A quick question re reading levels

[TunipTheVegemal]

DD read me a chapter of Matilda by Roald Dahl this evening, very well and fluently.
Her reading books aren't challenging her at all - she's on purple, which to my untrained eye looks a lot easier than what she normally reads.

Does this sound like she should be on a higher reading level? Or is it normal for school reading books to be easy? And does it matter anyway?

I have a sense that her school is very much the opposite of pushy (which is good.... unless it is actually holding her back)

thanks.

Depends. The teachers may be looking for more than you are. For example they might be checking comprehension and expression and you might just be checking if she pronounces the words on the page. I don't get excited about reading levels. I think the school s obsessed with reading. I'm more focussed on math progress.

I try to give the kids time to read and figure if they enjoy it, then that's enough.

Matilda is a chapter book but it isn't particularly difficult in terms of decoding and comprehension.

so that's fine then

What about her school reading books not challenging her? Should they be? Eg there never seem to be any words she doesn't know, shouldn't there be one or two?

I don't know any of the theory of how it is meant to work, but it seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity if for the thing where she has me there to help her if she needs it, she never needs help IYSWIM.

She should be able to read her reading book without too much difficulty and understand both the literal and inferred (reading between the lines) the focus is moving from decoding to comprehension and the ability to read with expression and intonation

if you want to challenge dd i would recomend the mr. gum books, they are off the wall and very complex and use many words and contexts your dd will not have come across. my dd is on gold band and has a great comprehension and expression but these books tie her in nots, which she finds both fun and a challenge. we read them together with lots of input and explination from me. they are also short chapters, she gets a bot bored with rohld dahl and horrid henry and the rainbow fairy books and the likes which are lenghthy but not challenging in other ways.

thanks.
she's fine on comprehension and expression - she does different voices for the characters and everything.

Thanks Festi, I will look for those.
DD moved on from Rainbow Fairies once she realised they were all the same. She still likes Horrid Henry.
Her favourite is Jacqueline Wilson.