Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

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

Flip

Original poster

Scheme book rant

23 replies

Shattereddreams · 17/05/2013 20:16

I haven't much faith in DD Y1 teacher, she was a maternity cover, who stayed but school are clearly recruiting to replace so I am not teacher bashing.

Scheme books. DD is refusing them, begrudgingly starts them, two pages max, we either end up me yelling at her or her taking herself to bed ridiculously early as she knows claiming tiredness excuses her. Same now happening with her free choice school book.

Not happening with library and home books such as Rainbow fairies, other fair stories and Mr Men. But if I push school books, she stops reading altogether.

She was assessed as 2c for reading in Feb but is reading level 3 books, ORT jackdaws white level. She CAN read them but won't. She says they are boring.

So I spoke to teacher because (pfb - I am a first timer) I don't want to lie in the record book, which I have been. But she offered no advice, just said scheme books are compulsory.

WWYD? I can't decide, ignore scheme books, force her to read scheme books? Lie or state what she did read in record book... ?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

itsnothingoriginal · 17/05/2013 20:26

DD is on the same same reading level in yr 1 and have similar issues with outdated boring book band books. We go through the motions with them - I usually barter with her to read a page or two or a chapter at best then quickly onto the stuff she wants to read. I just make a brief note in reading record of any tricky words etc.

IMHO they are 'reading' at this level and provided she gets practice at the right level, I would do what you are doing and let her read what she enjoys!

simpson · 17/05/2013 20:30

How many books does she get a week?

If she gets loads can you ask the school to cut down to one a week and do a couple of pages each night?

DD's HT said at a literacy event that she is not bothered if children don't read the school books, as long as they read something!

Original poster

Shattereddreams · 17/05/2013 20:40

That's what I was hoping for reassurance from teacher. It's two books a week, but they are too long and factor in working parents. I suppose I feel guilty that I can't do a little every night, not that I expect her to do them in one sitting, but she is clearly so unwilling to read them. Reading time is precious!

OP posts:

learnandsay · 17/05/2013 20:43

I pick and choose the scheme books I'm prepared to read with my daughter. Luckily the teacher withdrew the Boff, Chopper & Koppy books because my child was reading them backwards. But I asked to more Ginn books because they're harder and she likes them. But was told they don't have very many. So they're supplementing them with more babyish stuff like songbirds. It strikes me as though the teacher is just padding out the scheme till the child moves up to Y1. So when the book is obviously wrong it goes back into the bag unread. It's only a few more weeks. I don't think it's worth saying anything.

Fairenuff · 17/05/2013 20:43

I wouldn't worry about it. As long as she is reading books she likes at home. It's more important that she enjoys reading and can talk to you about the books, what she likes, the plot, the characters, etc. Just leave the school reading scheme until she gets a new teacher.

Pozzled · 17/05/2013 20:49

Have you tried asking the teacher why the scheme books are compulsory? Ask him/her to explain to you what benefit your DD should be receiving from them that she can't get from Rainbow Fairies etc. If the teacher can't give you a convincing reason, ask the Head the same question. Make sure they can also explain why the scheme books are so vitally important that it's worth putting up with the clear negative impact on your daughter's attitude to reading.

When they can't do this, explain that your DD will continue to choose books that interest her. (Do try to encourage a balanced reading diet though!)

Oh, and campaign for your school to invest some money into a decent reading scheme- there are some good ones out there.

simpson · 17/05/2013 20:51

DD (reception) did not like reading school type books.

The teacher has now stopped giving any altogether and let's her choose her own books from the redundant school library.

She chooses things like Angelina Ballerina and fairy tales etc...

They have also cut down how many books they are giving her (at one point she was getting 4 a week) but she was moaning that she had no time to read her own books so they have cut down to 1 a week.

What is the yr2 teacher like?

learnandsay · 17/05/2013 20:52

How realistic is it to talk about other schemes? Depends on the size of school I suppose. I think our school owns thousands of scheme books.

Periwinkle007 · 17/05/2013 20:57

my daughter is on level 10/11 too. we sometimes get away with her reading the school book without a fuss but other times it is a battle purely because she knows the books she has at home are more interesting. She has quite enjoyed the jackdaws ones she has had but they are very long and as she gets 3 books a week we have sometimes struggled to fit them all in. she is currently enjoying ORT glow-worm poetry books, partly because she likes poetry but I think it has more to do with the fact she has worked out that even at level 11 they are only 16 pages long....

It isn't long to the end of term, your daughter can obviously read. I would probably pick a section of the book that looks interesting and get her to read that bit - a few pages, and just record general blurb about it. If she has some words she doesn't know in it though then yes you do need to record this I suppose because she obviously isn't ready to move off the level yet but otherwise just make sure she keeps her love of reading.

learnandsay · 17/05/2013 21:00

Who knows what level is correct? One teacher's level might be another teacher's schmevel. Those of us who are just treading water with the current books won't find out till next year.

simpson · 17/05/2013 21:04

DD's last school type book was stage 10.

They are very dull, I don't blame kids for not wanting to read them

learnandsay · 17/05/2013 21:09

So far our teacher, apart from being a stickler for scheme order, has been quite reasonable about choosing individual books within the scheme. It doesn't make the whole exercise likeable but it does make it a bit less hateful. If the school ever sends books home which my daughter objects to I'll simply boycott them. Why turn a current pleasure into a war?

freetrait · 17/05/2013 21:18

Sometimes it's worth reading what you might think is a boring book, you may find something interesting to surprise you.

DS went through this stage in the Autumn. We cut back to one school book a week but made sure he read it, good discipline. I don't really see the problem with reading a dull book, if you engage as I say you can find something in it, or maybe that's just me..... We'd just take it slowly, a few pages a night if that's all he wanted to do, or sometimes if he was particulary reluctant (you could try this?) we'd share the book, so he read a couple of pages, I read a couple etc etc. Sometimes I'd read most of it .

Now he brings Mr Majeika and Yuck and reads a bit to us but we trust him that he's read the rest and if he hasn't..... We tend to hold onto the school books a bit longer, there is no urgency to finish them. Often DS is reading all sorts of other things to and then it's- oh, have you read the school book? I am quite laid back about it.

learnandsay · 17/05/2013 21:24

I'm not sure about the boring book theory. Primary school is probably a bit young for Marcel Proust, or Herman Melville. But when the time comes, if my daughter wants to skip those, even if they're on the curriculum, it's OK with me. Life is too short to cry your way through dull books because your society promotes them.

Original poster

Shattereddreams · 17/05/2013 21:30

Need freetraits attitude

Sadly, our head is totally shite, luckily retiring soon. I have had the conversation about books, completely ignored. I am at a stage where do we complain because head hasnt actioned any of the points we raised (that she said she would) or just let her retire withut a fuss.
PA have been campaigning for new books for years.

And sadly next years teacher is also shite, she is KS1 co-ordinator who is so lazy she has no handle on the fact erratic, mixed level books get sent home. The TA is responsible for books in DD class. Bad bad management all round at our school. I did tell Mrz about the vacancy

OP posts:

freetrait · 17/05/2013 21:34

I like to promote an open attitude though . And how do you know it's boring if you haven't read it?

freetrait · 17/05/2013 21:36

That was to learnandsay. Shattered, I would chill about the school books, just do a token amount and write honestly "read pages 1 and 2", or give back unread- it doesn't matter. It's a shame they don't give her something useful though. If she's got something she likes reading at home and is reading then surely it doesn't matter (apart from being annoying).

ihearsounds · 17/05/2013 21:38

Level books are compulsory? The youngest doesn't read the reading scheme books, well occasionally he does. Most of the time he reads books from home and library books. I write in his record book what he has read etc and his teachers don't have a problem, because at least he is reading.

tiredbutnotweary · 17/05/2013 22:05

I wonder if this might help? Still quite new to this so fingers crossed the link works:

www.dyslexia-inst.org.uk/pdffiles/gradedsort.pdf

At least this lists a range of non-scheme books (as well as some scheme ones too) all by band. I'm sure many can be picked up from the library or second hand book shop (I've just found this list and only had time to give it a casual glance so far). I'd hope the teacher would think it's a reasonable compromise for your DD to read non-scheme white level books (and of course assuming there's some books listed here that she'd enjoy)!?!

The banding numbers are reading recovery, I think, so white is 23 and 24.

Original poster

Shattereddreams · 17/05/2013 22:47

That is a great link tired ! Just up my street

I try not to get stressed, I go in all calm to check something and come out all grrrr. Then MN is my voice of reason and all is well again.

Just found out that this teacher calls out results out of ten in descending order to whole class of spelling results. I really really don't like her. The poor boy who every week gets one

OP posts:

Original poster

Shattereddreams · 17/05/2013 22:49

And DD school split year group by DOB so her class are all late spring and summer born, some are not reading yet, so spelling humiliation is so unnecessary

OP posts:

learnandsay · 17/05/2013 22:57

In my case, because I have read them and they were boring. That doesn't mean that my daughter will find them as boring as I did. But if she did start them and find them boring I'd be behind her in her decision to ditch them (and any earlier books she found tedious.) The world is so full of wonderful books that I think it's the distributor's fault if the book she hands out is tedious, not the pupil's.

Metbird · 17/05/2013 23:03

My DD2 is a slow reader, but quick everywhere else, so she has got really bored with the school books. I spoke to her teacher about this, and now we don' t read school books at home, but instead do paired reading with books of her choice. We are currently reading a book aimed at secondary school level - simple language but with a more thrilling storyline. (The books even talks about smooching which has made by DD's day!) The point I am making is, it is important to get kids to enjoy reading, to realise it is a fun, relaxing and interesting skill that they will want to have. Bloody boring scheme books are just hopeless if (and when) children move on intellectually. By forcing children to just read them, we teach them books are not worth bothering with. Look up paired reading online, and open up a whole world of fantastic and fascinating books for your child.

Flip