Suggestions needed for Class Reader - low ability Year 6 (set)

[Dysgu]

I have a Year 6 Literacy set - reading assessments of between 2c and 3a. This term I want to include a class book for us all to share (in differentiated groups for some tasks). Class is pretty evenly split (15 boys and 13 girls including 2 EAL children with (very) limited English) and includes 11 on SEN register for stuff that impacts on Literacy work.

I am looking for suggestions as I have been given the go-ahead to order/purchase 2 different class sets.

Ideas I have considered include:

The Butterfly Lion - Michael Morpurgo (TBH we already have a class set of this in year 5 that these children have not read - any thoughts welcome as this is not one I have taught before (or even read).

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo; the film is released next week. I know it is a 12a but could get parents to agree to us watching it once it comes out on dvd in April? Book alone looks really good though?

Beyond that, there is so much choice and I am not sure where to start - although might head to the library at the weekend for a browse and a chat with the librarians.

I actually need to select 2 titles - one that I can use with this lower set and another that is slightly more 'middle' that we could use with either set, although it would be more of an 'enjoyable/easier' read for the top set to use during the summer term

Thanks in advance for any ideas...

Oh and just to add: Any title, genre, author, setting, theme is fine - no limits.

If it helps my DD1 is in year 6 and has never really got on with Michael Morpurgo; she read "Kensuke's Kingdom" but wasn't in a rush to read any more. I would suggest, in my limited wisdom as a parent, not a teacher, maybe one of the following;

Harry Potter 1
How to train/teach your Dragon
The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
Anything by David Walliams
Spiderwick Chronicles.

I have just had a look at a few of those - David Walliams' books look really interesting and fun. I had not read any of them and cannot recall any of the children in my class mentioning them - which might be a good thing if I am introducing something that could be new to all of them.

Now I am wondering between Mr Stink and Billionaire Boy. I am going to download both of them to my kindle and have a look.

So - any other ideas? If I get one by David Walliams, which other author do I try?

Billionaire Boy was described by DD10 as 'one of her top three books ever'. High praise for something thats not Jacqueline Wilson

Mr Gum might work for the lower ability set?

"The Butterfly Lion" is a wonderful book- one of my all time favourites. "My friend Walter" (also by Michael Morpurgo) is another good one that both boys and girls enjoy (quite nice also if you are looking at the Tudors in History.)

Good old Roald Dahl is great for the less able readers too- My Literacy group (HI and EAL children) range from 2c to 3a and we have spent a whole term reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory covering lots of different activities from different genre very sucessfully.

Have you ever used any Teachit resources- lots of my lessons came from here- loads of great ideas based around a wide variety of books.

One other thing- it's not always necessary to have a class set of books. I just project my texts onto the smart board by way of a visualiser.

Actually one of the books mentioned on this is Bills New Frock- really funny book.

Hi Dysgu

I used to be a parent helper at dd's old primary and i listened to readers who were almost basic at reading. The literacy teacher used to give me the set of Roald Dahl books and i was able to choose the most suitable one for each child as some were more challenging than others. They seemed to go down well. Some of the boys enjoyed Beastquest (i think it was called) but also we used comics and football magazines so the boys especially seemed enthusiastic about these. A lot of the girls enjoyed books such as the Rainbow Magic series or Tracy Beaker. Hope this helps and good luck. x

Mr Gum? Not too difficult but really really funny. Very boy friendly too.

Agree with the anything by David Walliams.

Also take a look at Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes - it's a great book with a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter. Can't recommend it enough and it would appeal to both boys and girls.

My DD (and I) have just read Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce which again is great and on Kindle for 99p at the moment. She wouldn't normally pick a book where there's a boy as the main character but this one she really loved so i'm going to have a look at his other books next. There's one called Framed which i believe was made into a movie too.

I know Michael Morpurgo is popular but some children find him a bit heavy going so it might alienate the less confident readers.

DD's class has just read Stig of the Dump (she's in Y5).

Thank you for all of these suggestions. I have been busy downloading several of these to my kindle so I can have a nose through them. I think I am going to meander through the library tomorrow too.

I am rather enjoying Billionaire Boy - I had not even realised that David Walliams had written so many books.

I am rather interested in introducing Frank Cottrell Boyce so am going to have a look at his books too.

We do have something by Ali Sparkes, I think but I have not read anything so am going to look into that too.

Roald Dahl is a favourite of many children in the class. I have been paying even more attention than usual to what children are choosing to read. The boys certainly do like Beast Quest but I am not sure that I am going to enjoy that one so much!

I do appreciate what some people have said about Michael Morpurgo, especially for reluctant readers. I really like his books but may not have done when I was 10/11 had I been struggling to read. However, I think I am going to start with The Butterfly Lion just to share in class whilst I decide which other two sets to order.

Thank you for the recommendation of Teachit - I will look them up. I think I may have used them in the past. Also like the idea of simply showing the text up on the board - that will work really well with our first book but hoping to use one for some homework reading tasks later in the term.

Thanks again for all suggestions - sorry if I have not replied directly to you but I have made a list of all suggestions.

The most successful class novel I have ever used is There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom by Louis Sacher. It is one of the additional text units from the Literacy Strategy.

OOh yes, Louis Sacher. Gosh there are so many to choose from - but really liking the idea of using the visualiser (as we have just been given one in the classroom!)

My ds's year 5 class had Jouney to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson last term,they have a similar mix of girls and boys and it seemed to go down well with both.This term they have The SpooksAppentice

If you are considering books at the level of Billionaire and Mr Gum etc, then I think Journey to the River Sea would be a bit challenging, but what about her Secret of Platform 12 and three quarters (I may have the number wrong). It is more compact and is a clear fore-runner for some of JK Rowling's ideas. Magical, amusing, exciting.
Re Morpurgo, he is a great writer and so v worth studying, but animal books are a v particular taste so if you are looking to "hook" particularly boys, rather than just have good material, you may find other options better. But would give good material - mr Gum is fab for "hooking" but lends less well to broader activities, I would have thought.
V interesting how wide a range of reading standards there can be in year 6 - I am quite astonished.