Year 3 primary school reading

I would have thought it was normal at least to make sure the child was reading at his/her correct level, glass. I know that my GD, who was a very profiicient reader when she reached year 3 was a free reader and also helped the slower readers in the class.

My daughter [a teacher herself] has had to take her son's school to task for not giving him the correct reading book for his level of reading..sometimes being given a book he'd read a year before. They do have a reading diary where the teacher writes how well the child reads each particular book, though. I'll ask my grandson tonight what happens about reading to teachers [he's in his third year as well].

My little GS is also a free reader and can choose his own chapter books. At the moment he is the only boy free reading with approx 4-5 girls.
If I've got this correct they seem to be able to choose a book, (which the school library has several copies of) and then take turns reading the book aloud in class. A sort of book club. They then take their own copy home to read. I think daily homework is 10-20 minutes reading at home plus some maths. I'm muddled by the new (to me) class years but GS will be 7yrs old in the new year. I think GS has helped slower readers in the class too. The school follows the international curriculum rather than the national.

Reading aloud is a different skill from reading to oneself. It is easy to tell if a child is managing to read what he needs to read (and enjoy!) without actually hearing him read aloud.

I retired 4 years ago so things may have changed, but the emphasis was on group reading rather than individual reading then, where a small group have the same book to discuss/ read with the teacher once a week. However , the other day I had a nightmare that I hadn't 'heard' anyone in my class read all year!!

I spent 3-4 years going into what had been my children's school to listen to a different class read I would spend half a day in each class. I would work my way through the register regardless of ability. I was however asked by one or two teachers to concentrate on the less able if time was short. The school's policy was that each child should read to an adult on a daily basis whether that be parent, guardian, TA, teacher or volunteer. Unfortunately I would say this quite often didn't happen.

I don't understand how a childs level of reading can be ascertained if the child doesn't read out loud in an individual way .

Children's reading needs to be monitored regularly to check they are reading suitable book, at their own level of reading ability and understanding. If he's not being heard read then the school needs to be asked why not.

Also, a lot of highly intelligent children can be dyslexic and it doesn't get picked up until they get much older because they find ways round it.

You can see whether they apply what they have read, tegan, e.g. if there is a written instruction which is carried out correctly, I think you can assume the child could read it and, just as implrtantly, understood it. Conversely, if a child does appear to understand a written instruction, not being able to read it may be one of the reasons.

There are other clues as well. With my kids it was just getting on with reading by themselves for the fun of it.

Do teachers know which parents listen to their children reading or are read to/look at books with parents? That must help where they do know. And if they don't know (or fear) that a child doesn't look at books at home, it seems onlt reasonable to give those children more help than others if they are struggling with reading.

I think I'm arguing that reading can be monitored more subtly than having every kid read aloud to the teacher or TA. Happy for people to disagree but that is what I think based on experience. It's easy to pick out the good and not-so-good readers at Cubs, for instance, during activities which require even a tiny amount of reading.

Which is not a judgement on a child's intelligence, just an observation of how well they read – or not, as the case may be. Not talking about causes of difficulty in reading, just how easy it is to pick up when a child can read relatively easily.

By Year 3 some children will be very competent readers. I don't think they need to be 'heard' reading aloud very often.

How do you think a child's reading and comprehension can be monitored then bags?

I am with Bags that reading is for comprehension and following a story or instructions, not for whether the words on the page can be converted into the right sounds. It is possible to read a page out loud in a foreign language that you only have a smattering of, and make it sound quite good, but have not the faintest idea what it was about.

When they read for pleasure, they don't need to say the words to enjoy the story. In fact, reading quickly is not possible if you vocalise it all, you go at the speed of your mouth, not your mind.

To check that they have understood what they have read - how about a game which requires them to follow written instructions or solve a puzzle. Or following a simple written recipe?

I would expect that most of this would be taught / assessed by the teacher in guided reading sessions in literacy lessons. This will involve small groups of children working with the teacher on a shared text. Individual reading is more likely to be with TA or parent helper in Year 3. It depends, of course, on the level of fluency of the child.

I'm not qualified to comment on the rights and wrongs of it all. I was taught to ask them to tell the story they had read in their own words to confirm they had understood it and asked them to read random words out of context as some children could 'recite' the page rather than read it. Our school had reading records which adults would record date,page No, how well the child read. This would be signed each time. Sadly some children would go a whole term without the record being signed by anyone outside school.

I suspect it depends on the school and intake sadly. So many primaries are struggling with an influx of children with English as a 2nd language, or no English at all when they arrive. Add that to the number of children who live less than ideal home lives, and the demands they then make in the school environment, and it isn't hard to see how children slip behind.

iam, good point about English not being the first language.

aka, this is what comprehension tests are for. They can be spoken tests (checks) or written. elegran has spelled out some good ideas too.

Children need to understand at different levels. Yes, reading a recipe card or following instructions can test if thru can 'read on the lines' but to test whether they can read 'between the lines' or 'beyond the lines' requires more. Comprehension tests have their place, and are useful en masse, but when you are reading with children then it is so much better as you can operate one to one and interact with that child as an individual. Many parents do this when hearing their children read so that they are not simply 'barking at sounds' but not all parents can be bothered or have the time.

Or indeed the skills or the level of understanding themselves.

Oh, I agree that kids reading with their parents, or grandparents, is good. It may even be the best encouragement there is, as well as kids seeing that the adults around them read for pleasure. But schools simply can't give that kind of attention to each and every child unfortunately. (Actually, even if there was enough time, I don't think schools could do that). So they have to decide who needs the most help, who doesn't need help, and so on. Kids who are reading well by Year 3 don't need as much help as kids who are not reading well by Year 3, and I think good teachers not only can but have to make judgements about this because they cannot hear every child very often, especially in large classes.

Thank you for your wisdom thatbags you have made me look at things in a totally different light.

Bags are you a primary teacher? If so you know we do not 'decided' who needs the most help.

Each and every child matters. From the brightest to the least able. In fact those who sometimes get the least attention are the poor little sods in the middle. Those who are labelled 'average' who keep their little heads down, don't cause a fuss and just drift along.

Well that ain't good enough. If a teacher can't differentiate, organise their teaching and planning so that every single child gets the help and attention they need then they are not worth their salary. Trouble is every person thinks, because they went to school, and because their kids went to school, they know more than the professionals.

Rant over.