Reading advice greatly appreciated

[mrsshears]

My dd is a summer born y1, she ended reception on band 6/7 and is now on band 10/11.
Dd's reading varies greatly depending on her interest in what she is reading,which at the moment is next to no interest where the school books are concerned.When she isnt interested in the content she stumbles,hesitates and turns off and when asked about what she has just read on a bad day won't have a clue!
However at home she is reading roald dahl and enid blyton almost fluently,she might struggle with the odd word, her comprehension,predictions and expression is great too.She has read 6 pages of the enormous crocodile this morning.
I have mentioned this in her reading diary but have been careful how i have worded it as not to come across as pushy,the teacher did reply that dd is ok to not read the school books at home if she doesn't want to,my worry is that of course dd will be assessed on how she reads at school and grouped accordingly next year which i worry might make the problem worse.
I have spoken to dd and tried to explain to her that she has to try hard wether she likes the book or not which hasn't really helped,i was considering asking how many more bands dd has got to go until she can choose her own books but again i really don't want to upset the teacher or come across as pushy,if anyone has any suggestions i would be really greatful.

DS (yr2 - summer born so not much older than your DD) is now on stage 11/12 finally and he is allowed to choose his own books so hopefully not long till she can do the same

Is she the same with non fiction books? Maybe the school can give her some of those for the minute to see if they engage her more.

I would also continue to write everything that she reads in her reading diary. Is it possible that she can take in a book to school (as a one off) so the teacher can hear her reading something that interests her??

DS was the same. I used to get him to read a few pages (or a few minutes) of the school book and then let him read his own thing. He eventually got to one level where there were about 3 books that were ok (that he picked out straight away) and everything else was really awful. I did tell his teacher we were only reading the odd page of them as he hated them so much and she actually told me not to bother and just let him read his own stuff!! Interestingly, DD is 2 years younger and the school have now refreshed the reading level books - the books are now so much better - DD is very enthused by them. I think teachers do realise if their school has older reading books that they are not so appealing.

If your DD is reading Roald Dahl/Enid Blyton, how much of the reading scheme does she have left? The higher levels at DC's school start to focus more on reading a variety of genres, following longer stories and using inference etc - at this stage it's assumed they can cope with the decoding. These are skills that won't be practiced so much if she always reads something of her own choice.

My year 1 dd is on the same level I think. Her friend is around a year ahead of her and went to free reading around Xmas this year. So I'm guessing if they continue at present rate, they'll be free readers by next Xmas.

We were told don't worry about reading the school books too much. As long as they're reading, it's fine. Whether that be reading books, comics, the computer at home. We try to do some reading with her at bedtime and let her read what she wants at other times.

Thanks for your replies everyone

simpson she can be slightly better with non fiction but not much, that's a great idea about sending in one of her own books as a one off,i will ask her teacher if that would be ok,at least then they will hear her read at her true ability.

redsky I'm not sure how high our school goes with reading levels,it's a bit tricky to find out really because it means starting a levels conversation with other parents or asking the teacher which could make me look pushy,i think i will have to take the former option though as i would like to know how much longer it's likely to be as if its not long we will probably start laying off the school books now wheras if dd still has quite a way to go it may be worth coming to some sort of aggrement with dd.

sadsac so perhaps if she continues to progress at the same rate she could be free reading by christmas?

Interestingly we played monopoly tonight and dd insisted on reading all the community chest and chance cards,which again points towards an interest issue with regards to reading,she can be competetive with games and was desperate to know if people would have to pay fines or not and how this might affect her game.

DS took in a book about the great fire of London (that they were learning about) but he has been obsessed about for the last year so new most things about it and the teacher was happy to have him read this book and he was put up a reading level.

Although tbh when he is in juniors next year I think they go through the book levels a lot slower and only tend to go up one level a year or so.

Knew not new!!!

What level is free reading anyway? Is it when they can choose their own books within their level iyswim?

Free reading in our school is reading books of their own choice from the school library,the dc already all choose their own books within their own level from when they start bringing home reading books,so from pink band i think.

I don't think in that case that any kids are free readers then as they have book levels right up to yr6 in the school my kids go to although from lime level they can chose their own books (previous levels the teacher selects the book).

Also believe it or not but my DC school has no library!!!

((major bug bear of mine))

Yes if it's ORT you're talking about. In our scheme there's one level after Lime then free readers. See the reading chest website for more info.

Thanks for that, that does make sense.

DS does not tend to get ORT any more but other books (I forget what scheme they are).

Dd's school doesn't really do individual reading and doesn't use reading schemes rigidly either. Every book in the school library is banded and a child is assessed termly or more often if they suspect a leap and given a band. They then choose books as often and as many as they like from that band that they read at home and parents note in their diary. Diaries are checked weekly, children who aren't read with routinely will be picked up by TA's or volunteers, reluctant readers are given incentives.
Dd could read well when she started (white band whatever that means) so just chose books from there. I think she chose a few ORT ones at one point just because her friend liked them but she didn't enjoy them so it was a passing phase.
We don't particularly have free readers but I suppose that you are considered a free reader once you hit the top band that I think was black which means you can read any book in the library.
Our problem has been that dd has always been able to read above her age and some of the books say in black band may have content that would have frightened or upset her as it's a primary school so we have to be careful with that.
I think OP's dd would probably benefit with his system as she'd be able to choose books that appealed to her interests.Dd loves books about animals so has always managed to find something that interests her be it fiction or fact.
There was a list once on here that assigned levels to ordinary books (I think from mrz) maybe if you shouted out for that you'd get ideas for books at her level that might be of interest that the school would be happy to listen to her read.
Our school think any reading is good too so once a week in dd's diary is noted her weekly comics and that is seen as just as valid as perhaps some more worthy literature so I can't imagine your school would see home books as less worthy than reading scheme books.