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Original poster

Books to read at home for reception child using ORT at school?

37 replies

bossykate · 14/01/2006 10:46

the title says it all really. ds gets 2 reading books/week from school. i would like him to be reading more at home, with more variety (he gets bored easily).

i would be grateful for any recommendations of basic reading books we could use at home which would complement ORT rather than confuse him, iywim.

thanks very much in advance

OP posts:
Original poster
bossykate · 14/01/2006 10:47

btw, i don't like ORT much, ds doesn't seem to actually read it, just memorise it and use the pictures to prompt him.

OP posts:
Pinotmum · 14/01/2006 11:22

I'll b watching this thread with interest because I've been thinking the same for my dd. We have some ORT books from the Book People that are for home use rather than school issue and she has been reading the very hungry caterpillar as it is a topic they have been doing but she needs stretching more to build up her bank of words and ORT isn't doing this imho. God do I sound pushy ?

LIZS · 14/01/2006 11:26

We have Usborne Apple Tree Farm books which both children have loved. They are structured with a short sentence or two at the top of the page for the child to read and a paragraph at the bottom for the parent, so you share them.

Original poster
bossykate · 14/01/2006 11:26

yeah, i'm a bit worried about the pushy thing too. dh and i have been to see his teacher twice already about the reading thing but i just don't see much progress having been made from a high baseline assessment and top score in reading readiness assessment. not a brag, just don't want him getting bored and put off reading for life

OP posts:
iota · 14/01/2006 11:27

Lisz - us too

TeddyRobinson · 14/01/2006 11:31

Could you not just have a go at reading any of the books you have in your collection (kids obviously!)? Maybe reading stories with him as you might normally do but get him to read parts that you think he could manage?

I'm finding ds1 can read almost any of his books now and he is reading everything he sees - road signs, labels etc. He's doing JP though (I don't understand how the other method works so I don't know if that makes a difference).

Original poster
bossykate · 14/01/2006 14:27

.

OP posts:
Blandmum · 14/01/2006 14:40

Lizs, we have used the Apple tree farm books as well, ds, a very reluctant learner loves the fact that we share the reading of the story.

We also go some Tomas books in a pack with some work books, puzzles stickers etc, and ds likes those too.

Pinotmum · 14/01/2006 16:48

Just looked at these books on Amazon and then priced them with The Book People - 20 books for £12.99 + p&p. I think dd would like them as she had the touch n feel ones as a toddler (she'll know the characters) so may go ahead and get some - ds can have them after as well. Thanks for recommendations!

Blandmum · 14/01/2006 16:53

That is the set we have, and I also got them from the book people. It is aset of 20 books and, I think, exceptional value for monney.

Pinotmum · 14/01/2006 16:59

They are £3.99 a book on Amazon so yes MB great value I agree .

Blandmum · 14/01/2006 17:01

The price on the box says £70

spykid · 14/01/2006 17:02

Just must point out as I sell usborne books that you can in fact get all 20 titles in 1 padded book for £12.99 !
Love apple tree farm too, don't forget to look for the little yellow duck on each [page.

Ladybird also do a good range of phonic books that I bought for ds1. Hot Fox and Splat Cat were the first 2.

iota · 14/01/2006 17:05

we've got the Big Book of FarmYard Tales plus CD - for 12.99

like this but with a CD

roisin · 14/01/2006 17:49

Puddle Lane books were very popular with my boys at this stage. They have text for the adult and separate text for the children to read (in a similar way to the Apple Tree Farm books), which is a great way of building reading confidence.

The first books are Level 1, which have very simple child text, but they move up to Level 4 which is quite complex. I would recommend them for all beginner readers. I think the stories are more appealing to 5-7 yr-olds than the Apple Tree Farm Stories. (There are wizards, magic, disappearing monsters, dragons, mice that can talk, etc.!)

They are now out of print, but you can always pick them up very cheaply on Ebay.

Aloha · 14/01/2006 17:51

Have you seen the Red Nose Readers? They are great fun. Our library has them. They are Ahlberg books.
There are some great books for beginning readers by Dr Suess I think. Ds can read them and they are quite funny.

Original poster
bossykate · 14/01/2006 18:08

thanks very much everyone for these suggestions

roisin, the puddle lane books sound just the ticket.

i think part of the issue is those ORT books are so dull! also there is a huge disconnect between the sophistication of the stories he is used to being read by us and what he can read himself, iyswim. we read him greek and roman myths, abridged narnia etc. what he can read for himself is just boring by comparison - baby stories. that's why reading simpler books we have at home wouldn't really work, i think. he has even outgrown thomas the tank engine now really.

having said that, i have suggested that he reads one of dd's bedtime stories for her tomorrow night

thanks very much, i will check out all of these suggestions and any more v. welcome

OP posts:
Mo2 · 14/01/2006 18:13

What level is he on ORT? The reason I ask is because when I ahd the same discussion with DS's teacher last year, one of the points I raised was that I was happy to get books from shops/ the libarry etc, but I wanted to get those at the right sort of level. She actually gave me a list of 'ORT Level' 4 and then 5 books which I could then beg, borrow or steal....(eBay, libary, friends)

My strategy has always been to have as many books as possible at home and let the DSs choice the ones they're interested in - they seem to pick the right sort of things automatically!

If you'd like the Level4 or 5 lists just let me know - I probably still have them

Mo2 · 14/01/2006 18:15

I meant 'library' clearly! Dyslexic typing rather than poor spelling!

singersgirl · 14/01/2006 18:25

With DS1 we used some of those Ladybird phonics readers and also some Usborne Phonics readers (things like "Frog on a log"), though if your son doesn't want to read 'baby' books he might not like them - they have cute illustrations which appealed to my DS.

DS1's school used a range of reading schemes at each level (10 or more different schemes), which was a lot less boring for both me and him - you got exposed to more vocabulary and different types of writing.

I'm a great Jolly Phonics fan and used this with DS2, but don't particularly recommend their reading books. Ruth Miskin Literacy has a great range of decodable books which you can buy in black and white quite cheaply and DS2 has really enjoyed those. A different approach from ORT, but could be complementary.

Aloha · 14/01/2006 19:26

red nose readers! ds thinks the are hilarious and not at all babyish. like joke books in a way. dr suess aslso not at all babyish.
the abridged lion witch wardrobe is good, isn't it?

foxinsocks · 14/01/2006 19:32

I would second aloha's suggestion of the easier Dr Seuss books (like one fish two fish). He certainly won't be able to do every word but should be able to make a good stab at them and the rhyming and rhythm of those books is very good for them.

The stage of reading it sounds like he is at is quite tricky. They haven't had that light switch moment where they suddenly realise they can read anything they like yet they get bored with the basic stories that they can read! I found the ORT stories get quite interesting when they go off on the magic key adventures (can't remember which stage this is at).

foxinsocks · 14/01/2006 19:35

just reading that back, it sounds like I'm making a big judgement of his reading skills! I'm sure he probably could manage one fish two fish but I didn't want you to pick it up and think it looked too hard!

Aloha · 14/01/2006 19:37

ds bought one fish two fish with the book token his grandma gave him for christmas, he loved choosing and buying it and could read every word

10 On Top is also good.

Orinoco · 14/01/2006 21:02

Message withdrawn