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Primary education

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Original poster

Son stuck with reading

27 replies

Bumblebeeep · 16/11/2018 20:03

My DS in year 1 seems to be stuck on the blue reading band and doesn’t seem to be anywhere near progressing from it. His teacher said she had hoped he would have moved to green by now. She was vague when I asked what we could do to help him other than hearing him every night. We already do this. Is there anything else I can do to help him?

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 16/11/2018 20:06

Are you just “hearing him”?

Did she say what’s stopping him moving up? Is it his ability to read the words accurately or is it his comprehension?

Original poster
Bumblebeeep · 16/11/2018 20:10

His ability to decode certain phonic sounds isn’t there, he really struggles with “igh” for example. He also struggles with discussing what he’s read even if he has understood it. He just wants to be off and onto the next thing.
Yes, I just listen to him read his book and then get him to look again at words/ sounds he’s struggled with.
What more can I be doing?

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 16/11/2018 20:14

Have they put in any intervention in place at school to help him with the phonics he hasn’t got yet?

You could play some games with the sounds he struggled, pairs with one picture of a night, one card with the word “night” written etc.

PurpleDaisies · 16/11/2018 20:21

Should have said, it sounds like you’re doing a really good job reading with him every night. That’s not easy and I hope the teacher wasn’t trying to guilt you into thinking it was somehow your fault your son hadn’t moved up. Some children just go more slowly than others.

Do you think he’s understanding what he’s reading from what he’s telling you?

Nsbgsyebebdnd · 16/11/2018 20:24

I used an app called pocket phonics that my dd loved. I’m not sure what blue band is as we have a different system so I’m not sure if the above is appropriate but may be worth a look?

Biologifemini · 16/11/2018 20:26

I read to my kid a lot at that age with my finger under each word so they learned a bit from me, rather than making them read.
This worked really well for me and they are now great.
It took the pressure off then struggling through the whole book.

FullOfJellyBeans · 16/11/2018 20:27

You could try a different reading scheme at home? You can get read write inc. black and white books quite cheaply on amazon - I found these really good for solidifying phonic knowledge.

FullOfJellyBeans · 16/11/2018 20:28

An app might also really help if it's specific phonics sounds he's missing.

Tinty · 17/11/2018 15:57

Yes, I just listen to him read his book and then get him to look again at words/ sounds he’s struggled with.
What more can I be doing?

You need to also read to him.

It is just as important for you to read to him every night, as to hear him read to you.

Let him read his book to you. Then you read it to him. Also read other books to him. Smile

cucumbergin · 17/11/2018 16:06

Agree with Tinty - read to him too!

DS enjoyed Teach Your Monster To Read, and Hairy Phonics apps, and I think that helped to really consolidate his phonics understanding even when he was point blank refusing to read to us at home. We just kept reading his other books to him, and he saw the apps as "play" not "school" so would happily spend time on them.

catkind · 17/11/2018 16:09

Hi OP, I volunteer with year 1s, one thing I find really helpful when they're finding digraphs and trigraphs tricky is to write out the word on scrap paper and put in sound buttons - a dot under each single letter sound, a line under multi-letter sounds like igh. Then they are still reading the word themselves and getting practice rather than me doing it for them.

If that particular sound is giving trouble, maybe you and he could collect all the "igh" words from his book and write them on scrap paper to practice. Or if there aren't enough in his book, get him to help out with "igh" words in his bedtime story and collect them from there? Or make cardboard squares with "igh" and other graphemes and practice making words with them? My DC used to enjoy making silly sentences this way.

Original poster
Bumblebeeep · 17/11/2018 17:05

Thanks for all the ideas I will be trying them all out with him. We do read bedtime stories to him every night as well.
Out of interest does anyone know how far behind he is to what is expected at this point in year one?

OP posts:
BayTrees · 17/11/2018 17:07

Small cards with words on to practise, including other examples with th same grapheme. Show them and read carefully. Put face down, hide under a piece of material or otherwise hide. You can make this easier by leaving face down but uncovered so the position might give a clue, hidden completely to make harder. Remove a random card. What word is missing? Allow child to read all remaining words and figure out. Vary number of cards to make easier/harder. Lots of praise.
Write pairs of each word and turn over. Find pairs (words must be read aloud to check). Words can be chosen for phonic support or from current book to practise tricky words before reading

lorisparkle · 17/11/2018 17:17

In year 1 there is a huge variation in readers. I listened to children read when my ds was in year 1 and there was some children really struggling and others flying BUT by The end of year 2 some who were struggling were then flying and had caught up or even overtaken some of the ‘flyers’. My ds2 did not ‘get’ reading until the end of year 2 and is now in year 6 and reading 2 years ahead of his chronological age. So please don’t worry too much. Make reading fun, lots of reading together and fun phonic games. My ds1 has dyslexia and I often read 1 line and he read the next just to take the pressure off. However keep talking to the teacher about extra support and working together to support the reading.

Norestformrz · 17/11/2018 17:39

"His ability to decode certain phonic sounds isn’t there, he really struggles with “igh” for example. " has he been taught ?

I'd start by seeing which sounds he knows and where the gaps in his knowledge is.
Which reading scheme and phonics program does his school use?

Di11y · 21/11/2018 21:38

also worth watching alpha blocks on CBeebies, they cover igh

BlueJava · 21/11/2018 21:41

I think if you keep going with him reading to you and you reading to him he'll get it. They all go at a different pace, he'll get there :)

Lindtnotlint · 24/11/2018 19:25

To be fair, blue at this point in Year 1 is not an issue, could easily go up to green then orange by end of year which would be a very typical level. So while this is all good advice you don’t need to panic!

Leyani · 24/11/2018 22:21

Teach your monster to read is a nice app as the parent can steer which sounds get practiced on the next planets. So you could start with ones he’s fairly confident with and then gradually add a few he’s finding more difficult. They do get stuck every so item though, then it clicks and they move through a few bands quickly. Mine was on green just about forever in y1 but has since raced ahead

moredoll · 24/11/2018 22:28

Make sure you keep reading non-school books to him.every night Talk to him, not every night but some times, about what you think could have happened differently, how the hero would behave in a different situation etc etc. . If he just wants to listen, fine. Change his books at the library every week and let him choose.

moredoll · 24/11/2018 22:30

does anyone know how far behind he is to what is expected at this point in year one?

I don't think it's helpful to anyone to think of it like this.

cucumbergin · 24/11/2018 22:33

Mine kept creating new monsters in Teach Your Monster To Read and doing the early planets again. But I guess it worked for him - he was having fun, and it helped him get pretty solid on his phonics so he probably needed the extra practice of doing it over and over.

lifebegins50 · 24/11/2018 22:35

My ds was stuck on the lower bands in reception & year 1 and just didn't seem to be able to move forward. Sometime in Year 2 he just jumped ahead and overtook all the previous early readers.

He is now an avid reader, years beyond his chronological age.

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 25/11/2018 05:33

To reach the expected level at the end of Year 1, children need to be secure orange. I would expect any child on blue books at this stage to reach that level. I don't think I've ever had a child on blue before Christmas NOT reach the expected level (and some children still on pink/red at this stage will also manage it).

Children can plateau at times. And then gallop on at others. Keep on reading with him. And, as PP have said, read to him, to make sure books remain fun.

sashh · 25/11/2018 06:28

How about reading a page each? Or a line each?

What is he interested in? My brother never read a book for pleasure until his late teens but read loads comics, historical books, books about WWII.

OK I know your ds is a long way from free reading but the principle is the same. Do you have a local library? When I was a child a trip to the library was a special event, their books were much more exciting than the ones at home.

Use any opportunity to read. You may be able to make a sponge cake with no recipe, but if you get a recipe then ds can help you read it and make the cake. He won't know he is practicing reading, he'll be more interested in the cake.

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