Reception Reading Levels

[jazzymum]

I would really like to know what the average reading level for reception age children using the Oxford Tree system. I saw a previous thread mentioning a table but I can't find it.

If you have or had a reception aged child could you let me know what level you child was on when they finished reception. Much appreciated!

I think it varies enormously from child to child. My DS left Reception on level 10 (or 11 - can't remember exactly), and started free reading at the start of Y1 (which he's just finishing now). But he missed most of Reception (as he's summer born, I didn't want him to start school at just 4), so I don't know what he'd have been on if he'd been there from the start. I taught him to read at home using my old Peter and Jane books, along with reading street signs, shopping lists and such like!

In Reception, he read to me once a week (possibly twice? Can't remember now... have it all to look forward to again with DD!)
His classmates are all at different stages - some at level 10/11 now; others at level 7. Fortunately he is at a prep school with very small classes, so they all just do their own thing at their own rate...

fwiw I think that reading at this age is usually developmental rather than ability based i.e. as a general rule th older children can read better than the younger children. the same goes for Y1 imo and ime.
my dd1 just turned five and she is reading at level 2. she is comfortable at that level and I expect that is pretty average, but she is more interested in drawing, playing and making things and less interested in reading (though she loves having books read to her)
also, literacy is not just about reading but also about comprehension, and children who are not at this level may well be able to explain and comprehend at a higher level

I think reading is one of the things that parents are immensely competitive about when actually the children don't care.

A friend of mine recently picked up someone else's child from school and as we were walking towards the gates she said "am so glad I've picked up xxx, now I can have a look in her book bag to see what reading level she's on". I was to say the least.

I agree with whoever it was that said as long as the child is enjoying it it doesn't matter. My ds now regularly goes and finds books to read on his own, and I am constantly stunned at the things he tells me that he has read in a book "mummy, did you know, the sun is bigger than all the planets put together?". And he recently stunned the speaker at science week by being the only child who could tell him that "the moon isn't a lightt source, the sun shines around the earth and reflects on the moon and that's where the light comes from." he's 5 and in reception.

But imo it's important to remember that while not all children are good at reading, they are all good at something.

ds is just coming to the end of reception and is still only on stage one - just ( as in only just started getting books with words in) dd1 was way ahead of this last year when she was in reception. Now at the end of year one she is on stage 9. teacher told me last week that they were due to do some reading this week with her and she fully expected her to move to skip the rest of stage 9 and move to the next level. dd loves books ds not interested at the mo, and may never be an avid reader - dh would not read anything other than sport and finance, no point buying him a novel. dd and ds mirror how dh and I would have been at the same stage. he got better a level grades than me and went to university, good a job with a really good firm. I meanwhile languished in boring poorly paid jobs until I re took my A levels as a mature student and then went to university. Not that going to university is the be all and end all. Just really to say like others have said it wont really matter in the long run.

DS1 left reception on ORT 1, now in year 2 and at the top of the school reading levels.

DS2 will leave reception on ORT 2 probably, most likely because I seem to always forget to do his homework. But we read together, play monopoly, play top trumps.... He is learning.

My school is not a ORT school in general, but for the last few weeks they have been sending ORT books home. She is being given stage 1/1+. She is a very fluent reader, so I am not too concerned. I think some schools take reading more slowly in reception, jumping from one scheme to the next to give children a wider range of books and characters. There is very little streaming in reception at my children's school. It all kicks off in year one, and by the end of year 2 most children are off the reading scheme altogether (after stage 8).

I think where a child is on the reading scheme depends partly on the school and partly on the child. Many schools use reading schemes beyond stage 8. Ours doesn't, but that does not make it right or wrong, just different.

i dont push dd2 and her reading. she gets on average 6 books a week, even now on level 7. she loves reading, and will sit down each afternoon and read through her book on her own, and then read to dh or myself. we dont usually have to ask her to read to us, she asks us.

Hi can someone help me. My DS (6) is in yr1/reception and has the book The play what stage is this in?

DD is on level 2 at the moment, she is in the top set for reading. I asked her teacher how they approach the levels and when they move them up.

She said she could push all her top set children through the levels very quickly but she believes in them reading a wider range of books, not all story books, allowing them to read "easy" books sometimes as it feels good and boosts their confidence rather then being constantly challenged, she believes this will give them more chance of finding reading a pleasure.

DD really enjoys her reading at home and at school so I am happy with this approach. She has plenty of time to soar through the levels.

ds' school don't even have a scheme, or levels - just huge boxes of books at all levels which all the kids are free to take home.

I think it's great that way - we are looking solely at the book for enjoyment, not 'lets plough through this because it's part of the plan'.

amen
Building a love of reading is the target surely
otherwise you might as well stick them on a conveyor belt.

Goodness knows what level DD was when she left reception as they didn't really have many ORT books. But she couldn't read a sausage when she left. In fact she couldn't consistently read anything until the Christmas holiday in Year 1, when it was like a switch went on over the two weeks and she went back to school reading those Daisy Meadow book things. As far as I can tell, the differences in reading have drastically narrowed by Year 4.

DS is starting school in September and a completely different kettle of fish. I went to a meeting at his new school last week and they have said what they will do is give all the children a library book for us to read to them to start with whilst they gradually see what level reading the children are in the first few weeks.

After that they will all come back with picture books, even the ones who can read. The reasoning behind this is that they want them to understand fully how a book works, how a story is told and to focus on comprehension, not just repeat words verbatim. They will then change reading books once a week, if they want to have the same book for a bit that is fine, they just want them to enjoy reading at this stage. We are under strict instructions to make sure they are not pushed and if they are tired then it is to be left.

He had a little picture of a tree up on the overhead and pointed out that when we were at school there was focus on the leaves at the top of the tree ie the end result, reading. But that they wanted to take it gradually, start with the roots, build up the trunk, then the branches, and then finally the leaves. To get a really good understanding and love of reading. A bit cheesy but I got what he meant.

exactly, pag. This morning, we ferreted through and picked out one that ds was enthused by. Perfect! There is so much at school that he is bored by and does because he HAS to (writing, mainly - sitting still, etc!!) that it is a real blessing that this kind of feeling hasn't gone through to reading and books. At primary age surely it is THE time to foster a love of books. I know for sure that if we had to plough through blummin Biff n Chipper or whatever this would take all the joy and enthusiasm out of it for ds.

mmm So does reception mean aged 4-5, or do you mean by the end of year 2 (6-7). I am particularly interested in the answers that refer to age 4-5!

my ds is in year one - he's five but the majority of his class are six already.

Oh dear, don't compare. Reception is about falling in love with school and the journey of learning, not about being the best!! I was a genius in reception, on the top level books very high IQ....... never got the work ethic though and so my degree was really hard! Just make it a great time and you can't go wrong.

My Ds is 4, one of the youngest in "reception" he is on ORT 1+ but has been on that level for the last 3 months. Thinks school books are boring but will happily try and read any books he can at home and loves either of us or his DS to read to him. Have some sympathy with him because I am pretty bored of these now too! School won't change the level until he knows all of his 45 reception high frequency words, which is fair enough - he consistently gets 2 wrong. Yet he also knows many of the year 1 words!

I think it is all really subjective. Ds is on level 4 but they read every single book at each level and all of the associated books and even some books from other schemes before they move on. I have noticed in the class room that they have no books at a higher level.

My mother bought ds some books at level 7 and he read those in just the same way as he would read his level 4 books (actually with more enthusiasm as at least they had a decent story!).

Other children tell me that ds is regarded as the cleverest child in his class (although I am not sure that I or the teacher would share this assessment!)

God reading this thread makes me cringe....

this thread just makes me amazed at all the 'levels'!!! So glad I have no clue where DS would be. It doesn't matter.

If he had real difficulties I trust the teacher to tell me.

So long as he's loving picking up a book, I'm happy and know he is developing and learning.

It is interesting how differently the schools operate. My son is coming to the end of YR and is on level 3, though he reads lots of other books as well. He is in the top group because the school takes things very slowly in reception. I suspect in Y1 it speeds up. So don't worry if people in other schools are more "advanced" - it could simply be because the schools send more books home and hear them read more often. My son started on one book a week and was getting very bored - so was I! Now he gets 2 ORTs, another scheme book and a non-fiction book. And he reads loads of other stuff at home. I don't think his school gives the levels any importance - it's teacher assessment of their reading level that counts.

I also remember reading on here once that teachers send home books that are at the easier end of your child's ability so that they find it easy at home and therefore fun. They don't send difficult books home that may cause them to lose heart at home.

The two girls I mind, both reception, one is 5 at the end of this month, have both completed Level 10 on ORT and are reading Banana book.

I do think that they have been pushed too much, they have two books to read most nights.

It is interesting how the two girls differ with their reading. The other child was 5 in January, but not so proficient as the younger one, who can look at the page and immediately read it fluently and with good intonation and expression, also understanding what she is reading, the older child approaches it differently, reading well, but better the second time of reading as she is more comfortable with the text.

They are writing joined up beautifully also. There are 22 in class and it is an independent school.