Reading and Groups in a class of 30

[scotchbunny]

My DD is 6 and in P2 which is equivalent to year 1. She is bounding ahead with reading and is very fluent(this is not a my child is a genius boast, she is average at maths and her writing is appalling to balance things out.

At school there are 3 reading groups and she is in the top group, there are 10-12 others in this group. They are on stage 8 ORT. DD finds these books incredibly easy. She races through them with speed and says that they are easy, she has never once got a single word wrong. They are very easy and basic for her comprehension/vocab wise. She also has great expression which she can turn off/on like a tap. These books from school she finds dull and often reads them out quite monotone. I haven't said anything to the teacher however another mum who's dd is also in the same group (and is in fact a genuis child by the sounds of it) has. Basically the teacher said to her, your dd is clearly good at reading but she is in the top group and will not be moved forward/up until the rest of the group are ready to do so.

Now, your not telling me that out of a class of 30 the children would be assessed and gathered into groups within only 3 levels. And in a group of 10 that all would progress the same?

I would like my dd to be reading more advanced material at school. she does at home with her own books and i feel she should be stretched within the class room too.

So, what would you do?

Ask the teacher what the schools policy is for their more able readers.

DD was in the top group of four in a class of 22 children for literacy. However, teacher created an extra group to cater for her and two others who were in her words "Leaving the others behind". Are the groups set in stone? Could another group not be created in your childs's school?

In my opinion it's the blinking books thatcause these problems! THey are uniformly dreary....no child that I know actually enoys them...and that really annoys me. Reading is meant to be taught as a life long pleasure! What an introduction!

You have every right to insist your child be given suitable books...speak to herteacher and if no joy then speak to the head teacher...I also feel my child is being held back because of the hatred of these boring books.

I think at the moment the groups are fairly set in stone. They say any more than 3 groups are unmanagable. This is only in this year group at present though with a new reading framework that is being piloted. A lot of parents are a bit unhappy with it. Plus, prior to the new school year there was no mention of a new piloted reading framework, this was not comunicated to parents at all.

yes, but this is just for the random 'guided reading' stuff, right? not for individual reading and the books she brings home?

dd2 went into yr r and was started on ort 10 for individual reading, but did the same 'guided reading' stuff as everyone else in her group. the group reading time in the class is for a lot of different things, not just reading ability. i've neverr had much of an issue with it - she can read fine, she isn't going to forget how - (she's yr 2 now and reads whatever she likes, still does the same guided reading in class)

if this is for individual reading, then ask for a proper reading assessment to be done and for her work to be differentiated appropriately. she won't be the only one reading at that level and schools cope very easily with different reading abilities.

This is not guided reading, she reads ort stage 8 in her group at school and brings the same book home every night too. We are in scotland so may do things slightly different.

At home she reads and enjoys amelia jane(reading just now). The daisy chapter books. The easier jaqueline wilson books(recently read lizzie lipmouth and the sleepover). She would manage stage 10/11 of ort with no bother i would imagine.

each child gets an indiviualised learning plan, that will come home end of october for a week. Any ideas of constructive, non-pushy but firm things I can write to point out I am unhappy with this pilot and feel my dd is being kept behind?

I will ask at parents evening a bit more about it though.

dd1 started p1 in scotland and tbh it was far in advance of anything they got in england - she made progress a lot more quickly than the other two

ilp sounds grand - i suspect they are sorting the kids now and getting them prepped. when is the parent's evening? tbh i tend to let it shake out until then, and then discuss differentiation. it often takes the first couple of months for them to get organised (at least )

i honestly wouldn't discuss the pilot yet - too early - this is obviously the first stage until the individualised bit starts - you might end up looking like a bit of a numpty if you know there's an individualised programme on the way but you say you aren't happy because her programme isn't individualised...

waiting is frustrating, but tbh they've only had 6 weeks, (7 maybe for scotland?) and it is a new scheme they are wrangling with.

no harm in seeing what the ilp says before getting constructive only a couple more weeks...

but in advance of that, i'd get the school policy sheet out and dust it off - get hold of the one for more able learners (usually filed next to the sen) and see what it says etc.

Thanks, will hold off for sure until the parents evening and until i have the plan in my hands. I am not one for making a fuss but I would like to speed up her progression with reading here.

there's no reason why her reading won't progress though - the twenty minutes they do in literacy hour is no match for what they are doing at home (with or without you) anyway. does she have plenty of books on her shelves that she's interested in? help to read the bedtime story? (or read it to you?) grab a book to take in the car for journeys? play schools with her teddys?

that's not letting the school off the hook - you do need to take it up with them once you have gauged the actuality of the new scheme, but she doesn't have to stall in the interim.

Don't know if it would be possible for her to work with the year above for guided reading? My dd is in reception, but does guided reading with year 1.

Yes, thanks nickoftime, she has lots of books, we do library, I get books from her older cousin, also buy lots from e bay etc.

The thing that really set her off on reading was once it clicked she started to read to her little sister. Now she does that every night then goes to bed and reads herself and to us and is still read to at least 5 nights a week.

that's fab - i'd let the school thing run until you get the ilp, def, and then take it up if you aren't happy.