 7 book. He can read it ok but is simply not interested. He is young for the year, spring birthday, and just wants to play. I am concerned that by being put on advanced books too soon (even though he can read them) he will be put off reading.

Also, ORT 7 books are long, this one is 32 pages, and while his older brother devours books, DS2 does not and might just feel discouraged by the length. What would you do? The context is a private primary, albeit v gentle in a class where he is the second youngest...

If he can read it I would just get him to read it and put it away. If he gets more than one or two books home a week I wouldn't read them all, just one or two. It shouldn't take too long and it'll give him practice.

His brother used to get a book a day... today we only managed 3 pages out of 32...

Maybe you and your ds read alternative pages? I think reading 3 pages is better than not reading at all.

Just read what he feels he can. A few pages is better than none! Also, you reading a page then him, is a great idea too.

Would he be more interested if he had more choice over the book? Try letting him choose some books from the library or even a comic book to capture his interest.

Let him read books he is interested in and don't worry about the school book. I'd think it's more important he continued to enjoy reading at this age.
I was told by one of dds teachers that there should be at least 5 'new' words in a book that she does not understand/know for it to be the right challenge, but really no more than that. Not sure how true that is but I found it a useful guide for picking library books.

Dd very similar, also just started yr 1. We try to read every day so it becomes a routine and she knows it has to happen. We use the reading chest so have read throughout the summer but it's hard work, she distracts herself, asks millions of questions about the book, has a little dance etc. to try and get out of reading.

Anyway I have found setting the page she has to read up to helps, we put a bookmark in that page and keep working towards it. She has never read a whole book in one sitting, think it just looks like it will take too long to her. I usually do about 10 pages, so takes 3 nights to get through a 32 page ort book. I find it utterly frustrating that she has picked up the whole reading thing so quickly but seems to do anything to avoid it.

It can help to set a timer for a specific length of time so your child knows that when it pings he can stop. Keep it short - 5 mins per day lengthen to 10 mins if coping but do tell your chil;d when you extend the time.

We did as Tissie suggests and read for time not pages. If she read school book for 10 mins then I read story book (of choice) to her for 10 min. If she read for 15 min then I read for 15 min.

My DD enjoys reading together - she reads first sentence, I do next, and we get through the book much quicker (or read for one character, she does for the other). She also gets pushed on by my speed of reading to read faster (otherwise she can spend an hour just looking at pictures, and who has an hour at night).

...and we got a book every day since Reception.

We read to a timer too. My son is in yr1 and reads ten minutes (which is usually just over half a book). He isn't exactly a big reader but a good reader (Purple at school but reads Orion early readers) and after reading school books he much prefers non fiction books if he has a choice. He is also more willing to read more than ten minutes of a minecraft guide or a space or fact book or an Orion reader as they are a lot less 'dry' than biff and chip.

Think my dd might just mess around until the alarm went off if we had a timer then flounce off having read practically nothing. Frustrating as I find it, the encouragement needed to keep going to a set page does work for us, I can see the satisfaction on dd's face when we get there. She's just moved on to the white level books so quite a lot of text per page but 10 pages takes usually about 15 mins.

As a Y1 teacher I'd be happy if he read 3 or 4 pages a night rather than the whole book and feeling forced and unhappy.

dd might just mess around until the alarm went off if we had a timer then flounce off having read practically nothing

Two can play that game . I can do a fairly mean act of staring at ceiling cracks mid sentence. It worked for us because she loved being read to but hated reading. We now know that she has Irlens syndrome which is why she found it so frustrating.

My son is y1 and reading is a struggle for him. We read a page each and this has helped massively. We also do it at bedtime, all snuggled up before I read to him. This makes him enjoy the reading more. I hope that helps!

Shouldwe - I had to look up what Irlens syndrome was, must have made concentrating on reading really hard for your dd. Hope you have found something that's helps her. My dd unfortunately is just queen of distraction!

a few things:

1. once th ebooks get longer, don't even try to read a whole book in one sitting. Look at teh clock, 10 minutes reading, then stop. Get/make a bookmark to show where you are. Make the stopping sound good "Oh we have to stop ther, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens!!!"
2. next day look back over what has already been read and summarise. You might even read the last page out loud.
3. if he is bored, break it up, read alternate pages, do funny voice, ask him if he can do a scary voice for the bad guy. make it all about the story and not about 'reading'
4. try different times to read - first thing in morning, after school after drink and snack, after dinner, just before bed, my 3 all had different times which worked for them. I had said I would never do it in the morning - too rushed, but dd2 is such a morning person, she does all reading/homework in the mornings
5. above all, reading should be about a love of books. Find books ds likes - ANY books will do and read aloud to him for fun. Focus on stories and not reading

my 6 year old informed her TA in Year 1 that the ORT reading books were very dull and the chapter books from home were much more interesting so could she just read one of her books, TA listened to her with one and left her doing what she wanted. The scheme books are dull as dishwater, even the better ones. If he can be persuaded to read more interesting books that appeal to him (he might like non fiction for example) then he could always do 3 pages of theirs and then some of his choice.

Thank you all, will try all the suggestions, especially reading to time. We always read snuggled up and I have also bought him Lego books, magazines etc but he has the opposite of a growth mindset at the moment: if he cannot read a word at first sight he complains the book is too difficult and gives up completely...

Have you had his eyes tested? My daughters reading speed and concentration is significant slower without her glasses.

Its free too under the NHS

I have one avid reader agw12 and one reluctant reader age 10. I read to both every night and it has hugely helped
Try and get your reluctant reader to just read a bit every day and by Year 3 or age 8 it will all fall into place

I don't have a clue about levels but I would focus on reading for enjoyment and don't be too wedded to the school books. You may have more interesting stuff on your own shelves or from the local library.