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Primary education

The dreaded ORT books!

43 replies

sagandswing · 23/11/2012 17:03

My dd is attending nursery class and a few weeks back started bringing home the first stage of the joyfull ORT books....and in a nut shell she is not interested in the slightest! I have tried making it fun, catching her in a good mood (not too tired from school) but she just does not want to know infact she runs off if she sees the dam thing! Yet she will ask me to read to her randomly, and she will pick her own book at bedtime and "read" me a story, by that I mean make one up :).

My Ds was the complete opposite he would have a crack every day of the week if he could at that age :), how on earth can I encourage her to do this?? will it affect her reading in the future if she continues to avoid the first stage of the schools reading scheme??

OP posts:
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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 23/11/2012 17:04

Don't bother with them. She'll be fine.
She's clearly already familiar with books, stories etc.

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learnandsay · 23/11/2012 17:10

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you asking her to read the ORT books to you? Can she read? Does she know her letter sounds? Could she read the sentence

The cat sat on the mat?

If she can't I'm not surprised that she runs off.

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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 23/11/2012 17:11

The first ORT books just have pictures in and you're meant to get the child to tell the story, they don't have actual words. It's meant to familiarise them with the way books work.

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sagandswing · 23/11/2012 17:24

Thanks tunip sorry left out all of the important info Grin

I wouldn't be surprised if she ran off because I wanted her to read invisible sentences either learn Grin

It's just that in her reading diary it states "try to spend time looking at the book with Dc for at least 10 mins a day" but the little tinker wont even give the books a second!....so I suppose the question should of been..is it ok as long as she is spending time looking at other books, talking about them etc and not concentrating on the schools reading scheme (ORT) it isn't gonna cause her any future problems?

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lakeofshiningwaters · 23/11/2012 17:29

I wouldn't even give it a second thought. She's only at nursery school! Plenty of time to get familiar with ORT and the characters. Just keep doing what you're doing and encouraging a love of a wide range of books.

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Ilovesunflowers · 23/11/2012 18:04

They are dire aren't they!

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mrz · 23/11/2012 18:16

" It's meant to familiarise them with the way books work." I've never quite worked out why anyone thinks they need wordless books for a child to become familiar with books ... far better sharing a story and a cuddle IMHO

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StewieGriffinsMom · 23/11/2012 18:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

allchildrenreading · 23/11/2012 18:20

She sounds a very wise little thing !

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mumchat · 23/11/2012 18:35

They are awful. Just use the books you have at home to read to her and to chat about. Sure that's what you do anyway! This sending home ridiculous books in EYFS is becoming a very common problem judging by the number of posts on MN about it.

My little one is so thrilled with the fact she can now sound out CVC words and is most cross with her books including "castle" and other unhelpful words. Have bought Read Write Inc on Amazon (10 books for £8) to use instead & she loves them & gets real sense if achievement when she reads a sentence!

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MissMe · 24/11/2012 17:24

" It's meant to familiarise them with the way books work." I've never quite worked out why anyone thinks they need wordless books for a child to become familiar with books ... far better sharing a story and a cuddle IMHO

Unfortunately, some children that we have arriving at our school have never had a story read to them, don't possess books, don't have parents who read (whether through lack of inclination or ability. This is far from uncommon in my experience, and hence why the evils of the wordless ORT books are allowed to exist - some children need that.

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mrz · 24/11/2012 17:33

"Unfortunately, some children that we have arriving at our school have never had a story read to them, don't possess books, don't have parents who read"

and how does that prevent school staff sharing stories and cuddles while talking about how books work? and how does it prevent the child talking home a book with words to share with a parent ... or can you only learn how books work from wordless books?
Very few children need wordless books ...

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learnandsay · 24/11/2012 17:40

Depends on the wordless book. Raymond Briggs' The Snowman is wordless. We've got a series of the seasons books illustrated with hundreds of characters per page and they're brilliant. But if you mean The Ugly Duckling but just with no words in it then the bin is the safest place for books like that.

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mrz · 24/11/2012 18:39

The OP and MissMe mention ORT wordless books and my reply is based on those books ...personally not a fan of The Snowman but Jan Omeron's Sunshine and Jeannie Baker's Window are wonderful wordless books. I've used Free Fall and other books by David Wiesner to stimulate talk and writing but would never use wordless ORT as a stimulus.

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Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 24/11/2012 20:24

Look
On the bright side , if they r wordless ones then at least you can make something interesting up. Once they have words in them they r the most awful, dull, pathetic books u will have seen. It's taken till first term in yr one to get ones my dd will happily read. Funnily enough they r really old copies but don't have the terrible trio in them :o

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MissMe · 25/11/2012 10:02

^and how does that prevent school staff sharing stories and cuddles while talking about how books work? and how does it prevent the child talking home a book with words to share with a parent ... or can you only learn how books work from wordless books?
Very few children need wordless books ...^

I don't think you quite understand the emotional, cultural and literal poverty that these children come from. They don't have books at home because books are not seen as useful, valuable, or as having any kind of point. They would require the adult to interact with the child in a way that the adult doesn't know how to. The point of wordless books is that the child can make his or her own story, without requiring the adult to read to them or with them, encouraging the child to find a story, to find entertainment, in a place that is not the tv.

As for staff sharing stories and cuddles, our reception staff read to children - clearly the Handling Policy prevents cuddles. They don't have time to sit with every child individually, as a parent should do, should want to, should be able to, because they have also to teach the numeracy, the social skills, the topic work, as well as deal with the wet bottoms from children who are not fully day toilet trained at 4.

If you don't understand that, then I am glad for you, and for your children. I was like you, I didn't see how a person grew without books, I didn't understand how parents didn't want to read with a child. My son had a story every night, even before he was born.

But now I do understand, and I can see that some parents, some of the subcultures of Britain have different priorities, caused by economic pressures, and a lack of opportunity which continues through generations. If ORT books help that, then I'm all for them. Even if I have to listen to "The Magic Key" a thousand more times.

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mrz · 25/11/2012 11:19

"I don't think you quite understand the emotional, cultural and literal poverty that these children come from."

I've taught for 2 decades in an area designated as having high social and economic deprivation and very few of our children come from homes with books or have ever visited a library but could happily discuss the merits of blue wkd over blue lagoon ... so I think I probably do know the type of home.

"The point of wordless books is that the child can make his or her own story, without requiring the adult to read to them or with them, encouraging the child to find a story, to find entertainment, in a place that is not the tv."
That is certainly not the point of wordless books! Wordless books are meant to be shared with an adult and to be talked about ... and I will repeat if a child is making up stories they can do that with any picture book they don't have to be wordless or ORT!



"As for staff sharing stories and cuddles, our reception staff read to children - clearly the Handling Policy prevents cuddles" as the Designated Child Protection Officer for my school I'm appalled that you think there is any reason why an adult (who presumably has been CRB checked) can't hug a small child Shock

"They don't have time to sit with every child individually"
They don't have to sit down with every child individually ...try sitting down in the book corner or better still make a den and sit in it and just see how many children want to share this special time with you ..."the social skills, the topic work," and isn't sharing books a great way to develop social skills and teach topics Wink
personally I would tell my staff Make bliddy time IT'S IMPORTANT!

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Feenie · 25/11/2012 11:54

I don't think you quite understand the emotional, cultural and literal poverty that these children come from.

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Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 25/11/2012 12:03

All the more reason to stop wasting money on wordless books and spend it on broadening the selection they have to choose from in school. :)

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mrz · 25/11/2012 12:15

Exactly Wheresmycaffeinedrip Grin

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Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 25/11/2012 12:17

I agree with u mrz any book containing pictures can be used :)

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MissMe · 25/11/2012 13:27

Well, clearly you've all been to my school, know my children, and know where they come from. That's fine then! :-) If your county encourages the cuddling of children, then that's also fine then :-) If all your parents have the time to sit and read with their children, then you, and more importantly they, are very blessed, and more than fine then. :-) Yes, any book containing pictures can be used, but we have the ORT books. Feel free to donate to my school, and we'll replace them! We haven't bought new books in a long time, unless we spent the Tesco vouchers on them. Please come to see my head teacher and explain that it is better to be sitting with children and reading than doing damn observations. That would be more than fine! :-)
I am so glad that you have all the answers! I feel much better now!

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mrz · 25/11/2012 13:59

Not just my county MissMe ...Mr Gove has stated teachers shouldn't be afraid to hug children if they need it.

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Feenie · 25/11/2012 15:16

Well, clearly you've all been to my school, know my children, and know where they come from.

Re-read your last but one post - that's actually how you came across. Smile

Lots of us work in deprived areas and have to teach children how to love books.

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MissMe · 25/11/2012 15:17

Not just my county MissMe ...Mr Gove has stated teachers shouldn't be afraid to hug children if they need it.

I need a reference for that, and I'll print the bugger out and send it to county myself! Gove actually said something that made sense and was for the benefit of the children? Really?

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