Reading help please!

[norfolklass]

Just wondered if I could pick some brains if possible??

DS has just started reception and we've had several books home to "read" with no words in which have been fine and he has retold me the story with no problem but he has now got one with words in and tbh Im not sure that he can do it or if he is even ready yet.

He can do his JP sounds and the key words they have been learning absolutely fine but it just seems that when the words are in a book he just can't do it at all.

The book we had yesterday was about a little seed so every page went:-A little seed,a little pot,a little soil,a little water,a little sun and a big flower and obviously there were pictures to match. I was amazed the first time we read it that after Id told him what "little" was he remembered it and then just "read" the story...until I realised that he wasn't actually reading the words at all but just looking at the pictures and guessing what what the words were. He knew a,pot,big and sun but just guessed the rest from the pictures.

Is that what they are supposed to do?? I tried covering the pictures up and getting him to do it that way but because the story is so short he just remembered what was on each page.

Ive written in his reading diary that although he enjoyed the book and managed to sound out several words most of them were just guessed by the pictures so will see what the teacher says.

Im just curious as to how they are supposed to do it and if Im doing it correctly so any help/advice would be much appreciated!

[Hassled]

Most of the very early readers are packed full with what are called "Picture clues" - pupils actively encouraged to look for the picture clues as they read. Plus the repetition of key words - like little - will help them stick in your DS's head. So let him see the pictures - as long as he's enjoying reading and sees time spent with books as being fun, he'll be reading independently before you know it.

[pooka]

I think that they absolutely are supposed to guess words on the basis of the pictures at that stage - is all part of reinforcing the knowledge that the pictures in stories give a clue to what the text says, and also towards developing interpretive skills - the ability to 'read' a picture.

I helped out a bit in year 1 and even on the slightly more advanced levels, children relied a great deal on guesswork - which makes sense as so do we to a certain extent. Even reading a page with no pictures our brains make assumptions about what word we would expect in the context of a sentence. I've noticed dd who is now 6 and quite confident doing the same.

[jeffily]

Yep I would second Hassled's message. At this stage he won't really have enough sounds to be able to really 'read'the words, so he will be using the pictures and what he understands about language to figure out what the text might say. TBH at this stage of Reception I would be pleased if all of my class understood that the text at the bottom of the page conveyed meaning at all! Not sure how his teacher will be approaching reading, so prob worth asking them for some pointers of things you could do with him at home, but I would suggest encouraging him to point at the words at the bottom of the page as he 'reads' them, and working on knowing the difference between letters and words. If you know what their new sounds are each week you could maybe ask him to locate them for you on each page as well.
Ah, learning to read! it's so exciting!

[norfolklass]

Thank you,thank you!! Thats really put my mind at rest-they give you these books and tell you to read them with your child but don't actually tell you how to do it!

He loves books and has been desperate to read for so long...you should have seen his face last night after he read the book-it was an absolute picture because he was so proud of himself.

[norfolklass]

Thanks jeffily! Thats exactly what I was doing getting him to point to the word as he was reading it so glad to hear thats a good thing to do! I will probably have a word with the teacher at some point as well-she is lovely and has already sussed DS out I think.

And yes I think its exciting as well-felt very proud of him last night and he was just so so happy with himself cause he'd done it!