Is this standard ability for year 1?

[Freespirit1511]

This is impossible for my autumn born year 1 child but this also seems really hard to read? Not sure how concerned I should be!

I work in a Year 1 class.

I think most of our class would be able to sound out and read the sentences in the first column. A few would be able to say the individual sounds but be unable to blend them to make words.

The second column has some of the phase 3 phonics sounds that we haven't yet covered (ai, ar, oi) so most would struggle with those. They are learning them fairly quickly though, so it would be different in a few weeks time.

I don't think any of our class would be able to read the third column yet.

The class will have lost a term of phonics teaching during lockdown and so may be a bit further behind than last year's Year 1 children (in our school anyway).

At this stage of the year I think the hardest column would be beyond the vast majority of Y1s, and is probably aimed at the really exceptional students. The easy column I think most Y1s could read, and some bright reception children.

I just asked my year one son to read them a and he had no problem I would say he's above average in the class but not at the top.

Just tested My year 1 DS - he could do the first 2 columns, and could do the 3rd with help on the ‘air’ and ‘igh’ sounds.

He’s on yellow level books. School said he wasn’t doing that well, are they wrong?

My year one child could do most of the words on all of the columns and I thought he probably around average.

My dd is year 1 and could read them all (her drawing's not amazing so pictures might be a challenge)
But she finds reading easy - there's a huge range of reading ability in her class so more couldn't than could anecdotally from parents.
Can you ask the teacher if he/she has concerns?

I'd say this is age related expectation for this point in the year.

I don't think she actually gets the concept of words. If you were to show her 'sat' for example she would see the individual letters but not get that they combine to make a word. She can't write her name yet etc. School keep saying not to worry!

@Freespirit1511

I don't think she actually gets the concept of words. If you were to show her 'sat' for example she would see the individual letters but not get that they combine to make a word. She can't write her name yet etc. School keep saying not to worry!

We have a small group of children like your DD. They can say the sounds but aren't yet able to blend the sounds to make a word. They're getting extra support but I don't think we're at the worrying stage yet.

We also have children who can't write their names yet. One or two haven't yet settled on a dominant hand for writing. Others need support to help with their fine motor skills. There are a lot of ideas and resources out there but we're currently working on things like threading beads, rolling and squeezing playdough (individual tubs for each child), and using tweezers to pick up small objects.

It does sound she's perhaps a little behind but it's normal for there to be a big range in Y1, Reading often just clicks later for some than others.

DS1 was like that and then one day it seemed to 'click', I wouldn't be too concerned if the school aren't.

Out of curiosity @GottaPlanStan are they more summer borns or does it include the autumn older ones?

DS1 in year one could easily read all of them but would be completely thrown by having to draw them...

I'd have thought this year it would completely depend on when they weren't back in summer term, how many of the kids went back, and what they did in class. My DS's class very few went back for only part of the term, and they only did play not any lessons. His class are currently reading books in class (they all read the same thing at the same time in pairs) at the level of the first column so i think there must be quite a few kids at a similar level to your DC in his class.

I'm a Year 1 teacher.

In previous years, I would expect all children to be able to read mild, most children be able to read medium, and a few to be able to read spicy.

However, with the current cohort (who have missed half of their Reception year), I would not expect most to be able to read beyond mild.

If they have not been reading at home since March, then they would have forgotten some sounds and how to blend.

With my current class, I'm recapping the entire Reception phonics syllabus.

Just asked DD year 1 (march birthday) and she can read them all. Her reading is pretty good, she’s on purple band.

Drawing them would be very tricky for her (or me!!) though

Dd is in Year 1 and can read them all. Ivd hazard that she could draw them too, but her drawing skills are amazing - she soent most of lockdown with pens and a pad.

My DD is Sept born in Yr 1 and would manage all of those, but she is above average for her reading. She is near the top of the reading bands for yr1 and I think she is finding the books too easy.

DD in y1 can read them all. She’s autumn born. We read a lot over lockdown/ summer and she was one of the stronger readers in the class back in March. She could also draw them but it would take bloody forever as she does like to draw with a lot of detail.

I wouldn't worry yet. I work in reception, I would expect most children to be at medium by the end of reception, with a few above, a few below. I would not be concerned if children were still at the 'mild' stage though, especially an August born. Sometimes it just takes a while longer to click, then once they get blending they're off. We would have covered all the graphemes in those sentences by the end of reception, doesn't mean they've stuck though, especially this year!

She's not yet at the mild stage and she is early November born. I think there's a lot of comparing her alongside the summer borns where she is nearly a year old than some of them. She can't yet blend/segment simple cvc words and I've seen the work uploaded for previous weeks homeworks by the other parents and she just seems to be substantially behind :(

She also was in throughout lockdown so had two staff members in a bubble of 10 kids to benefit from for several months.

My DS (now year 2, March birthday) would have been able to read the hardest column this time last year, but he was the most able reader in his class. He would have had a tantrum if asked to draw the pictures though!

This is not unusual in year one OP. Especially as they have missed half of reception. I think much catching up is done in year one. It just takes time for some to get it. But when they do, they make up the lost ground in no time.

My reception child could do the first box so I imagine 3rd by year 1 is pretty standard but I’m not 100%.

@Freespirit1511

She also was in throughout lockdown so had two staff members in a bubble of 10 kids to benefit from for several months.

Might this be part of the issue? I know the key worker children at my son’s school were just getting childcare during the day. Their parents had to catch up with the home learning when they were able to in their off shift days... the kids were’t being “taught” at school. So perhaps she wasn’t getting instruction during that time compared to her peers who were - sort of - being taught at home? All I mean is, don’t beat yourself up about it or feel that she had all that teaching and is therefore apparently even more behind despite it; I’m sure most of the time the staff were just keeping them occupied. (And my older Y1 child can read or sound out up to spicy but certainly couldn’t draw any of it, he doesn’t really get drawing, and I also find the exercise to be set out in quite a challenging/demanding kind of way? It feels set “harder” than the work he is currently being sent home with. He wouldn’t do it independently.)