How much do your YR read?

[jenbird]

I have read on here about people's 5 yr olds having finished the ORT series. My daughter is 5 with a December birthday and in YR. She is a bright little girl and currently on Stage 5. We read every night. Her books are changed M,W,F and we currently read one a night unless it's a tricky one. School issues the ORT books including wrens, sparrows etc, then we do snapdragons and then fireflies (so tedious). It takes a while to get to the next stage. I am just interested in how much others read and what they read. I thought my daughter was pretty able until I read what other peoples children are doing on here. I also thought we read quite a bit but now I'm not so sure. Our school is v small (49 pupils) and rural so we live in a bit of a bubble so I was just wondering how much others do?

[ThisIsMummyPig]

For balance my child is in the middle group. This week her reading book goes 'I like feathers and boxes, I like leaves and boxes. I like grass and boxes, and another page I can't remember.

We also sometimes read an Usborne Phonics book, or a Songbirds book (she is doing the blue ones) which I have bought myself. We do the odd book from the library (Phonics corner ones) and occassionally other stuff, for example a post card from her grandma today.

[learnandsay]

Personally I believe that our education system relies a lot upon where a child comes from in order to succeed. I don't think primary school teachers did home visits when I was a child. Children just went to school and that was all there was to it. In those days where you came from didn't become important until much much later in life.

[learnandsay]

If a child was struggling to learn to read and came from an unstable home I'm not sure how much that home could contribute even if it wanted to.

[simpson]

Our local library has loads of basic phonics books (reading/phonics corner books are good "Run Rat Run" is one I remember). Think "rat ran, cat ran, dog ran, rat ran in a big red hut" etc etc and then the books get progressively harder from there...

[simpson]

I don't know if they have SEN as the teacher would never tell me obviously.

I suspect there must be something going on, but not helped by no practise at home. The kids are listened to twice a week, once with either the TA or me and once by the teacher in guided reading (yr1 onwards - reception are listened to at least once a week 121 if not more)..

[learnandsay]

When my daughter was at the very beginning of learning to read I didn't worry about books at all. I taught her to read words. Then I combined those words into sentences. And then I started having her read sentences which she would later find in two particular kinds of books, Dr Seuss Cat in the Hat & Green Eggs & Ham. Then I had her read and re-read those books & Marinarik's Little Bear books a few times.

[mamababa]

I don't know what level DS1 is on he is 5 and in reception. He is on level red, pink was the first level do is this ORT 2? Do all schools colour books the same? His reading book is changed weekly and they have a free choice library book. We read to him and with him every night but it's hard to judge what he can read. He can sound out lots of stuff but doesn't seem able to read in his head lots of words. We have the biff and chip books and loads of storybooks in general. All you wise ladies seem to know lots about alternative books so any titles greatly appreciated

[learnandsay]

But surely it's the school's responsibility to get the child reading. I've heard it said that blending clicks later with some children than others, but not yet after two years of school? (SEN?) I'm not actually asking. I'm just thinking aloud.

[simpson]

LandS - there is one child in yr1 who finds red books a struggle (yr1) and when I ask if they have read the book at home before we start reading it (if they have read it then I ask them what they liked best and if they haven't read it, we look at the blurb/front cover and talk about what the book might be about) and every time they say that they have read it to themselves as mummy/daddy won't listen. But this child struggles to read the word cat so cannot read the book iyswim.

But has definately looked at the book at home as they can say what is happening by having looked at the pictures and talk about their favourite page etc...

[simpson]

Haberdashery - I agree, DD taught herself to blend basic words before she started nursery (it took me a while to realise) and I just rolled with it, got books out of the library etc...

DD needed physio to help her walk (aged 2) as she is hyper mobile. Some kids are walking at 9 or 10 months and some like my DD needed a bit of help. I think reading is the same...

[learnandsay]

You show me a teacher who knows that the reading books are too easy for her children and says they're supposed to be like that so that the children get the most out of them and I'll show you a teacher who's aiming for an easy life.

[Haberdashery]

Also, if my daughter had still been on red at the end of Reception I would simply have ignored the reading scheme as lands says. It would have been a huge waste of time to bother with red books when she was perfectly capable of independently reading and understanding Gobbolino the Witch's Cat etc and maybe asking me about a word or meaning once per chapter. I didn't mind her being on orange or similar level books as I did see that it was an opportunity for her to practise particular phonics and reading out loud etc.

[Haberdashery]

I find the idea that any child who is on a high level compared to their peers must somehow have been rushed and pushed and had their reading development harmed in some way a bit odd. It is not a race. Some children reach the end point (fluent enjoyable independent reading) earlier than others, that is all, and many do so quite naturally without needing to be pushed or even particularly encouraged to do so. Just like some kids of five can hit a ball with a racquet and others can barely swing the racquet in the right direction and don't fancy doing it much anyway. There are differing speeds of learning and levels of aptitude in most things. This is the human condition, but I don't see how holding a child back at a level that is too easy will enhance their experience of reading any more than taking the ball and racquet away from the sporty kid and telling him that everyone is still learning how to throw a ball in a bucket would be beneficial for him.

[learnandsay]

There's no such scheme, but if there was an ORT/OMT for maths and my daughter was still on "my first numbers"/red level now, I'd boycott that too (mixing this thread with one about why we don't go on like this about maths. The reason is there's no maths scheme to moan about.)

[learnandsay]

If some children were on quite high books and the majority were on red that might say a lot about the parents at either end of the scale. If my daughter was still on red books now I'd have boycotted the reading scheme long ago.

[simpson]

Don't have a clue...

It does not seem to be an amazingly high ability year group (I read with yr2 as well) but they are all doing pretty well now.

Tbh last years reception teacher is not the best (DS had her) luckily DD (now in reception doesn't!)

[givemeaclue]

The majority were on red at beginning year 1? How can that be?

[simpson]

DD can also do the things periwinkle's DD does, so it is possible in reception. She is late Jan born so not one of the oldest in her year.

She can tell me which word summerises how a character is feeling ie "Tom sat sobbing in the corner" she can pluck out the word sobbing to tell me he feels sad. She can also tell me which sentence the illustrator has drawn etc...

However, I agree that some of the higher level books are not necessarily suitable for an able 5 yr old reader. Her school are very good at finding suitable books for her.

In also read with yr1 kids and at the beginning if the school year, only a handful were on blue, a couple on yellow and the majority on red. But now most of them are on stage 5/6 with a couple on stage 9/10.

[tinytreefrog]

My dd2 is 5 and in reception. Her teacher really isn't one to rush them through the levels at all. Dd2 is on stage 3 ort and is one of the highest in her class. She reads these books easily and I know that she could manage stage 5 or 6 as we have a few at home but there's no point in arguing with her teacher as it wont get you anywhere, she is a real believer that a child should be able to read their books easily so they get the most out of the story? maybe she is right. Dd1 was on stage 5 at this age (different teacher) but was definitely no better at actual reading. It really depends on the school and the teacher and you can't compare.

[BabiesAreLikeBuses]

In answer to the much earliervquestion im glad my dts are not reading level 10.... There is no challenge in terms of decoding the words but it def gives us chance to work on pace and expression and ds has asked loads of questions about punctuation which im sure he wouldn't with a harder text. Also he feels so confident as it's easy and he can be a delicate little flower if pushed too far! The school very much takes a steady approach and encourages non scheme books. He has no idea or interest in what the other kids are reading but another mum helps and says others all on red and yellow - and it's a high achieving school. Also content wise level 10 not geared to age 5. I teach at same school and have prevented 9 yo reading l16 as lots about war and complex emotions in there. Your library is a much better bet and at least the characters there have real names!! Fwiw op your child would be top of 90 at our school!!

[givemeaclue]

Periwinkle, I mean your dd has much wider skills than just reading words.

[Smartieaddict]

We read for about 10 to 15 minutes a night. By MN standards DS is struggling as he is still on red level books, but he can pick up pretty much anything now and have a good go at reading it.

We read his school books once each, and he chooses some from the library to read as well. He gets 3 new books from school once a week.

I think you are right to think your DD is very able OP!

[givemeaclue]

Exactly the point I am making, your dd can do those things, but many can not aged five so even if they can read complex words they are not able to understand books that are more complex.
Some people find the reading levels a race, there I so much more to reading than just recognized words, all of the things you mention your dd is able to do for example

[Periwinkle007]

some of them DO though givemeaclue. My daughter reads both fiction and non fiction as well as history. She uses chapters, paragraphs and punctuation in her own writing, she uses contents pages and index to work out where something is in a book and find the bits she is especially interested in, she looks things up in a children's encyclopaedia, she offers opinions on why someone might have done something in a book, what the author might have based the story on, why the illustrator drew things like they did and how she would have done it herself (her version is nearly always better obviously!) and she genuinely DOES understand at a higher level than you would expect of a 5 year old.

[givemeaclue]

Also, its not just can they read the words. Can theyunderstand the characters and their motivation and emotions, can they understand the punctuation, do they know what chapters, paragraphs, contents, etc are for. Do they read non fiction and fiction, can they use an index, can they understand how a library system works. All of this is important.

My dd is on the highest reading level in her class, she could easily read the next level but she doesn't always understand the characters emotions as she has the has the empathy of a five year old which you would expect as she is five! There is a lot more to it than jutting reading the words in my view