year 2 and 'can't read'

[glitterball]

ds2 has just started in year 2. tonight he has thrown a major strop (not like him) as I asked him to read a book from school with me. he said he did not know any of the words and could not read them.

we have been reading his books from school with him for the last year - he also reads the same books with teacher in class. he manages most of the words but the books i think are quite simple - they seem easier than the ones ds1 had at the same age but ds1 is top of his class - ds2 is on the 'bottom' table and has been since start of year 1.

when we went to parents evening at start of yr 1, his teacher said he was significantly behind the class and we needed to do more with him at home to encourage his reading. she said he could not read most reception words. by end of yr 1, she told us he was much improved and keeping up with class. at first meeting i asked if he could have extra help but i was told he didnt need it!

anyway my concern is although im being told his reading is better it doesnt seem to be at home if he is reading anything other than the school books. he constantly says he cant read and doesnt understand words of more than 4 letters. however his handwriting is better than his 9 year old brothers (he cant spell - again he says because he cant read) but is very neat and careful with his writing and is great at art- - painting, drawing etc. his maths also is fine.

im worried about the reading though. he is a clever boy and i dont know whether the school should be doing any more for him, or indeed i should be pushing them to do so. i dont want to get hung up on this tables thing but i dont feel he should be on the bottom table (actually im not even sure how i feel about 5/6/7 year olds being grouped by ability anway) i dont know whether also there is anything more i should be doing to help

does anyone have any advice/comments?

[mylastrolo]

bump

[prettybird]

Can he "blend or is he jsut learing words off by heart. If the latter, I can undestand why he says he can't read - if he can't yet de-code new words.

Ds was 6.5 before he started "getting" it - the school said that some kids, especailly boys do sometimes take untilt hey are 6 before it clicks.

They did give him a lot of extra support though at the begiining of P2 (when he had just tunred 6), in an attempt to keep him in the top group for reading, but after 6 weeks we agreed it was best for his confidence to drop him to the middle group. It still took him a number more months beofre he clicked.

Are there any books he is interested in, to give him the confidence to try? For us, it was "Captain Underpants" and "Super Diaper baby". A bit American, and lots of grammar errors, but it appeals to a juvenile snese of humour - and the mix of cartoons and text enourages ds to put together the stroy for himself.

[Reallytired]

I think you need to go back to basics and teach him phonics. I used "Jolly Phonics" to teach my son, but I think that a year 2 child would find it too babyish. Not being able to read becomes more and more humilating as a child gets older.

I believe that Ruth Miskin Superphonics is good for the older child. I would forget about reading books and just concentrate on learning letter sounds, to blend and to segment words. When he is confident blending get some decodable books like Jolly Readers (www.jollylearning.co.uk) or Jelly and Bean Books. (www.jellyandbean.co.uk)

Maverick's website is absolutely brilliant and has lots of suggestions.

www.dyslexics.org.uk

[glitterball]

he has been taught to 'sound out' words - thats what they call it at school i think this is like blending - but i may be wrong! - but in trying to read with him tonight i have realised part of the problem is that he doesnt know a lot of the sounds- particularly where ou are using 3 or 4 letters together - words starting with th or thr for example.

will try having a practice just on sounds for now and see how we go....

[clutteredup]

You need to find out why they said he was OK at the end of last year. It may be he is fine and after a long summer holiday he's 'forgotten' or more likely lost his confidence, or even just too tired at the beginning of the year. It might be best to have a meeting with his new teacher and see, i know my Ds is very different at home and school and will read well to the teacher but sit and tell me he can't read words he could read 3 years ago!!! If there is a problem I'm sure the school will be happyto address it but i agree about finding books he might actually enjoy. Also read to him as much as possible and make reading fun. Try reading a bit of a story up to the interesing bit and then stop, he might be motivated to read to find out what happend at the end. good luck