To want more than 1 book per week.

[mealychump]

Am hoping you can tell me if IABU or not before I go in and see my DS's teacher.

DS has just turned 5 (august baby) and has started Year 1 at a new school since we moved house.

He had a really slow start to reception and it took him ages to start reading. Initially I wasn't worried as he was only 4, but everyone else started to pick it up and he seemed to struggle. His then teacher wasn't that worried but he didn't reach the expected level by the end of reception. He finished on red books (just about) but had been on pink for ages.

New school put him straight on red books, thats all fine and i'm happy. Suddenly, it's starting to click. Slowly but surely he's getting it and making some progress. However, at his new school they only change the reading books once a week! So we are only getting one new book a week. We read it a few times but I really think he needs more than this to make better progress and help him to catch up.

His previous school gave him a book every day or every other day, I thought that was the norm! I want to go and discuss this with his teacher and see what she suggests. But before I go in and ask for multiple books a week, I wanted to hear what other schools do. If his previous school was a real anomaly with lots of books per week then I guess I have to accept I might be stuck going through this at snails pace. How on earth though, is a slightly struggling reader supposed to progress if they only get one bloody book a week!?

Other than pestering school for more books, is there anything I can do?

I really don't understand parents who seem to think children should only read at school / their school books.

This!!!

Read anything and everything. Go to the library if you don't have many books at home.
Please please don't make the school reading scheme your dc's only experience of books!

I'm a year 1 TA. Do you have any idea how long it takes to change 30 books? It includes reading the parent comment, checking past books and comments to see if they're on the right level, checking which books on that level they've already had, then rummaging around time find one they haven't read yet, before writing it down, possibly finding and sticking in a new tick sheet, checking book folder for any notes/letters then moving into the next. It takes 2 minutes per folder at an absolute minimum - often more like 5 minutes - multiply that by 30 and it's at least an hours work to change a whole class's books.
We usually get try to get them done during assembly - but that's only 25 minutes so invariably they are finished off when we're supposed to be having our break or lunchtime.
I do book change every day but we have 2 boxes by the door, a green and a red.
Children know if their book needs to be changed they put it in the green box, if it doesn't they put it in the red. Could it be something like this causing yours not to be changed?
I check the red box a couple of times a week just to mop up any persistent mistakes but by this point most of our year 1s are pretty well trained at it.
Even though we change books every day we still get parents asking for extra books!
This can double the time of the already ridiculously time consuming book change, especially if the kids dip in and out of each book so it takes ages to figure out if they've actually finished either of them.
Not to mention the amount per year that go missing at home.
So no. One book at a time.
I will leave a book in for additional re-reads if I think a child's fluency or understanding needs consolidation, but would always write a note to that effect.

Sorry that turned into quite a rant but it is a bit of a bug bear after 10 years as a TA!

Books are changed once a week from reception to whenever they become free readers at DSD's school. We visit the library every week though.

I don’t think DS 7 ever reads his school books, which are fairly bland, but he reads loads of books at home — stuff we’ve bought, borrowed from the library, stuff DH and I have from our own childhoods.

Try reading chest, we used it for the exact same reason. We're moved schools due to a house move and the new school had a policy of no books over x colour in reception. So we nodded and smiled and she continued at her own pace at home using texting chest. Year one teacher put get up several colours ;) so long ago now can't remember. She loved getting the bills in the post addressed to her.

In yr1 ds can change his book daily within his level. Same in reception and through primary I believe though the 9lder ones obviously dont get through a book a day!

A book a week in y1 at our school and they’re not allowed to change them more often as they all change on the same day.

But if you read your own books with him I don’t see the issue?

1 a week at our school in reception and year 1 so far. Reception teacher did say she’d send two home a week when I asked but it only happened a few times.

We also had a back of songbird phonics (levels 1-6) and made use of the library. Also oxford owl website has some free e books.

We get two books, changed once a week. I bought a couple of sets not used in the school, and supplemented with those and ones from the library, usually the level they were bringing home from school plus the level above.

Eh? He reads the school book then you get others from library or charity shops or thebookpeople etc. Follow his lead.
He is just five. Dont fret. But do have loads of books at home. Book fairs charity shop library.

It might well be that it's not as easy as just getting a new book. I expect that they have to read to a teacher or TA, which is only practical so many times a week.

Join a library or just read books at home with him - doesn't matter about the banding colour.
He's still so young, don't push it too much - it's far better to read for pleasure than as a chore.

How on earth though, is a slightly struggling reader supposed to progress if they only get one bloody book a week!?

A struggling reader will be overwhelmed if he has to read a different book every day. They need a level of repetition that reading one book repeatedly gives.

Also GO TO THE LIBRARY.

Once a week is standard. We just go to the library. Or read his books at home.

School books are sooooo boring compared to all the wonderful books you'll find in the library.

If you want him to love books you need the library, not extra bloody Biff and Kipper.

We get 2 books a week in year 1. We get library books and read books we already have to fill the gaps. Some days we don’t want to read the school books so I wouldn’t want one a day

And as someone mentioned above repetition and learning sight words is why it's one book a week, It's not a bad thing to repeat it. That's how kids learn.

Yy, @AudacityOfHope. Biff, Chip and Kipper are the Peter and Jane of 2019. They’d put anyone off the idea of literacy.

I’m a Primary teacher and it’s pretty standard to change books weekly or even fortnightly at that stage. It’s not just about sounding out the words correctly. It can be looking at key vocabulary, making predictions, formulating their own questions, describing the characters and their actions, looking at punctuation etc. I taught a boy a few years ago who could read everything and anything, but his understanding and ability to infer wasn’t at the same standard. He had missed our a lot of the important steps because his parents complained about lack of pace and by the time he got to my class he was reading quite complex texts mechanically.

Try library books - biff chip and kipper, songbird, ort level 2 is red. Take a look at oxford owl www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/?view=image&query=&type=book&age_group=Age+4-5&level=&level_select=&book_type=&series=#
ladybird read it yourself level 0 is pink/red www.ladybirdeducation.co.uk/books/read-it-yourself/

I do think schools should explain their chosen banding a bit more clearly as there are lots and they vary greatly.

Simply volunteer to go in every day and change every child’s book. It shouldn’t take you longer than three hours a day to do.

They change the books every day in reception at DD’s school - and send two for her every day. But we also just read what we’ve got at home - try the Book People for cheap grades books

We always provided our DC with books, be it from the library or purchased. Do people really expect school to be fully responsible for their children having something to read nowadays?

Now RTFT - who has kids who will tolerate reading a school reading book more than once?! Twice at an absolute push! Blimey o’Reilly that’s some very bored kids, surely...

My son used to get one book a week and the school told me it was to ensure they had proper comprehension and fluency that they are not as likely to get just changing the book daily. We also had a full set of the ORT ones to read at home as well.

My son is a brilliant reader, he’s now in high school and loves reading.