moving reading levels

[ElinElin]

just wondered how often do kids in year 1 and year 2 move reading level? Since dd started reception the teachers have only moved her up after I asked teacher if she is ready to move up. And every time I ask the teacher reads with her and says yes she is ready to move up. She is now in Year 2 and it has been same thing from R to Yr2. I do say to the teacher that if she thinks she is not ready then to let me know what she needs to pracitce. She is reading turquoise and is finding all the books she gets home quite easy. Do your dc get moved up without you asking and how long are they usually in the same level?

I've moved some children up today (and some down). so the answer is whenever they need to move.

My dd is also Y2. I don't understand the band system but I've just looked at her reading book and it has a cream sticker on it, so maybe they're on the same system? There doesn't seem to be any particular rhythm to the new sticker colours - in reception she went through bands rapidly, then seemed to stay on one colour for a year, then she told me she was bored with too easy books and I told the teacher and she got put up again.

I don't know whether her sticking at one level for so long was because she had reached a plateau, or whether that colour band covers a wide range. But surely the important bit is whether your dd is ready for a more challenging read? Nothing else really counts.

Mine usually move when I mention in the reading record that they are reading the books too fast, or are finding them too easy.

Fine by me, because I have a good relationship with the school. they know we read nightly, but I'm not pushy for it's own sake. In fact, I think DS2 has cracked his current level, but I'm not pushing for the next, but he's enjoying the current series of books, and I can see he's gaining confidence in his enjoyment of reading, (he's taken the current book to bed with him).

my eldest school slow to move.

we dont have colour banding just numbered levels.

current level corresponds to green and shes just gone into year2.

shes reading ginn level 4equivilant to ort 6.

shes reading with ease and schools only telling us to read half a book a night so going very slow.

we seeing teacher thur so will mention then.

but kind of fed up of nagging them as makes me seem pushy.

getting very frustrated with it.

I wish i had pushed more last year as she made very little progress.

Devora:I do think she is ready for something more challenging, the books she is getting home she is finding them very easy and she does read other books from library etc that are more challenging.
Mrz:It's great that you move your kids when they are ready that's how it should be. I suppose one can't say how long a child is usually on a level cause it depends on the child and how they progress etc I think my concern really is : Is my dd being forgotten a bit? How come teacher never moves her but when I ask she checks and says she is ready and moves her. How come I have to ask. If I had never asked what books would she be reading ? Dd is sometimes a bit quiet and I do worry that she is overlooked sometimes.

I think the average is about 1 level a term but it's rarely so linear an the variation is huge - I read with year one and two at DS3's school and we have some year twos reading red and yellow and some year one's reading purple and gold.

My little girl now year 2 has been moved up 1 band since reception as she's just not been ready

I think this is a battle a lot of people face with regards to the reading levels but a lot of people don't really understand the criteria the children need to reach to move onto the next reading level.

DS1 has been able to fluently read pretty much any book from the start of YR but of course did not have the understanding of the text, grammar, punctuation etc so at first it seemed he was reading books that were too easy but now I understand why he may stay on a level longer that I think he needs to.

I don't think it is necessarily a problem to put in their reading record that they are finding it easy etc and then the teacher put them up but it shouldn't really be happening every time.

Thanks for your comments. I don't mind if my dd is in a reading level for a long time cause she is not ready to move up. Like I said I said to the teacher if dd is not ready let me know what kind of things she needs to practice. What I can't understand is every time I say I think she can read more challenging books the teacher moves her up. So it can't be that she doesn't think she is ready. It would be nice if once the teacher noticed that she is ready and moved her up without me asking. MadameCupcake like you say I can understand it happening once or twice but not every time.

If the books are too easy then spend less time on them and more time on a book from the library. The world is full of books.

I know there are other books. We do read books from the library etc. But if she is capable of doing more and reading higher level books and this is not recognised in school it will effect how much she is being challenged in school. They are put in to groups for guided reading etc and that will all be depending on which level she is reading. My concern is that she is being overlooked in school.

You could make an appointment to discuss your concerns with the teacher. I am doing this on Thursday. Wish me luck! I just want DS to bring home books from school that he enjoys, are the right level and stimulate him. Otherwise my inclination might be not to bother with the school books, which isn't really the right attitude either. Ho hum....

As she is in Y2 I would definitely be raising this with the teacher, it is different in YR as they may be getting to know all the DCs etc (not really an excuse though) but certainly by Y2 they should be suitably challenge. At DSs school they read a level above in guided reading to push them - is this the norm?

DSs school has been really good and have pushed him pretty well, in particular once he was in Y1. They have not held him back at all and in fact he reached the end of the levels they held in the school (stand alone infant) so they bought new books at a higher level rather than keeping him on the last level.

It depends on the teacher, IMO. In Y1 last year, I read a few books I had at home with DD and was surprised at how easy she found them, as they were way more difficult than the ORT ones she was bringing home.

I raised it with her teacher who admitted she hadn't listened to her read for 6 months and she put her up 3 levels.

Her teacher this year seems much more switched on and has already put her up a level.