Subject: do you remember learning to read?
Posted by: Rowena8482
Date: Jan 07 09
I have a very clear memory of standing at a closed piano reading "The Cherry Tree Family" (book one of the school reading scheme) to "Nurse Sandra" in nursery school, so I would have been 3 or 4. I can't ever remember not being able to read, or actually learning to read, just that day actually reading the book and then being thrilled as I could move on to the next one. They had to be read in order, and I can't even remember the names or anything about any of the others that came after the first one.
I remember my room at home being labelled everywhere with the names of things like curtains, door, wardrobe, etc and being able to read those too.
Can you remember a time when you couldn't read? Or remember actually learning?
Posted by: Rowena8482
Date: Jan 07 09
I have a very clear memory of standing at a closed piano reading "The Cherry Tree Family" (book one of the school reading scheme) to "Nurse Sandra" in nursery school, so I would have been 3 or 4. I can't ever remember not being able to read, or actually learning to read, just that day actually reading the book and then being thrilled as I could move on to the next one. They had to be read in order, and I can't even remember the names or anything about any of the others that came after the first one.
I remember my room at home being labelled everywhere with the names of things like curtains, door, wardrobe, etc and being able to read those too.
Can you remember a time when you couldn't read? Or remember actually learning?
56 replies. On page 3 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
Godwit 
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I remember sitting on my uncle's lap, with a large children's bible before us. My first sentence was "There once was a beautiful garden." I recall how I struggled with the word "beautiful." I remember how much I liked the feel of the book. It's weight, the paper. The amazing drawings. Nice memory. Reply #41. Mar 09 11, 2:57 PM |
Cymruambyth
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With regard to reading unsuitable material, I remember that when I was about 12 and in the Lower Fourth a group of us got hold of a salacious book called 'Maria Monk' wgich purported to be a record of the experiuences of a woman in a convent in Montreal in the 1830s. Not a word of it is true, by the way. We read it chapter by chapter, passing the chapters along after we had finished them. One day my mother caught me reading the beastly thing, threw my chapter on the fire and dragged me off to an appointment with my headmistress who quickly rounded up the rest of the miscreants. We got detention every day for a week and had to read 'Pilgrim's Progress' and write essays on it. Reply #42. Mar 09 11, 5:38 PM |
purelyqing
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I remember my mother teaching me to read from the Peter and Jane books. I used to like those times very much. Then when we moved on to more difficult books, I used to insist that "photograph" had a "p" sound even though I knew it should be an "f" sound. Sometimes my mother would humour me and go along with "p-otograph" instead of "f-otograph". Reply #43. Mar 11 11, 9:52 PM |
| Godwit
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Lol. That's cute. My uncle enjoys teasing me by asking if I want a jelly "sanich". Reply #44. Mar 12 11, 4:32 PM |
Mixamatosis
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I remember learning to read at school. We sat looking at the alphabet letters on the wall with an illustration of a word relating to each one and we had to say them "A is for Apple etc and we learned, by saying, the phonetic sounds of the letters. Then we identified those sounds in words on the page and tried to put them together to say the word. I remember working through Janet and John books starting from the simplest and gradually getting more advanced. Reply #45. Jul 21 15, 10:12 AM |
MiraJane
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My oldest sister, 12 yrs older than I am, used to read to me & my brothers at night, my younger brother is only 19 months younger than I am & he was still in a crib. She read us whatever she had to read for school - history, chemistry, math textbooks, the poetry of Walt Whitman, Shakespeare. I learned about the Japanese in WWII before I knew where Japan was. We learned how to read upside down by following her words. The first thing I remember reading was an encyclopedia entry for Queen Elizabeth I. The first book I read on my own was To Kill a Mockingbird. All fo this was before I was in kindergarten. Fortunately, the school system had already gone thru four older siblings and their reading ability before I arrived. I was given encyclopedias to read while everyone else in the class learned the basics. I think phonetics is a horrible way to learn to read! Too many of English words don't follow the sounds of individual letters. Reply #46. Jul 21 15, 10:47 AM |
Jabberwok
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I could read fluently before I went to school, but when I got there, I was told that we would be doing all sorts of exciting things, like writing our names and learning to read. One of the skills you learn fast as a forces brat is how to blend in and adapt. And at that time in my life, I was eager to please. So, for around three months, I read Andrew Lang's fairy tales, and Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh at home. And at school I learnt my letter sounds and started to blend them into CVC words. Until my mother and my teacher met at the Christmas carol service and got into conversation. Fortunately, the teacher thought it was very funny and after a bit of clarification, I was allowed to borrow books from the older classes libraries. Reply #47. Jul 21 15, 12:52 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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Mira Jane, Your comments on phonetics may be true for some people but for me it was fine. I could cope with the fact that after you'd learnt words that followed the phonetics you learned that some were different so you learned those as you went along. I don't think I would have learned well using modern methods. When my daughter was at primary school I was talking to the head mistress about what methods the school used to teach reading. She could not really explain to me what methods they used and in the end she said "they (the children) use a variety of strategies. I thought they can't use strategies unless they are taught them. If they could use strategies themselves they would not need teachers. No wonder literacy levels went down after they stopped using phonetics. It is a useful tool and can be suppplemented by others where necessary. Reply #48. Jul 24 15, 9:48 PM |
daver852
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I can remember learning to read quite well. At first I would recognize words from stories that had been read to me so many times that I had memorized them. Then I would see the word somewhere else and know what it meant. Eventually I figured out what sounds the letters stood for. I could read long before I could write. I know when I went to first grade (we didn't have kindergarten back then) I thought those Dick and Jane readers were just silly, because I was already reading more demanding books. Reply #49. Jul 24 15, 10:20 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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You were very clever to work out by yourself what sounds the letters stood for. I don't think many children could do it without assistance. Reply #50. Jul 14 16, 2:36 PM |
Mommakat
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Yes, my father had me reading and writing at a very early age, around about 3. They say you can't remember much before the age of 4, but that is rubbish because I can recall things that happened at a house that we moved out of when I was just 3 years old. Reply #51. Jul 14 16, 9:32 PM |
hekawi
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As with others here, I don't recall when, but do know I was reading newspapers at a early age. I was lucky to have parents and grandparents who were avid readers and I remember early trips to the library. I remember when I was in the second grade being pulled out of class and being taken to an eighth grade to show off reading skills. I actually remember that, more so because I almost wanted to remain silent because even at that age I felt I was be used as some kind of show dog. Reply #52. Mar 02 17, 2:05 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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Mommakat, Re your comment about what age you can remember things from. I can remember some things from a very early age. I can remember my pram (baby carriage?) upending in the garden while I was in it. Luckily it was noticed and righted. I can remember lying in my pram next to the radio where I used to bounce my legs up and down to the music and pick things up with my feet. One of the earliest songs I remember on the radio was "Yellow Rose of Texas". I used to think it was something about yellow tickets. I remember falling down the stairs when I was learning to walk up them. Luckily it was just a couple of steps, and I remember one occasion when my nappy was being changed as I was uncomfortable and yelling. I know I wasn't in nappies for longer than normal. I think the "pram" memories must have been the earliest. Reply #53. Mar 03 17, 2:17 AM |
| Mixamatosis
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I've just looked up the "Yellow Rose of Texas". The song goes back to the 19th century, so I can't be sure when I first heard it in my pram but it must have been played quite often for me to remember it. A popular version by Mitch Miller went to the top of the charts in October 1955. That must be when it was played a lot on the radio. I was born in March 1954 so I would have been 19 months old in October 1955. Reply #54. Mar 03 17, 2:28 AM |
honeybee4
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I have two of the books that I learned how to read in first grade. They are "Up the Street" and "Down the Road". Reply #55. Mar 03 17, 9:45 AM |
56 replies. On page 3 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
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