English woes Yr 7 - was yours like this and did it get better?

[Ooogetyooo]

DDs 11 is average ability, quiet and well behaved. Now in large ( year intake of 300) comprehensive. Regarding English , he's always been not quite meeting his targets, can read well but doesn't want to read, can learn difficult spellings no problem, but then sometimes even basic spelling in his own writing, will be sloppy. Knows his grammar but won't always use it in his own writing. If given a piece of writing to do I swear his first consideration is ' what is the least amount I could write and get away with?' He has no SN and his handwriting is quite neat.
He absolutely will not strive to improve his work or pick up a book to read unless told to do so. All the way through primary, he was told he must read more widely and choose more challenging books to increase vocabulary, improve his inference skills etc
If writing he will write short immature sentences and forget all about adverbs descriptions, interesting language. I m at a loss now because I just feel I don't know how to encourage him anymore and I have a sense of deja vue based on all that's gone before.
Does anyone have any advice, was your son like this and did it get any better? He's in a mixed ability English set , the school don't set for English just yet.

Lots of kids have their creativity stifled by too much concentration on spelling. I would encourage your son to forget about spelling and try to keep a diary or do some imaginary story telling. It's much easier to go back and fix spellings than get kids to just write.

It does sound like its a confidence issue rather than laziness. Fear of getting it wrong can easily turn into refusal to try.

I'm not a professional and can by no means diagnose but I would suggest you look up how expressive language/DLD issues manifest in children. Even if your son doesn't have this, some of those suggestions might help as those are the issues commonly faced by those children.

Does he read anything at all? Listen to podcasts?

There are lots of options for reading that don't involve picking up a classic novel, so might he read something related to a topic which interests him?
For example, sports feature writing in the broadsheets often incorporates a wide, vivid vocabulary and sophisticated sentence structures.

Audible is brilliant. He could follow the text but hear it being read (often amazingly) by the narrator. He will soak up all the language and see all the spellings without the effort of reading aloud. Just an idea.

He's currently reading Danny champion of the world by R Dahl which he picked himself at school for his Accelerated reader scheme. It's a book he's read some time ago at primary school and isn't challenging him at n any way. He only picks it up when told to . I've tried all sorts of books to pique his interest but.....

He's currently reading Danny champion of the world by R Dahl which he picked himself at school for his Accelerated reader scheme. It's a book he's read some time ago at primary school and isn't challenging him at n any way. He only picks it up when told to . I've tried all sorts of books to pique his interest but.....
What I can't understand is why he just wants to stay in his comfort zone reading and writing below his level iykwim

It is really hard to motivate Y7, particularly in English and particularly boys! They are in a new school, the pressure is off a bit and all creativity was squashed out of them for SATs. Plus, there are new and different subjects like the Humanities and Sciences which are way more interesting.
I taught Y7 English for 20 years - it will get better! There will be a book or topic that picks up his interest again. The ‘doing the minimum required’ is a real feature of Y7 too. My advice is to keep trying him on different books - try non fiction books about subjects he is interested in and have a chat with his teacher if you still have concerns. I bet you won’t be the only parent in his class feeling this way!

Let him watch lots of films. Play computer games with stories. Watch cartoons. Read comics.
My ds's literacy level is above average, in fact he got gds for yr6 assessment, for spag/reading/writing. And he has got all that from doing above.
If the child is inspired, they want to read and write, without parent/teacher telling them to.

Thanks all

Yes to podcasts and audiobooks. You can get them free online via your library.
Watch films and documentaries with subtitles and lower sound.
Treat reading like any other homework and insist on 20 minutes a day of any book they choose.
My ds is in yr 10 now and English just gets more demanding.
Apparently 50% of the marks come from writing and creative writing which is difficult to do without reading.

He might find age appropriate fiction much more exciting than Danny, if he can get past being put off my a full length book. Perhaps try some of the fun series (cherub leaps to mind - Robert Muchamore, or, rather younger, Alex Rider). Would help - he only has to invest in the characters etc once that way.

If being put off by books looking chunky, might he be more comfortable with a kindle?

Get him accessing a range of stories in different forms.

Year 6 can be quite mechanical at times for writing and it's hard to switch it back on in y7, especially when the move to secondary seems to go hand in hand with puberty hitting and the 11-13 year old lazy attitude (which can hit at different times).

I'd take a two pronged approach:

1. Do all you can to nurture a love of reading and stories in wider life
2. Speak to his teacher, say you're aware he's being lazy and disengaged and offer for him to redo any substandard classwork at home with him

I wouldn't tell him about 2 just yet though as some staff sadly think y7/8 are years not to worry about too much so they let their classes coast and then you're left having given an empty threat.

Take him to the library on a Saturday morning at 9am and tell him he’s staying there for two hours, no computer or phone, and he can read or not, up to him. 😂

Switch off all screens an hour before bedtime, say "it's Reading Hour" and offer to read to him from a book he hasn't read but you think he would like . . . Let him choose from a selection. If he declines your offer (as my DS would) say fine, and sit down with your own book if you possibly can (anyway no phones etc.), maybe put some restful music on.
Let him read whatever he likes for at least 30 mins - or not, if he won't, but anyway absolutely no screens (except maybe kindle!)
Do this religiously every evening, or at least on school nights, so that he anticipates it. Keep offering to read something new with him, keep making suggestions, get some new ideas, fiction and non-f, from library if you can, but still basically let him choose.
Ime this ebbs and flows, my DS (12) doesn't touch anything new for weeks then suddenly launches into something quite challenging with apparent enthusiasm, prompted by something someone said at school? I often don't know. It helps that phones are not allowed there and they must have a book to read with them at all times, maybe that's standard. BUT I fear reading would never happen at home without designated Reading Hour, as above; but at least he never resists it now, fingers crossed.

What about Asterix books? My 11 yo DS has loved these for about 5 years. He is generally a good reader but sometimes likes to 'fall back' on these. I've noticed this particularly over the last few weeks - starting secondary school is quite overwhelming!
I'm not suggesting that the text in Asterix books is high-level but if it piques or reignites his interest in reading, it's a start. Echo what others have said - reading the sports supplements or any subject he's interested in - history magazines? Gaming magazines?? The Harry Potter audiobooks are great, as are the David Walliams ones.

Ds1 is 19 and loves reading Ds2 is 14 and hates reading!

Rather than books, I encouraged him to use the internet. He was interested in the moon at one point, so read lots on wiki, that lead to links for articles and so on. Then it was the ozone layer, so we done the same. This increased his vocabulary, his spelling etc and in year 8 was put on the talented and more able register for English, he is in the top performing school in the county, so not an easy ride to get there!

Some really good ideas here, have got fixated on books I suppose and perhaps need to introduce other forms , I like the Wiki idea