Reading trajectory

[ShortbreadSam]

If a child is a decent reader -purple reading band - at moment in reception, would you expect them to remain 'ahead' of average in literacy or would their attainment level off , maybe as others catch up?

I would say it very much depends on their writing ability TBH; writing separates the wheat from the chaff more than reading ability.

From what teacher friends have told me, early advanced readers may well be overtaken by later developers at these early stages of schooling. Just as a tall child in YR may end up being middling height later on as others catch up.

By writing ability Iamnot, do you mean the physical act of forming letters or the composition side of literacy?

Composition, SuperScribbler. Neither of my DD's have particularly neat handwriting but substance is more important than style IME.

DS1 left reception with a reading age 4 years ahead of chronological age. He is now yr 5 and his reading age is still 4 years ahead. His literacy in general is on the high side of average - but he has Autism so he struggles with some fiction writing (he doesn't get metaphors, similes etc) so he certainly isn't 4 years ahead at writing.
DS2 (reception) is currently ahead in literacy, he is on the G&T list for it as he has to have differentiated work, however, I know that it is generally expected at his school that that will eventually even out so he is likely to be taken off the list.

SS - only the first 3 NC levels are about being able to read.

Once you've learnt to read the reading part of literacy is all about comprehension and other advanced skills - eventually leading to GCSEs in literacy. Shakespeare etc.

So, no. Absolutely not. I wouldn't expect someone who learnt to read at 4 to be any better at interpreting Shakespeare at 15 than someone who learn to read at 7.

I think comprehension slows DC down in Y1/2/3 if they are good early decoders. I remember DS (also a good early reader, though not as early as yours) trying to read books where he could tell you what all the words said, but he just didn't have the maturity or vocabulary to really understand what they meant iyswim.

Thanks for reply, very much as I thought, so I suppose it works the other way round as well. DS and Dd both at same reading level but Dd is yr 1 and Ds in reception. Dd is a bit fed up with DS!

Yeah, bet she's better than him at some stuff though . My 3 year old is better than my 5 year old at catching balls, but then we did only find out this year that 5 year old needed quite strong glasses .

I see it a bit like toddlers learning to walk, if you walk at 9 months it doesn't mean you are going to be a top class athlete, and if you walk at 18 months or even 2 it doesn't mean you won't be. If you don't walk at 2 parents will probably be seeking advice, if you don't read at 7, similar....

And yes, ok.... you do need to be taught to read and not normally to walk .

I should maybe have excluded the gifted in my question . Both Dc are old in their year groups we thought Dd was doing ok but then Ds came along and rocketed through his books and then hers. We have asked for a different scheme so there is no comparison but that is not possible.

Maybe give Dd (and Ds if you like but different ones) some other books to read at home as well so she feels like she has her own reading? Once they are at this level they can start trying all sorts of things (trying to get DS here to, am bored of Magic Key .) He's Reception, old for year and about same stage.

They naturally gravitate to different books at home but they are very aware of what is going on at school. Ds can be a bit competitive sounds like it will all even it out eventually.

Well, it's not really a competition eh.......I can see how the numbered/coloured stage books might lead to this but they won't last that much longer and then they will both be "free readers", within 6 months to a year?

Red herring, but - purple a 'decent' reader in YR?! Sounds like ds's reading is more than decent, OP!

The fastest (not sure about best) reader in dd2's class is on orange, with dd and a few others on blue and the rest anywhere from yellow back to pink. Leafy suburb, good primary. Perhaps it depends as much on the teacher/reading schemes/school?

FWIW, though, I was a fast, and good (as in comprehension) reader before I started primary - back in the dark ages - and certainly didn't end up as a higher achiever, or better reader, than my peers. I did go for literature at Uni though...

Yes, purple is good for reception I believe. DS2 ended reception on purple. He was way ahead of his peers. However, in year 1 I would say gap is gradualy reducing. Ds1 on the other hand ended reception on red but is now maybe only 1 colour behing the rest of the class. (same level as ds2)
I am always telling ds1 that it really doesn't matter. They will both be reading exactly the same when they are 10.

DS left reception on purple and was ahead of his peers. He's now year 2 and free reading along with quite a lot of his classmates. He did get quite lazy at one point but DD (reception) is on lime so he had some competition . DD isnt at all competitive though and loves reading the same book as DS. But, I imagine her peers will catch her up by year 2 because she'll be reading the same type books that all 7 year old girls read I imagine

I think it might depend on why and how the child is such a good reader, which is actually quite hard to unpick at that stage in terms of what kinds of skills they are actually employing. And the early reading might not necessarily be an indicator of ability in the specific area of literacy. I'm thinking of my much younger brother here, who was a very early and almost untaught reader and he went on to do a degree in Maths at a really good university (and is still excelling in this area at work many years later). He was very much NOT gifted at literacy/English in any way and found eg writing and imaginative tasks incredibly hard. But I think the early reading was an expression of his ability to notice patterns and infer rules which is why he was good at Maths. It might also be an indicator of a really good memory, perhaps for rules, maybe for shapes, possibly just generally. A good memory is obviously a useful thing to have academically but might not be something that specifically means you will have an interest in or ability for language based skills in later life.

Yeah, DS has a fantastic memory, although of course he's learning all his phonics .

That sounds like Ds. Good memory and likes rules and as yet little imagination. Most people who meet him remark on his vocabulary and ability to discuss things. Tends to take a lot of attention from dd who is much less chatty.