After ORT - what then?

[teej]

OK, so DC1 is free-reading having completed ORT. His teacher says he can just read what he likes and that is what he has been doing but I have this nagging thought in the back of my mind - is there anything he should be reading at this point to help formally extend his vocab etc?

What age is he?
My DS went onto free reading in year 2 and selected books himself off the class bookshelf & the school library. They had reasonable selection but we eventually supplied all the books ourselves from our local library/car boot sales/birthday pressies etc.
There are some amazing books out there and my DS is now an avid reader in Yr6 and I supply all his reading material. Were at the library yesterday for a fresh supply. I encourage a variety of reading genres - fantasy, humour, thrillers, non fiction etc. and his vocabulary is excellent - it is important he reads with you so you can discuss new words.

I'd like to know this too teej. DD1 has finished the school reading scheme and brings home books off "shelf 1" from school. She reads a huge variety at home. The school books though seem to range from simple picture books to books with 15 chapters and no pictures. Some of the content seems too grown up for a just turned 6 year old too. I'd like to be pointed in the direction of fun books, still with some pictures, but more challenging text if they exist please!

The school library should have suitable books, but frankly I have always found the best thing for expanding vocabulary is reading widely. This will mean they end up reading some rubbish, but that's not a problem, it's all part of the reader experience.

One thing I have done with my children is to carry on reading aloud so I can introduce oldfashioned children's books with a more complex vocabulary and sentence structure than you get in modern ones. And to give them an idea of the kind of thing they might like to read for themselves once they get to that stage. Things like The Borrowers, Jennings, Paddington Bear (which is surprisingly difficult), Narnia, Bedknob and Broomsticks.

I agree with cory-be very thankful that he has finished with ORT and read widely for pleasure. Join you local library-go every week and let him choose.

Your library is your best resource an free.

I'm guessing your ds is about 6 or 7.

Children this age often don't like books that are too long. Books that younger children like include Captain Underpants, Astrosaurs, most things by Jeremy Strong, Beast Quest series, How to Train a Dragon. Essentially books with shortish chapters, some pictures and either humour or adventure. Girls also like Rainbow Magic but I think you have a ds.

Like Cory, I also read aloud to my children. Most children would give up on old fashioned books, but will listen to them being read aloud. My Y6 dd is being read Oliver Twist at the moment, which she could not manage on her own.

cory - another Paddington Bear fan here .

I have had great success weaning my DD onto more difficult children's literature via films. I know this is widely disapproved of as an educational approach, but it works very well for us - DD watched the film version of The Secret Garden, Ballet Shoes, Black Beauty etc before I read the book to her, and her ear was already attuned to the vocabulary and turn of phrase of traditional literature.

Has he read any horrid henry ? My 7 yr old loves them
we're currently Reading harry potter aloud to him every night ( we're on book number 4)
others he might like are Roald Dahl books, the beast quest series by Adam Blade I think and the easy reader books in your local library

Oh thanks everyone for your feedback! Random he's actually Y3, so 8, but his old school had a different scheme so I wasn't sure what to expect from ORT this year in his new school. It seems like most of the children are still on the scheme - he's one of two (I believe) to have finished all of level 16 including the classics - which were his favourites by far - so I'd quite like to encourage that but am unsure whether he's ready for full-fat Shakespeare/Dickens! Perhaps Cory Narnia etc is the way to go.

The teacher has acknowledged the free reading books in the classroom are alternatives to the level he has already achieved rather than extensions of it IYKWIM - ie Dick King-Smith, Anne Fine, Jeremy Strong etc - all of which he had read in his old school. So we have to rely on library/books we have at home.

mad, cory yy he exhausted his passion for Astrosaurs, Horrid Henry and Cows in Action sometime last year, and gets that macdonalds feeling after Beast Quest - "yes I've read it but not convinced it did anything for me" so isn't that keen - but there are a few Dahl's and some of the Dragion series he hasn't read yet which will keep us going. He gets a good mix at home - e.g. I'm happy for him to read graphic novels and he really enjoyed the Alex Ryder books so again maybe he could move onto the full-fat versions of those?

The Roman Mysteries collection from Book People is calling to me - anyone know if it's any good?

Try Professor Branestawm - if he likes them there are lots of them written over several decades. Very funny with incredible, zany long sentences in them, all about the machines the Professor invents which always go wrong in ridiculous ways.

teej
There are so many great books out there its just a matter of finding something thats grabs him, along with reading aloud together some classics/alternative genres. Doing it together is really important as Cory says for complex vocabulary, sentence structure and checking comprehension
A few that my Ds at that age loved were:
The Beastly Boys series
The Edge Chronicles
Diary of a wimpy kid
Horrible histories/science
Lemony Snicket
Charlie Small
Anything by Andy Griffiths

He never really got into the Beast Quest thing either
Have you tried the junior versions of Shakespeare?

We also listen to a wide variety of audio stuff in the car on long trips - available from the library. We have chuckled over most of the Enid Blytons, Artemis Fowl, Horrid Henry, Treasure Island, Stig of the dump, Demon Headmonster, Jeremy strong....

Roman Mysteries are great as are Horrible Histories, and of course Harry Potter.

mrsg thanks for that, branestawm looks like it could be a huge hit!

random that is freaky - he went to the school library to grab some books to read over easter and came home with a couple of charlie small books and the only wimpy kid he hasn't read yet!

he has read & enjoyed at least a few books from each of the series you've mentioned so we could look to plug gaps with any he hasn't read. the problem is keeping up with him - if he gets into a book he just flies through it and then demands more. i'm not knocking it - really - i was the same at this age and love that he is so into reading!

which junior versions of shakespeare would you recommend? he really loved the ORT condensed versions so I'm wondering if there is a series slightly more lengthy and detailed than that, but still not as challenging as the full plays?

indigo thanks for the confirmation - Book People here I come...