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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

can you explain reading levels to me?

20 replies

MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 21:39

y1
teacher said dc is behind the class.
we are reading songbirds level 3 at home and the books we get home from school are blue band (?)
teacher also said something about levels 7-9 (but where do those fit in?)
and most importantly, where should dc be at and hat can we do?
I'm a bit clueless about it all...

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RueDeWakening · 15/04/2013 21:42

Try www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands for info to start with.

simpson · 15/04/2013 21:45

Blue level is stage 4 IIRC.

Stage 1 - pink
Stage 2 - red
Stage 3 - yellow
Stage 4 - blue
Stage 5 - green
Stage 6 - orange
Stage 7 - turquoise
Stage 8 - purple
Stage 9 - gold
Stage 10 - white
Stage 11 - lime

I read with yr1 kids in my DC school (although don't have a yr1 child and only a handful are on purple/gold level. The majority are on blue - orange with a fair few still on red.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 15/04/2013 21:46

Well tbh she shouldn't have told you that and not gone on to explain just exactly where she thinks the weaknesses lie. Blue is about level 3-4 so it is what most of the ort charts class as yr one reading but there will be children on red and children all the way up to gold/white/lime.

Where do you feel he struggles? How is his phonics grasp?

MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 21:53

thanks
it's ever so confusing to me.
school uses 'nelson books' and on their chart it says blue is level 9-11
his phonics are fine, I think (no clue really), he can decipher unfamiliar words (like 'terrifying' on a movie poster at the bus stop today ), sometimes has trouble with combined words.
I don't know if he's just behind his peers or behind what he should be at his age...

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MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 21:55

I think he remembers too well so doesn't concentrate. they read the book at school and then he takes it home where he more or less recites.

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Periwinkle007 · 15/04/2013 21:55

if the blue books he are bringing home are Oxford REading Tree blue books then they will be Book band 3/yellow which is the same level as the songbirds phonics you are reading with him.

It is possibly a little behind where they would hope they would be at this stage in Yr1 but at that age whether he is young in the year can make a big difference to what should be expected.

She may well have said something about some of the others in the class being levels 7-9 but that isn't the norm for year 1 I don't personally believe. He could be in a class of children who are all autumn birthdays, all just happen to have 'got' reading etc. Where they are in comparison to him isn't really relevant, where he is in relation to so called national expectations is relevant and www.oup.com/oxed/primary/oxfordreadingtree/chart/ this shows ages for levels which gives more idea I think.

What can you do about it? practice really. thats about it. Is he confident on his phonics? and if so how confident is he with blending them? I think if he is struggling then you could recap them with him, you are doing songbirds phonics which I personally like so they will be helping but make sure he is confident on the ones you have already done too. doesn't mean you have to read them all again, just pick odd pages and check with him that he can do some of the words. then build from there.

simpson · 15/04/2013 21:59

You can check out the Oxford owl website (free ebooks) to look at.

Also our local library has loads of phonics based books to try...

I personally don't think he is that behind and certainly there will not be many kids on stage 8/9/10....

MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 21:59

autumn birthday, so he is one of the oldest.
very good a maths, drawing, reciting.

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MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 22:04

thank you

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Periwinkle007 · 15/04/2013 22:05

the 9/10/11 are reading recovery levels, just to add to your confusion.

freetrait · 15/04/2013 22:05

I'd get him to try some of the stuff on oxford owl site: www.oxfordowl.co.uk/Library/Index/?AgeGroup=4&BookType=Phonics

and make your own assessment of where abouts he is. Could it be he's got a bit stuck at school?

Periwinkle007 · 15/04/2013 22:07

have you tried getting him to read just a normal storybook? sounding out words and using what he knows already? obviously a relatively simple one to start with but if he can work out words like terrifying then he may be better than it appears and it could be he isn't demonstrating it, it could be he is bored stupid of easy books (been there, had that with my daughter, it was too easy so she deliberately read it in a monotone or incredibly badly)

MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 22:12

he's definitly bored of repetetive and boring books!
that's why we have got songbirds at least they have a bit of a story and wit. he likes reading them to his little sibling.

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Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 15/04/2013 22:14

Just expose him to as many books as possible. Choose a wide range of books and read them together. It will click don't worry. And boredom could be a huge factor. No pressure, no stress just read for fun whatever he wants. Reading is reading and it will give him confidence. :)

Periwinkle007 · 15/04/2013 22:16

I would probably just sit with him then and read whatever it is you would normally read to him, follow the words as you read them with a finger and get him to read alongside you. keep his interest in reading, that is the most important thing IMO.

freetrait · 15/04/2013 22:16

Have you tried these www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1841213969/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21. If they're too hard, you could share them- he reads what he can and you fill in the rest. Or these:
www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Wobble-Waitress-Happy-Families/dp/0140312390/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366060467&sr=1-2&keywords=Happy%20Families&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

or even this:
www.amazon.co.uk/Horrid-Henrys-Underpants-HORRID-READER/dp/1842557246/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366060504&sr=1-2&keywords=Horrid%20Henry%20easy%20reader&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Or anything that he has a passion for really. Maybe expand your horizons a bit?

simpson · 15/04/2013 22:51

There is a fab set of books which are for parents to read with their children.

Usborne very first reading set.

They start very basic, ie you read the main page and the child reads the speech bubbles and they progress from there.

MousyMouse · 15/04/2013 22:58

we have a few usbornes, time to wipe the dust of them.

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Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 15/04/2013 23:01

Don't forget, cereal boxes, comics, road signs, shampoo bottles etc it all counts. :)

mrz · 16/04/2013 07:24

I think you need to make an appointment with his class teacher to ask how you can help and more importantly what the school intend to do.

Blue PM books are an appropriate level for Y1 children (approx level 1b)

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