Reading (I know I know)

[scrappydappydoo]

My dd1 is 6 and in yr 1. I'm starting to get a little wibbly about her reading. Her teacher says she's doing fine but its difficult to figure out as her school uses different book band colours to the usual ones and they also don't tell you nc levels. Part of me really likes that but equally I have no idea what level she's at and whether its ok?
The times she gets an ORT book its a level 4. I know I shouldn't compare children but all her friends seem to be reading at a much higher level and I'm concerned she's being left behind.
I've seen things like toe by toe, bear necessities and dancing bears recommended but not sure what the difference is between them or if they'd be suitable. Also feel free to slap me and tell me that she's doing fine and stop fussing

I think it's good to be on top of things, despite what teachers say (sorry teachers). You know your child best.

Our school uses colour banding which is across many reading schemes. The one thing I'll say about ORT is that there's a knack to it and those children who read only ORT books know the knack better than others - e.g. the names such as Aneena, terms like magic glowing keys etc. So

I think this website is a good resource:
www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands

It has sample texts at each level which might help you identify where your child is now.

My ds is in yr 1 and until today was bringing home a mixture of stage 4 ort and green level new way reading scheme. He has today come home with his first stage 5 ort so sounds like your dd is at a similar level to my ds. I am guessing but I think that he would be a 1c nc level as the last time I spoke to his teacher he was still not working within level 1. This was in February and he was on ort level 3 at the time,. I think ort stage 6 is roughly a level 1b which is where they are expected to be by end of year 1 so I expect stage 4 and 5 would be a 1c roughly.

My little girl yr 1 age 6 reads ort in school in guiding reading her group theyre reading stage 3 ( shes in the lowest group in the class) her national curriculum level is almost at 1c, they said in april shes on the borderline of reaching the 1c so theyre hoping she will reach it by the end of year one. At home they send her with the jelly and bean reading scheme as she was struggling with the ort books, shes the only one in her class on this scheme but it really has brought her on. Our headteacher is fantastic and i went in and asked him to tell me my daughters levels, he said ive every right to know them if i want as its my child so it my be worthwhile you just going in and speaking to your headteacher about your concerns and maybe they can reassure you. I found this and thought it might help a little but not sure how accurate it is although it seems about right (i think lol)

Pink - Working towards L1
Red - Almost achieved Level 1
Yellow stage 3 - 1C
Blue stage 4 - 1B
Green stage 5 - 1B
Orange stage 6 - 1A
Turquoise stage 7 - 1A/2C

Thanks for the replies - the school uses a mix of reading schemes but I used ORT as an example as its the most common.
It took me ages to post this as I don't want to be one of 'those' mums and I try to be laid back and let dd do it all at her own pace but occasionally the competitive mum sometimes take over and I start to worry (especially as her best friend is reading charlie and the chocolate factory).

I have just started helping out with reading at my DD's yr 1 class. Lots of the yr 1s are doing ORT level 4, at my DDs school I'd estimate that the average was level 4 or level 5 for yr 1. Though the whole range is much wider, there is a free reader, several readers on much higher levels and also several who are still struggling with levels

1 and 2.

If this is about more than what colour book she's reading, if you feel she is struggling to understand how to read and isn't progressing, then go with Dancing Bears

Bear Necessities is for kids who are in reception, or who haven't started reading yet.

Dancing Bears is more for kids who are in Y1 or have a reading age of about 6.

Toe by toe is a different scheme and it's not as good for young kids as dancing bears. I'd only recommend Toe by toe to someone who was 9 or older. Toe by toe is very good for teenagers and adults who haven't learnt to read.

i am very new to all this level stuff but suggest you trust your instincts but also don't panic, she is young

my eldest (yr 3 now) was one of the last to get any type of book in reception, feb i think was the first one. By year 1 he was on level 5 ORT for what felt like an eternity. He is now in the top literacy group in the class ( he tells me). I also have other friends, and other friends kids, who were very slow to read ( eg age 7 and beyond) yet still ended up wildly successful at senior school and ay university.

They usually all get there in the end, the main thing is that they are making progress and they don't get turned off the whole business i think.

I'm my daughters school they do a mixture of book types as well. They don't go by the colours, from what I can gather they do it by what words from the frequently used word list are in each book.
So one day she might bring home a first level book from one reading scheme and then a fourth level from a different scheme the next day etc.

It looks to me like they have gone through all the books for the frequent words and levelled them themselves. So there is no way of comparing it to one level from one scheme.

There is such varied ability in the class I think you would go nuts wondering how "well" compared to other children. I would have thought any teacher would raise concerns with you if they were struggling.

My dd ended year 1 reading green books. Now in year 3 she is reading books suitable to her age so I wouldn't worry too much.

Scrappydappydoo:

Oh I so feel for you - have absolutely been there myself!

I think the advice of Girls in white dress & the reading chest link is good and Indigobell and others have been singing praises on the Dancing Bears series (although I haven't used it myself).

My advice is more about how you handle this & the stress it causes:

1. try to avoid confrontational talks with teachers. Leave it more on the level of you're a bit concerned or wonder if there is anything you should be doing at home.

2. you can easily find out reading ages of books by simply typing in the reading age and the title. It's incredibly useful - although it can be confusing (sometimes the whole class can be reading a book together which is well above or below your individual DC's reading level).

3. trust in your instincts (as many have said). If you're not happy about where the reading is at for your DD, then that's all the matters. Try and work on it at home positively - don't make it an issue, but perhaps gently increase the one on one reading time (build a routine around a time that suits you & your family). There's all sorts of great advice/ suggestion sites on reading for particular age groups:

The book trust: www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/children/

The story museum: www.storymuseum.org.uk/ - and a good resource for recordings of stories as well (which is also an important skill).

Oxford owl is also very good: www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ with help for reading or maths.

Julia Donaldson's tips on reading at home on Oxford Owl is useful as well: www.oxfordowl.co.uk/GetReading/index/7

A lot of people gave me advice at precisely this stage but the most useful was simply that you do have the right to read something else or additionally to what the school sends home - you don't just have to read the book(s) provided by the school. We ended up reading school books 2/3 nights a week and then doing our own thing. Both our DDs prefer having a free choice and it also means we can introduce them to our childhood favourite reads.

We also have found building in that regular time at reading to help both girls improve has actually become really precious family time and a lovely way to wind down together at the end of a busy day.

Thanks for the advice - I feel reassured she's not behind.
I'll have a rummage throught those links and try to do a little extra at home which should satisfy my alpha mum leanings