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Primary education

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

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Original poster

am i expecting too much with ds's reading?

32 replies

canella · 10/12/2009 18:47

We moved away from the UK at the beginning of this year to Germany so ds1 (5.2) hasnt started school here although he would have gone into reception had we stayed in the UK.

So I thought i was doing the right thing by gently encouraging him with learning to read - i bought the "teach your child to read in 100 lessons" book and started it with him just before he'd have been due to start school. I also wanted him to learn to read in English as he'll obviously learn to read in German at school (although he may not start till he's nearly 7)!

He rarely asks to do the reading lesson but happily does it when i ask him to come and do it - i read to him at other times in the day and we talk about sounds and letters as part of everydsay life.

He's doing OK with the reading - would be able to read a sentence such as "the dog was in the park" and he's able to sound out a lot of words but he really struggles to remember new words from one moment to the next. He was driving me silently mad today - the sentence read "the dog sat and sat ......" he sounded out the first sat but at the next one he had no idea what it was!

am i expecting too much at this age - he has an older sister who just found reading much easier but she was in school in the UK and i'm sure she was reading more by this age!

any views welcome!

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sunburntats · 10/12/2009 18:52

yes you are. My son has just "got" reading in his 3rd year at school he is 6.

prior to that if a word was repeated in a sentence, he would get it the 1st time, then not at all the second time. Similarly if he read a page one night, the next night he would struggle with the very same page.

Dont put that much pressure on yourself and on your son.
Sounds like he is doing better than mine did at 5.

sunburntats · 10/12/2009 18:54

sorry, when i say he has just "got" reading, i mean that he is interested in signs and writing on the telly and stuff, trying to read things for himself.
We have always read for pleasure in our house, he has loved books from bieng tiny. I think that this is far more important.

Original poster

canella · 10/12/2009 19:07

think i know i'm being too hard on him but i feel that he's done so well that if i leave it then he'll have lost all that progress.

He likes me to read stories to him but despite doing this lesson for 20 mins every day he never goes and picks up a book himself and tries to read the words - think thats indication itself that he isnt really ready! would be interested to hear what other dc his age are doing in reception - wonder what the school would do to catch his interest?

OP posts:

MrsMattie · 10/12/2009 19:09

If he is reading sentences at just 5 yrs old he is doing really well. I would relax about the whole thing if I were you. He is obviously an able child.

BellsaRinging · 10/12/2009 19:13

My ds is exactly this age and in reception in England. He can't read a sentence. He can't retain a word for 5 minutes, and simply arses around when we try to practice reading. I am trying not to get too frustrated, and am telling myself he will learn when he's ready. He is, I think, reasonably intelligent and gets on well with other children, so I'm trying not to mither and chill out. I think they will start when they're ready and not before!

tribpot · 10/12/2009 19:16

My ds (4.5) has no interest really in reading. He loves doing his letters, and his word tub, but show him a book and he will happily make up a story about what's happening, he doesn't want to read the words. Partly that's the way they are taught (start with books without words so they feel they can interact with them) and so then to make the leap to "oh hang on, you mean I don't just make up a story there are actual words to be read?" is a bit tough. I'm sure it will come out in the wash.

He likes me to read to him and I'm happy to do that, I think that's probably the main thing at this age. He loves testing me on the words in his word tub, and likes to try and spell things out, I think stories are just a bit too much to get their heads round?

tribpot · 10/12/2009 19:19

I meant to add (sorry for the double post) that the concept of a narrative entirely escapes him. We were watching a Ben 10 DVD yesterday and the first episode ended with a massive cliff-hanger. Ds was like "right shall we put a new DVD in?" whilst I was saying "OMG is Ben 10 in trouble?". He was totally not bothered. No interest in plot because it involves the passage of time, is probably the best way I can describe it. I think young minds are fascinating in the way they react.

BlauerEngel · 10/12/2009 19:25

Don't worry, he sounds like he's doing fine for his age. He will certainly be able to read more than equivalent German children, many of whom will enter school at 6 with only a vague idea of the alphabet.

My 2 dd both started school in Berlin at the age of 6, although in a bilingual school where they learned to read in English first, and within a year they were reading quite well. The transition from reading English to German was very easy, but I think that's because they're totally bilingual. However, other kids at the school who aren't bilingual manage it fine too.

MumNWLondon · 10/12/2009 20:12

yes sounds like he is doing really well. after one term in reception most children would just be able to recognise the letters, read a few key words and sounds out CVC words. sounds like he can do that.

Original poster

canella · 10/12/2009 20:17

thanks for those replies - think i needed to hear what other 5 year olds are doing! feel out of it because its just me trying to teach him to read and i'm not a teacher - just a mum trying to do her best!

Think i'll keep going with these reading lessons but i'll stop stressing myself (he's not stressed!!) about him forgetting the words after 30 seconds! really feel giving up on it now would be a waste of how much he's learned.

thanks for giving me some perspective!

OP posts:

MumNWLondon · 10/12/2009 20:26

why not try flashcards? at DD's school last year (reception) they send home a laminated sheet with all the books - with all the words in the book in boxes on the sheet - ideal was to check they knew the words out of context too?

HotOtter · 10/12/2009 22:09

My ds in year 1, bright, doing well with reading, still does that thing you've described, where he will sound out or read a word correctly, then be completely befuddled by the same word 10 seconds later.
Really did my head in.

But this helped me, (can't remember where I heard it suggested, sorry) - try to put yourself in thier shoes and imagine you are learning to read for the very first time using an alphabet you are totally unfamiliar with - so for me it would have to be something such as chinese or arabic or russian. Find a page of text in this writing and find a word and then try to look for the same word again on the next page .....

It's really hard...because it all looks the same!! It really does take a long time to be able to recognise letters/words confidently.

I know it's not exactly the same as dc learning to read, but it gives you an idea of the size of the task we're asking them to do....

seeker · 10/12/2009 22:18

Another important thing to remember is how differently different children learn. My dd started to learn to read at about 4, and gradually progressed in a gently curve until she could read - round about the end of year 1, beginning of year 2. Ds, on the other hand showed no interest at all, and apparantly couldn't read a word - then, suddenly, practically overnight in the summer of year 1 he was a free reader. Bizarre, it was.

The MOST important things are to read to them and read to them and read to them. The other most important thing is to let them see you reading for pleasure, and even more importantly for boys, to let them see their dads reading for pleasure. Even if they have to fake it!

Spectroscopy · 11/12/2009 08:12

Yes, just keeping reading and trying to be patient (I admit I wasn't always though!).

I remember the first weekend that my son was sent home with the word 'the' to learn. OMG.

My son did this, too, (sounded it out and then didn't regonise it again). Honestly, my son couldn't read a word when he started reception and it was like nailing jelly to the wall at times but now, just over a year later, he can read almost anything aimed at children (up to age 8/9 ish) and mainly fluently. Just keep practising. We aim to read at least once after school, twice a day at the weekends and during the school holidays.

ABetaDad · 11/12/2009 08:38

canella - he sounds like a perfectly normal boy of his age.

Although I will get flamed for saying it. Try getting the Oxford Reaidng Tree books. They are graduatred reading and start with either no or just 1 word on the page. There is an adventure story line that runs through the early books called the Magic Key.

It might get him interested. Also as with our DSs factual books with big pictures of diggers, trucks, dinosaurs and small amounts of reading in blocks among the pictures also worked. Our old headmistress was very good and explaied that boys brains work better with that approach as it sparks their interest while girls like lines of orderly text and continuing story lines. I was sceptical but it really worked and DSs reading took off after when we backed away from books with lots of lines of text for a while. The important thing is not to make reading a chore but 5 - 10 minutes per day. Accept that sometimes DS will not be in the right frame of mind. We found ours were more settled and ready to read just before lunch once they had had a good run round.

Original poster

canella · 11/12/2009 11:12

Its so reassuring that other kids (especially boys) do the same thing! i think I was beginning to worry as dd (now 8) just seemed to learn really quickly to read and by this age was brining home simple books from school every few days.

But i MUST be a better parent and stop comparing them .

ABetadad - dd learned using the ORT books and i had a look on amazon to buy them for ds1 (and to use again for ds2) but there were so many i didnt know where to start. I like the idea of using books about things he'd be interested in but i use the "100 lessons" book more cause i had no idea how to teach a child to read! (again !!)
Te stories in it are only 10 lines but they are strange (and a bit american) so i think he loses interest!

Spectroscopy - ds also struggled with the word "the" and now gets a bit muddled with pther "th.." words - its only when you help dc to learn to read that you realise how confusing a language english is! The word of the moment that was making me stress is "you" but think he's finally there!

will see if i can be much more chilled when we read this afternoon!

OP posts:

wheelsonthebus · 11/12/2009 12:09

I have found this book really helpful. It is methodical and makes perfect sense and has helped my dc (5.2) hugely to read full sentences and blend words. We also use the old Peter and Jane ladybird books (partly because I won't spend £2.99 on a reading book which only has 10 sentences in it!)

www.amazon.co.uk/Butterfly-Book-Reading-Writing-Course/dp/1903386616

Avendesora · 11/12/2009 17:36

He is doing really well You could try making some snap cards to match up for key words so he has a small supply of words he knows by sight. It will be a different fun way of extending his reading without being (hopefully) too dull.

Blu · 11/12/2009 17:43

DS couldn't read independently at 5.2.

DS did ORT, and we got in MUCH better when a teacher friend told me to a) read the book aloud to him first, and b) not make them sound out every word, but to help by filling in words they can't read. This helps loads with word recognition - and even using pure phonics isn't easy in English because so many words aren't spelled phonetically.

SantaIsMyLoveSlave · 11/12/2009 17:47

Moondog has recommended www.headsprout.com before, and it is very good -- a little bit American, but not enough so to confuse a child used to British English accents. There's a steady progression and lots of reinforcement.

seeker · 11/12/2009 19:41

Or you could just read him lots of stories and let him learn to read in his own time at school......

Original poster

canella · 11/12/2009 20:19

Blu - think i've decided to go down you're way of helping him - today when he was stuck I just told him the word rather than watching him struggle to sound it out. He managed really well today - maybe cause i was less stressed!

avendesora - he's got some words on flashcards that he used to struggle with - "was" and "said" for example but think i need to make some new ones.

Santa - had a look at that website but think dh would have a fit at me paying $199 at the moment! but i've signed up for the free lessons - they look fun for kids my ds's age!

Seeker - i do read to him lots but as i said in my OP we're not in the UK anymore so he wont learn to read English unless i teach him - he'd have been in reception if we'd stayed in the UK and doing much more than 20 mins reading practice every day! he doesnt learn any letters at kindergarten - its all play there so dont think its too much for him to do a wee bit of "school" at home.

Wheels - where do you buy the Peter and Jane books from? are they not over £2 each as well?

OP posts:

seeker · 11/12/2009 21:12

Sorry, canella - obviously my reading skills are not all they should be. Now where are those Peter and Jane books........?

Wheelybug · 11/12/2009 21:18

Look on The Book People or Red House for sets of ORT (and other schemes) for a fraction of the cost of buying individually.

acebaby · 12/12/2009 19:22

DS1's reception teacher recommends www.starfall.com. Both my DS's love it (at different levels of course as DS2 is only 19mo!)

It's free btw.

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