Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

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

1 2

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

Primary education

Is it normal to be unable to read at start of year one?

41 replies

toadstool · 03/09/2007 18:04

?
DD is a reluctant reader at home, and over the Summer she has lost any ability to recognise the words (a few key words only) from reception. I've realised her 'reading' is mostly guesswork - e.g. 'dog' is 'was' if she reckons that's what she heard me say. Her writing was better but that's gone downhill too - also it's weird 'emerging writing', e.g. 'don't rush' she writes 'dot wush'. I wouldn't worry too much but we're moving to a new school (relocation) in term 2 and I'm concerned that she may be well behind!

OP posts:

Report

handlemecarefully · 04/09/2007 20:32

www.elc.co.uk/toy-41212

I've been playing this game (above) with my 3 year old and 5 year old this evening - Alphabet Bingo. Also made dd demonstrate the phonic actions that accompany each letter sound.

Was a low key and reasonably fun way of helping her with her literacy

Emzy5 · 04/09/2007 20:45

i was a y1 teacher before ds was born and don't worry as all ch develop at diff rates. at the beginning of y1 i would hope ch to know their sounds e.g. ah = a, buh = b etc

using these sounds they can read words like 'dog' by 'sounding them out' e.g. dog = duh oh guh and 'blending them together'.

writing sounds perfectly normal for that age too (again works on the basis that she knows sounds).

hth

Niecie · 04/09/2007 23:15

TheDuchessofNorksBride - Sorry, I didn't mean they were supposed to know all 400 by the end of the Yr R I just meant that we were told that the children were meant to aim towards learning the 400 keywords during their time in the infants and then they would be well on their way to being competent readers.

I put 33 out of 400 to illustrate that he wasn't doing very well and was pretty close to the bottom of the class. (DS is a late July baby too by the way).

Even so I think that DS had done the 400 by the end of the spring term of Yr 1. Partly that was because I didn't realise how important the keywords were in getting through the ORT scheme (and progressing with the reading) and we really concentrated on them until we had worked our way through them, doing 10 words at a time. I think that helped it cick for him. Working through the list so methodically wouldn't have helped everybody but it did for us (although it did involve a lot of expensive 'incentives')!

Partly he managed it because he was ready to do it. Even if I had done the same thing in year R, which I didn't want to do with him being so young, I doubt if he would have moved forward any faster.

MrsWeasley · 04/09/2007 23:23

we had a new child starting in yr1 a few years back who didnt even know his letter sounds and he coped fine and picked it all up.

It does click back into place when they are doing it everyday at school.

Dont worry, enjoy reading your DC a bedtime story and they will want to read to you soon! If possible let them see you read (even the paper or a magazine) it shows them that reading is fun

mamazon · 04/09/2007 23:26

your Dd is doing far better than my son who has just started year 2.

she is also doing better than probably 30% of his class.

toadstool · 05/09/2007 11:48

This is all very reassuring. We tried the library big read but she couldn't hack it, despite the stickers. It's that odd thing about setting an example, as I'm a bookworm and her room is full of books (as is the rest of the house) - but she simply hasn't clicked yet (either that or she's rebelling...).

OP posts:

Niecie · 05/09/2007 12:04

Toadstool maybe it is just that she hasn't found her preferred reading. DS is quite happy with stories but really got into reading when he wanted to read non-fiction which you don't usually chose as bedtime reading for them.

Blu · 05/09/2007 12:10

I sit with handfulls of my hair in my hands over Ds's reading, after another tortuous slow session of reading practice this morning. He is starting Yr 2 and can read haltingly but is not fluent. He's very young in his year (mid july b'day) but even so....AND he's a child whose teachers have regularly described as 'very bright', with brilliant language, maths, science and reasoning skills, apparantly.

Blu · 05/09/2007 12:15

We are in a viscious circle: DS hates reading as he IS so slow at it, and he is desparate to get on with the story or information content - he just can't handle his own slowness. Also, hates the feeling that he is 'failing' by not being able to do it. He loves books, fact and fiction, learns huge tracts of 'grown-up' poetry, composes quite sophisticated poems and song lyrics, etc, but seems almost 'dim' in his inability to get on with reading!

(I don't let my frustration show at all, of course, to him!! And promise i am not pushy with him.)

bozza · 05/09/2007 12:22

blu it just sounds like it hasn't quite clicked with him yet. I would guess it probably will sometime this year. But it is very hard work doing reading with them when they are at that in between stage where the books have got longer but they are still not quite fluent with it.

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 05/09/2007 12:24

Oh Blu I'm sure he'll get there. DD1 is in Year 1 and she's not getting it yet either (she's 6 next month so almost same age as your DS).

Her report said that her oral work is not yet reflected in her written work - she knows LOADS of interesting stuff, loves encyclopedias, atlases, etc she's just behind on the 'learning to read & write' bit. If it clicks for our two this year they will be awesome!

Blu · 05/09/2007 12:38

Yes - thank you - I know you're right - I will wait for the 'click'! But you see, Toadstool - we all worry needlessly!

toadstool · 05/09/2007 14:39

Yes, it's that thing of having to wait, keep encouraging, not pressurise... and other kids seem to have no problem at all (OK - they're probably the minority)! I'll look into changing what I offer her - she loves listening to stories, but on the very rare occasions that she has looked at a book for its words as much as its pictures, it's been a Dr Seuss, and I think I should build on that.

OP posts:

TellusMater · 05/09/2007 14:48

My ds was very reluctant to learn to read, and TBH, I really didn't push it at home. I pretty much left it to the school to do the actual reading with him (it is a great school) and just read loads to him myself at home. And encouraged him to read signs, labels etc. And yes, there was a click.

I know not reading with your children at home is a big no-no, but I talked about it with the teacher and they were very supportive.

Now we just have to work on his bloody writing - and spelling

Azure · 05/09/2007 14:51

DS1 is just entering year 2 (he was 6 last week) and it hasn't fully clicked for him yet - he can read up to a certain level although writing is pretty poor. Many of his classmates are completely fluent readers. I'm not worried because I know that it will happen when he's ready and he loves books so much that I'll have to drag them off him like Bozza's DS. BTW his cousin moved back to the UK from the States a few years ago and entered Y2 completely unable to read - by the end of the year he was fluent.

MrsMarvel · 05/09/2007 14:51

Reading is something that just takes off on its own when the child's ready. When it does come it'll be really quick so don't think he'll have to spend ages catching up. But you do have to keep reading and pointing at words.

Flip

1 2

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.