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: anyone with a child aged 7ish on ORT in year 2 - what level is usual
(71 messages)
ds2 is 6 and year 2 and currently on ORT level 11. The children in his class getting extra support with reading (think one maybe dyslexic) are on ORT level 4/5 I think. Looks like year 2 should be reading levels 6-9 according to their web site - and your ds is reading where an average year1 child would be (assuming they do a level per term).
DD gets all sorts of odd books though I am never sure which level is which or if there are differnt scales (eg does reception go from 1-6 and then they start again at 1 in yr 1??)
I am deeply suspicious of ORT after I found the level 1 book contained the word "miserable" which I though was a bit of a big word for a first reader. I said this to DD who replied: "I know mummy, I can't even pronounce it, so how can I read it?" I fell off the bed laughing. we both agreed the books were rubbish and went back to Amelia Jane.
Hi - I think level 5 is probably most common in early year 1. Ds has just started on level 6 books and he's in year 1 - and he's not a confident reader and probably in the bottom half of the class for reading.
I've just dug dd1's book bag out from the shoe cupboard and brushed the dust off it (back to school next week!) - and she's got a Jackdaws stage 11 (she's 7.4). Her teacher did say though at last parents evening that she was nearly 2 years above where she should be for reading.
dd2 is 4.10 and in reception and she's on stage 1+ if that gives you any indication either?
My ds1 is dx with aspergers, but isn't the classic brainy type and has aa lot of difficulties with the academic work. He is in yr1 and is on level 2. I have to tell myself over and over that it doesn't matter what the other children at school do - as long as he makes progress at his level. He couldn't read his name or write it when he started in reception. Now ds1 can write a short sentence with some help and is confident with the alphabet. Most of his class are 2 levels or more above him, but I need to shake myself and dh and say 'he is doing well'!
DS1 is nearly 7 and on level 8 but his best friend (not 7 until Aug) has only just moved from Level 5 to 6. No-one seems unduly worried. His writing is MUCH better than DS1's.
I remember that Level 5 was the one DS1 was on for the longest - maybe there's a big step up to Level 6?
Sphil - We're experiencing big gap syndrome between 5 and 6 at the moment with ds1. Poor thing is really struggling. He hates reading, which dp and I then struggle with as we're both avid readers and the house is full from top to bottom with books. He won't ever read 'naturally' - things on telly, shop signs etc. He's just not interested and sees it as "Hard Work".
Same with writing.
But he's a numbers genius and can do strange things like double virtually any number you give him. The thing he likes doing most is doing numbers quizes and begs us to set him hard sums!
ds2 (year 1) is on chapter books - I've just asked him and he said no-one in his class is on ORT anymore (but I don't think they do all the levels they switch across to a different reading scheme at some stage). I think that must be unusual though and his class is small.
I would highly recommend Marion Blank's book the Reading Remedy for anyone with a child struggling with literacy. She is (I hope, depends if he's compliant enough) going to help us teach ds1 (non-verbal, severely autistic) to read and write. She really knows her stuff about reading, and I thought her book was very interesting. (Easy read as well).
DottyDot- one thing about boys is that they often prefer fact books. DS2 can read very well, but has only recently started to choose to read as a leisure type activity- and all he reads is books about birds! I bought him lots of Horrid Henry/Spy Dog boys type fiction and he's just not interested. Given the RSPB guide to garden birds and he's reading away though and takes it on holiday with him along with his nintendo. His teacher said that's quite common amongst boys and wasn't really something I'd appreciated.
I think it's only recently that his reading has become good enough to read the type of books he wants to read iyswim- so it may be that once it clicks with your ds he becomes an avid reader as well- just not of things you expected (give him a maths type factual book for example and he might be well away).
Dottydot and others with reluctant readers - dd2 was like this at this age. I can't honestly remember what level she was on in P2 but probably level 5, and would never read for pleasure (or even necessity, eg what was coming on next on Sky!). Then all of a sudden over Christmas, at the age of 9.3, it "clicked". Overnight she found it much easier, and then rocketed through all seven Harry Potters in a matter of weeks (she is now reading them for a second time!). She still struggles with her writing (dd1 could write better - in terms of handwriting and spelling - in reception - we try not to compare them!), but she is at least enjoying reading for the sake of it now.
The other thing, as yurt said, was non-fiction books. She is passionate about animals and wildlife in general - a few highly-illustrated books on the subject helped to draw her in in a non-scary way
DS1 reads chapter books ar home - Astrosaurs and Magic Treehouse are his current favourites - but like Yurt's DS2 he also really likes non-fiction. I would agree with NQC - he's only been voluntarily reading stuff since Level 5. It obviously is a bit of a reading milestone!
DS is 6.8 and in Yr 2. Is now on Stage 7 ORT. A bit below where they say he should be but he is progressing well and really into reading at the moment.
I go in and help with reading every week and there is a big range within the class. It is an international school however with children with English as a second or even third or fourth language.
Yurt1 - hello! Good idea re: fact books - he likes books on planets and science but I hadn't thought of seeing if he wanted to read something like that himself (doh!).
my DS is in year 2 and his ORT books are level 7 at school. I think he is behind in his reading but his teachers are happy because he is starting to progress.
My lovely dd1 HATES reading with a passion. She is 8.3 and on stage 13 (and is in the bottom half of the class with this ). She has been pushed through the stages and can read well, BUT, she cannot read expressively and as i say, she HATES it!
I think she would be much better off lower down the levels with books she could read easily to try and claw a bit of self-esteem back. As it is, she won't read anything unless she is made to - i think this is really really sad . I love reading, and hoped that she would have the same love of books that i have.
i think the moral of my story (if i get to the point, eventually, lol) is that if your ds is happy reading level 5 then that is great! Far better to be happy to read IMHO.
My ds is 7 and in year 2, he is on ORT level 5. He has an IEP for literacy and numeracy. The school say he is still too young to look at the posibility of him being dyslexic.
God hate these sort of threads - they become competitive without meaning to be and the person who started them feels even worse! My dd (7 in June) also still on L5/6 and has an IEP. she has two very bright older brothers - one who just nearly got full marks in the 11+ - and she is certainly behind where they were at this stage in y2 but not that much. she is a completely different kid, different talents and just as bright but not mastered the technicalities of reading as quickly as they.Dont get bogged down angelstar, reading is just a skill to pick up, it does not predict future academic success and if the school offer extra support grab it with both hands - nothing will bring him on quicker than a bit of 1 -1.
dd2 is 7 next month and has moderately severe dyslexia. Her spelling is worse than her reading and she is on ORT Level 9 which is average for Yr2 Term 3. You can find out about the ORT Levels on their website.
Dd is 6 and in Y2, she's reading ORT chapter books and non-fiction from the All Stars range (I think they used to be called Tree Tops). She's on level 12. By the same token, though, one of her friends in the same year (no SN, no dyslexia) is still reading books from level 4 and 5. She is by no means the only one.
There is still a huge variation in ability at this stage, even without adding dyslexia into the equation.
You are so right WWB - there is still a huge variation at this age - esp with boys. And then one day it just clicks and they take off. Or find something that interests them and therefore are more motivated by being interested.
DS's best friend is on level 12 - he is 6 months older than DS. Another of their friends was on level 12 in Yr 1 - he won't actually be 7 till September - although he is particularly bright.
I think it is good however to see where your child is so that you know if you need to either worry or just encourage a bit more (or sit back and relax!).
Finding a way to encourage the more reluctant readers is vital - when they find something that interests them and they then find they can read about it and understand is fantastic. I was a voracious reader as a child and really wanted DS to be a reader. He has really gotten more interested in the last few months.
ORT level 5 according to their website represents a reading age of 5.5 to 6 and an average of year 1 term 3, if that helps at all. But they are all different - that is just the mythical average child!
Anyway, schools vary a lot in how they use reading schemes and how quickly they push them up the levels. DS1 had his first two years of school in a different school from their current one, and even the fluent readers weren't 'off the reading scheme' by the end of Year One. In their current school, loads of children are 'off' the scheme by then, and some by the end of Reception. They're not better readers, but the school just uses the scheme differently.
Having said that, from my volunteering I can say that in DS2's current Y2 class of 30 half are reading whatever they choose, a quarter are reading easy chapter books/stage 10-12 and the remaining quarter are on levels 5-8 ORT - apart from a couple of statemented children whose reading levels I have no idea of.
I don't think so always. There were some fantastic early readers in both DSs' classes who have remained fantastic readers, and there are others who have suddenly 'got it' later and become just as fantastic.
All the children about whom you might have thought, in Reception, "Wow! They're good readers" are still excellent readers, though. None of them have 'fallen off' or 'levelled out' or anything - just some others have caught up with them.
DS2 who is in Year 2 is finished with ORT - I think the last level is 14? However, we still haven't finished with reading scheme books as his school use a mixture of everything known to mankind - New Way, ORT, Ginn etc. so now I think he is on Ginn Level 9, although I am hoping that we are approaching the time when he can become a free reader. The scheme books are getting to be a chore and he really just wants to read his own choice of book.
I read with his class once a week and there is a huge variation in the group. Most kids seem to be on about level 9-11 but there are a few who are on 4-5 and one or two who are on a completely separate, simpler scheme. No-one is a free reader yet.
giggle - boys in Yr 2 will be on a very wide range of ORT books, if DS's class is anything to go by. Some have been free-readers since some time in Yr1 (but it doesn't mean anything if they aren't) and some will still be on ORT 5-11 by now in Yr 2. If he is dyslexic, and getting support for that, and has an IEP, then I would say he is doing v well to be on level 5.
ORT is quite hard because it is based on word recognition rather than pure phonics - that's why 'hard' words appear quite early - but you will usully find that they are repeated often durng the story. ORT is also meant to be read with an adult who reads hard words along with the child etc.
In DS's class, his freind who has an IEP for dyslexia is also on level 5 - but is reading some other scheme as welll which is much more phonics based. Pheonix? Something like that.
PMSL - just ask ds what colour books he's on. He may not be doing ORT anymore. I think Levels kind of disappear once they move off those. Don't worry, I don't read with ds2 anymore (which apparently means I border on a bad mother according to another thread )
ha ha - yes one of ds2's first words was Kipper as well. Mind you better than last week when my Dad took him to the loo in a motorway service station. "young girls wanted for sex' (read out loud) "grandad what's sex? why do they want young girls?'
Dd was reading one about a trip to the beach and all the things they find there. She wondered if that was where Kipper came from
I have no idea how ORT works or how many levels there are or where/why we're at.
Dd reads them as a bit of extra help alondside another colour band set of books which I also don't understand. I asked once but the teacher was very vague about it all
I mentioned to ds1's teacvher that he didnt want to read with me anymore and he preffered to read on his own...she thought this was fantastic...so I am pretending I am not a bad mother.....
Oh jeez. I must be a terrible mum. DD in Reception and I didn't even know there were levels. How do you all know what level they are on? Teacher never mentions it at the parent-teacher evenings. Probably means she is a 0.
Actually I think it's crazy that they press 4 year olds to read so I never push the subject too hard. DD is not really a fan of reading. She has to be coaxed into. DS (3 in May), much to my shock and amazement appears to have taught himself the alphabet and all the numbers 0 - 9. Someone must have taught him in my absense?????
Do all schools use these levels? And are they used to place kids or have any impact on their early education? Maybe I should be a little less laid back about reading. I do encourage it. I just don't push it when she is clearly not interested.
DD is 6.1 and is in year 1. She is a free reader, not sure if she read all the levels of ORT or if she was just classed as a free reader before she had finished them?
My DS began year 1 on ORT Stage 4, which felt about typical. My sister is an early years specialist and she is dead against using only one reading scheme, btw.
Can the teacher give you any guidance on where your DS is in relation to his classmates?
CountessD, I think I know who you are now but am embarrassed to introduce myself in case I'm wrong!
Well, as far as the reading schemes go, in DS1's first school abroad they used a mixture of schemes all jumbled together and banded together by colour - which is what they do from Y1 in the current school. This meant that children kept getting different 'sight words' and read lots of books 'across' at the same level - DS1, who was one of the 3 best readers in his class (PFB!), was reading a mixture of books including a couple of Stage 3 ORT at about this time in Reception. By the end of Reception he was reading a band that included ORT 6 and 7. There were 2 children on the next band up.
But in Reception in our dcs' current school, they seem to just use ORT, which means that the children are exposed to the ORT vocabulary and sentence structure all the time (I mean, presumably that's how a reading scheme is supposed to be used - each book or level builds on the next). The teachers seem to have a lower threshold for moving them up to the next level, from my experience of listening to children.
In Y1 in DS1's first school, the 4 best readers (top reading group, if you like) were reading scheme books by the end of Y1 that the top reading group is reading at the start of Y1 in the current school. But I'm sure outside school they are reading at similar levels.
So I suppose I just mean that what level a child is on isn't necessarily comparable across schools.
That is really long and boring and not at all interesting to anyone other than CD - and possibly not even to CD!
Once they start getting reading books sent home you will see what level they're on. But if the school alternates between reading schemes, they all have different levels so are a guide only. There is such a thing as 'book banding' which attempts to take books from all schemes and put them into standard bands, but I don't know much about this.
And Gigglewitch - I don't mean to sound flippant but have you thought of looking in DS1's friends' book bags if they come to play after school. <admits nothing>
Once they start getting reading books sent home you will see what level they're on. But if the school alternates between reading schemes, they all have different levels so are a guide only. There is such a thing as 'book banding' which attempts to take books from all schemes and put them into standard bands, but I don't know much about this.
And Gigglewitch - I don't mean to sound flippant but have you thought of looking in DS1's friends' book bags if they come to play after school. <admits nothing>
Or alternatively the stranger who is not you could just look at me blankly as I call out "Countess!" We both know Mrs Tweedy, though, so really I could ask her to introduce me.
What is a free-reader? DC school does book-banding (multiple schemes). I think it works well, not explained to parents at all, tho'. ORT level is only relevant if you want 2 compare. If you & teacher are happy about their progress, non-issue / not worth finding out. DS3 has a summer birthday (no known SN or SEN) & frankly I'll be satisfied if he hits something like ORT5 at the end of y2.
DD is a free reader and was 6 last month, I'm not sure what it means exactly?? Just that she can read? She can read pretty much anything now, so I suppose its just that? Its parents evening tomorrow so will find out then.
Free reader just means that they are no longer reading the reading schemes set by the school. So it can mean different things in different schools - different levels of reading to an extent even. However, on the whole, a free reader would be anyone who is able to select their own book and read it with little help/support.
Even basic chapter books, so called "free readers" by likes of Jeremy Strong, Roald Dahl etc, are colour banded so form part of graded reading levels. At ours they follow on from equivalent of the Treetops level of ORT so Stage 13 ish(which are 54 page chapter books). dd(7 in August) is moving onto them now but has been reading their likes at home for about 18 months. Beyond Stage 13 the subject matter is aimed rather older so younger kids can lose interest
DS1 is reading basic chapter books at home on his own - Astrosaurs, Magic Treehouse, Capt Underpants etc - but as I said further down the thread, school have him on level 8 of their reading scheme (ORT + others).
I wonder if it's because they 'assess' children's reading level by their ability to read aloud? DS1 isn't very good at this - he reads with expression and understanding but tends to gabble, mumble and miss out/transpose words.
To add to the confusion I was told at the last parents' eve , when he was 6.8, that he had a reading and comprehension age of 9.something.
I don't care at all btw - he enjoys the books he brings home from school, so whatever level is fine by me. Just a bit confused!
All I can say is that ds1 followed ORT stages religiously (with my encouragement) and was a free reader 1/2 way through yr 2, so he was 7.3 ish ds2 yr 2 now, who read any book that took our fancy, some ORT, some jolly phonics, lots of information books paying no attention to levels cos I have been so casual 2nd time round, has been a free reader for the last few months so about 6.7 Do not worry about levels, average IME in yr 2 is level 5 - free reader. Just encourage him to read whatever he's interested in at home and I'm sure reading develops quicker. I just wish I'd known that with ds1 and we wouldn't have had to suffer so much bloody Kipper!
orinoco - they're gonna be fab readers!
) 
). She has been pushed through the stages and can read well, BUT, she cannot read expressively and as i say, she HATES it! 
