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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Would anyone be so kind as to level a story for me?

28 replies

Wafflenose · 03/09/2012 15:42

Just as it says in the title, really. My DD has written a story this summer which is a lot better than anything she has ever done at school, mainly because her handwriting is painfully slow, and she is excessively perfectionistic about her spelling. I need to go and see the SEN team about her, specifically because she's underperforming in maths and writing at school, (again, due to speed and perfectionist issues) so I'm currently collecting evidence to support all this.

I can put it up here, but would prefer to pm if anyone would be able to help. It's 2 sides of A4 handwritten, about 1 side typed.

Thank you.

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SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots · 03/09/2012 17:08

Level a story? What do you mean?

Original poster

Wafflenose · 03/09/2012 17:18

Sorry, I should have made it clear that I'm looking for an approximate National Curriculum level, and wondered if any teachers might be able to have a look. If not, I'll ask a colleague at some point - I work in a school, but with individuals/ pairs/ small groups learning woodwind, so marking English isn't my area of expertise.

It's great that she wants to write for fun - I just thought it might form some good evidence that she's not doing as well at school as she could be.

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Fairenuff · 03/09/2012 21:31

If perfectionism is a problem for her, you would do better to concentrate on her efforts rather than the results.

So, if you consider that she has put a lot of time and effort into writing a story for fun, what difference does it make to her what level it is? You can just celebrate that she has found something that she enjoys doing for fun.

Don't mention her spelling or how long it took her to do it, just say something like, I really enjoyed reading your story, I especially liked the bit about . . . and leave it at that.

The more confident she becomes, the less worried she will be about making mistakes and she will be able to write more quickly and let her creativity flow.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 03/09/2012 21:51

Thank you for your thoughtful reply!

DD knows I'm thrilled with her effort, and she is really proud of her story. I think it's great too. She is a very confident girl, but gets upset with herself when she doesn't feel her spelling or drawing is perfect enough, even though we reassure her she's doing fine! I'm just curious about the level really, but she has no idea about these things. It's a lot better than she does at school, as she is rather slow, but also older in her year and has been coasting along for a while.

Her handwriting is nice, but I have a physical problem which causes handwriting to be slow and painful, so I probably need to get her checked out to see if she's inherited it. I will still go and see the SEN lady about her slow writing, and problems with maths.

Here is the story, with her spelling and punctuation!

The Magic Pony

Once upon a time there lived a girl named Alexandra. Life was very difficult for Alexandra. She only had one set of clothes which was: purple leggings, a black dress with gold and silver sparkles and a turquoise and violet waistcoat. She wore scarlet boots with yellow stars. She had her hair up a silver hair band and she always had a pony tail. Alexandra was only eight and life was really difficult. But the only bright thing in her life was her pony called Krestle and that's what our story's about!

Now Alexandra had no parents, they both died when she was born. She didn't go to school either, she just stayed at home all day brushing Krestle, feeding Krestle and even taking Krestle for rides, but there was one strange thing about Krestle. Krestle seemed to make life much better for Alexandra. But the evil king had heard about Alexandra and Krestle so he was after them!

"I've got a plan" the king said. "What if we get the horse and tell Alexandra that Krestle really likes me, so Alexandra will have to stay with her horse and we'll put her and Krestle in prison. We can also make some magic medisin, give it to them and they will be lost forever"!

The King let out a huge laugh "Well I better get started" said the King!

The King didn't like Alexandra and Krestle because Krestle made life much better for Alexandra. Anyway, the King had started making the magic medisin and this is was what was in it: two black feathers, one lost slug, some blue candy floss, one lemon skin and some poisonous chocolate. The King put this in a purple bottle - it was as small as a playdoe pot. The King tipped everything in and while he was mixing the medicine he sang a song, and this is how it went: "Alexandra, Alexandra soon your time will be up in this world so enjoy your last few seconds in this world Alexandra, Alexandra".

Now the King's name was David. David ran out of the palace, grabbed Krestle and ran all the way back to the palace holding Krestle right in his hand! When David got back, he shouted "Alexandra!" Alexandra came running to the King's palace.

"What is it?" she said.

"Krestle really likes me so you'll have to stay here for a while".

"Ok" Alexandra said. So that night, the King crept up on them, put them in prison and gave them some magic medisine.

In the morning, Alexandra woke up and then sighed. The King has fooled us, she thought. She quickly woke Krestle up but Krestle wasn't sad at all. She smiled and then Alexandra knew she was magical.

"Get onto my back" Krestle called. Alexandra did what she said, and before she knew what she was doing, she was back home. Then she gave Krestle lots of kisses and went to look for the King, but there was a much kinder king and he bowed and said "His Majesty the evil king has died because he had lots of pain in him but I don't know why. Anyway I have taken his place!"
Well done Krestle Alexandra thought. Krestle?s power had made the king die, and brought them back home. Krestle and Alexandra went around helping people in need and they lived happily ever after!

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BrigitBigKnickers · 03/09/2012 22:46

I don't have my APP forms to hand but I would say overall this is somewhere around a level 3b.

juniper904 · 03/09/2012 22:54

How old is she?

IndigoBell · 04/09/2012 07:14

I don't know what level it is - but it is very good and I'm very jealous

I hope you're going to say your DD is at least 9

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 11:37

Thank you all very much!

She got a 2b for the year, so clearly she's improving, which is great.

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BrigitBigKnickers · 04/09/2012 18:56

Oh wow- the story you showed was definitely above a 2b- but do bear in mind that writing is judged over a number of pieces written in different styles. e.g. letters, reports, newspaper reports, information, instructions so for a full level judgement her ability those would have to also be assessed.

How old is she?

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 20:21

She's 2.5

Seriously, I didn't post to find out whether or not she's doing well for her age, or for a stealth boast, or to get into competition with anyone else, so I think her age is irrelevant. I was just curious about the level really, as I know it's better than she has ever done at school! I realise to get higher levels in school it needs to be consistent, and shown in a variety of genres. She just really likes writing fiction at the moment, so we'll encourage her to do so. In fact, she has just told me she wants to be an author .

I will probably go and see the SEN lady about her maths and slow writing; maybe the perfectionist issues too, which are impeding her in the classroom. Her report read "MiniWaffle needs to learn that it is OK to not know the answer straight away, and to make mistakes". I'd have seen the Headteacher or head of Key Stage, but one has just left and the other is leaving!

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Convert · 04/09/2012 20:27

Have I misunderstood or did you just say your daughter was 2 1/2?

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 20:29

I was joking!

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Convert · 04/09/2012 20:30

Oh, thank god! I was wondering wtf your two year old was doing in school! In my defence, it's been a long day

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 20:34

LOL! It's the kind of thing people post sometimes... "My two year old has just written this - do you think she's doing OK or should I be worried?" I know DD is doing perfectly well, but she's not THAT clever!

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pudding25 · 04/09/2012 20:37

I teach Yr 4. Reading it quickly and having a look at the APP grid (how we assess), I would actually put this at a decent 4C.

BonnieBumble · 04/09/2012 20:38

So how old is she? I would say this was about average for someone moving into yr5.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 20:41

PLEASE don't hate me or flame me. I didn't come here to get into a discussion about whether it's good for her age or not, because I know it is, and she is having problems with maths, handwriting speed and perfectionism.

She's nearly 7.

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Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 20:42

Thank you, pudding and Bonnie.

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pudding25 · 04/09/2012 20:45

Well, if she's only 6, then it is bloody great writing!! How long did it take her to do? What level did she get for writing at the end of Yr2. Remember also, that writing is levelled across a range of genres. Is she as able at e.g. non-fiction/instruction texts etc? Does she daydream in class and not produce any decent work?
If she can produce this level at home with no help, then she should be able to produce some decent work at school although I would expect something much shorter.
We don't level on the length of a piece of work anyway but on the content.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 20:53

She has just started Year 2, so no SATs or anything yet (not that I care less about those) but she got a 2b at the end of Year 1. They only ever get quite short writing tasks, but she learned paragraphs and speech punctuation towards the end of the year and is keen to get them in. She likes reading non-fiction and writing reports too, but this is by far the best thing she's ever done.

The story took her 2-3 hours, which obviously she wouldn't have the luxury of at school. I don't know if she daydreams, but she writes very slowly because she thinks her handwriting is poor (am wondering if she might be a bit hypermobile though, as I have EDS/ hypermobility syndrome and writing is painful) and keeps going back over spellings until she thinks they're right. I guess speed is the main thing stopping her from achieving her potential at school. She's a happy girl who has plenty of support at home, but without pressure - most days after school she just wants to fight play with her little sister and that's fine. She does seem to be underperforming in a few areas at school - mainly maths.

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blueglue · 04/09/2012 20:53

Pudding - nearly 7yos are just starting Y2.

juniper904 · 04/09/2012 21:08

How much support did you give her with speech marks and paragraphs?

BrigitBigKnickers · 04/09/2012 21:10

Not sure I agree with 4C.

Some of the punctuation hits level 4 no doubt but the actual content is not quite mature enough for level 4.

But neverthless a good 3b and a fab writer for the beginning of year 2.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 21:10

None - I'm not even sure they're all correct. The rest of the speech punctuation definitely isn't!

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Original poster

Wafflenose · 04/09/2012 21:11

Thank you, very useful.

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