What are reading schemes for?

[StrongestMummyInTheWorld]

I'm finding it quite hard to do the reading books systematically with my child. We read every day, she usually has about 3 books read to her and we also read from any printed material we see. I've got a list of the phonemes she's working on and the tricky words so I draw her attention to those.

I understand that to get through the reading scheme she has to actually read the books and I try to remember to do them but they just are not fun in comparison with say Hairy Maclary or Mrs Pepperpot, or for that matter the instructions for making scones. Are there any teachers out there who can explain to me why the children have to go through the schemes? Is it just easier for the teachers than them keeping track of which phonemes and words the children have learned?

I guess the main thing is that the child is capable of reading the "whole" book as oppposed to just picking out odd words/phrases. DD's school mix "real" books in with their reading scheme books and DD definitely finds them much more frustrating than the reading scheme books - they might be more interesting but when they are a struggle to get through and need more adult help you don't necessarily appreciate this!!

(don't know what level your DC is on, but I found the reading scheme books are better once you get to the higher levels - in fact older DS is now reading DD's reading scheme books from choice!)

They take children from words with simple, easy-to-decode spellings (a fat cat sat) to trickier ones (one who said) in systematic fashion.

But many children get good at working out the tricky bits for themselves - with the help of context, pictures and their grasp of common grammatical structures - and then recognising such words as sight words. For some good readers reading schemes can quickly become pointless. Others find working through them really helpful.

Not all teachers insist on children reading every book in the scheme. If they are ready for the next level, the child should be moved up. Often the phonics schemes are based on writing as well as reading so the teacher would be best placed to assess this. I would suggest you speak to the teacher OP.

Years ago,I worked in an inner-city primary school when the "real books" campaign started. Our school decided to participate,and immediately stopped using reading schemes. Instead,money was spent on lovely book corners in every infant classroom,and each child chose a book to share with their teacher and take home to look at with parents. Some children did learn to read using this method. Quite a lot struggled without the structure of a scheme. A few years later,it was agreed that reading standards fell during that time,and that some children were let down. The schemes may have their drawbacks,but they are really necessary. Good readers will soon work their way through them,and move on to books of their own choice.

Thanks Clawdy. That makes sense to me. I'll try to focus on the scheme, I'm sure you are right and my child will progress faster.