The whole class moving up a reading level altogether

[sheeplikessleep]

Is this normal?
DS1 has been on pink (he's in reception). To me, he is doing well, he reads most of the words easily and is reading more difficult books at home than the pink level he comes home with.
Today he came home with a 'well done, your DS has moved up to red reading book level' message in his home diary book. DS1 has just told me that all children have now been given red books.
I am going to speak to the teacher, first to ask if it is true and secondly, how it makes sense, given there are four different phonics groups?
Bit concerned it is just a slack and ineffective teaching strategy, but maybe I'm being naive? Surely, each child will be at a different level?
Thanks

It would seem very odd to have all children moving up a book level all at the same time, and especially to have them all on just the first stages at this point of the year.

Your DS also sounds above pink level if he is reading words well tbh, especially if not phonics books.

I work in a reception class one afternoon a week and hear some readers during that time. There are children on pink (who cannot really read at all or are just starting to put letters together) right up to turquoise, and one child who can read pretty much everything.

I wouldn't be happy with that happening in my daughter's class. They have every level from pink and only just been given a first reading book this term to Book Band 10/white. It is the third term in the year so many children in reception should now have learned enough phonics to be doing more than initial books, they should be starting to blend them into words by this stage in the year. I think most in my daughter's class are on book band 3ish. All children develop at their own pace and I don't believe for a minute they are all at the same level given they range 52 weeks in age.

I would ask the question and then write off the school reading books, get your own from the library and encourage him to spell out the words as you read the books.

You say that you are going to check with the teacher to see if it is true. Young children often get the wrong end of the stick and tell parents some wonderful tales of school life and I wouldn't mind betting this is the case here. Surely it would have been better to check with the teacher first before hitting the 'send' button to have a go at her 'slack and ineffective teaching strategies'? After all it may all be a storm in a teacup!

It's alright to ask around first before asking the teacher. It's better to get it off your chest on mumsnet first and be wrong than to have a go at the teacher and find out that it was a fanciful child's story. That's what mumsnet is for.

Could it be that all of his group have moved to red rather than the whole class?

It would seem odd if it were the whole class. I would personally try and verify your DS's story before going in and discussing with the teacher. Fine IMO for your to discuss whether you think your DS might be ready to go up a level though.

My main concern would be whether it was the correct book level for him.

If you think it is then I would leave it. He may mean that everyone is his group has moved up. I know that DD does guided reading in a smaller group than the whole class (5 levels below her actual level, but that is a whole different story )

If he's been moved up in a group it may take a longer discussion than just a chat with the teacher, because presumably there's a reason why the teacher has put him in that group. So effectively the OP wouldn't only be saying can he have a different book but also can he switch group

which is a whole different request.

ds's class is split into 3 reading groups and each group would move up a level when required. Seems a bit strange for the whole class to be on the same level

There's probably a high chance that he's got the bit about the whole class wrong.

Thanks all for posting. Sorry I wasn't on, have been texting another of the mums and think it is the case that DS has got the wrong end of the stick. I now know other children are on pink (some recently moved from no words to the pink books), so somewhere along the line, DS has got confused. I guess it's a learning curve for me to not take everything DS says at face value

Darl - I did say in my post I was going to ask if it was true first. But if it was true, then I stand by my feelings - moving a whole class up a level at a time is to my mind ineffective.

Learnandsay - thank you, yes I agree I think mumsnet is great for me bouncing my immediate gut reactions off and finding out the best way to ask the questions and to make sure I'm asking the right questions.

Thanks all.

sheep, it never ends I've been told this week that DD2 is in a phonics group with just one other child (I was thinking perhaps SEN intervention?) - no, it turns out after further questioning, that she is in a phonics group with just one other child from her class.

She's been in purple reading group, then purple A reading group. Yesterday she told me 'There isn't an orange reading group, but now there is, Mrs X has made one just for me!'

Again, further questioning has revealed that there probably are other children in the group, but she doesn't know their names yet

I'm so glad I didn't go to ask the teacher about the SEN intervention she'd put in place

ime if something one of my DCs told me about early years sounded a bit odd or unlikely then most times they had got the wrong end of the stick. Checking with other parents is a good idea or speaking to the teacher on the assupmtion that your child is mistaken.

I have a similar problem today with my secondary school child and am deliberating with myself about whether to email the teacher but that's another thread

That is funny Lougle.

It's a really odd scenario isn't it, I'm still getting used to him being there all day and me not really knowing what he is doing, other than his random comments. It's such a big part of his life and I know a fraction of what happens. I know I'm quite a control freak and letting go isn't something that comes naturally to me . This is as much a learning curve for me as it is for DS1.

I guess all I can do is to keep him reading at home, from different books and keep encouraging him and keep him interested.

The opposite is true for me. I used to interrogate my daughter and the most useful comment I got from her was "nothing."

What letter did you learn today? "none"
What did you do today? "nothing"
What song did you sing? "We don't sing songs"
etc x 1000
What did you do today? "we had lunch and then we went home"

In the end I gave up asking about school. Now I just put things in front of her. If she knows how to do them then she knows how to do them and if she doesn't then she doesn't.

DD told me today that another child hit her at play time this afternoon and made her cry. What she did not realise was that I was in the school reading with yr4 and had decided to do it outside as it was a lovely day and saw the whole thing and it was nothing like DD said, no child hit her and she did not cry at all!!

So (note to me) do not believe everything DD (reception) says

I distinctly remember a MN teacher posting something along the lines of:

"If you don't believe everything they say about us (school), we won't believe everything they say about you (home)!"

Personally, I cannot believe that any teacher would wait until an entire class is ready before moving them onto the next reading level. Whilst anything is possible, I would check with the teacher first...