Why has Year 2 teacher sent DD home with a ridiculously easy reading book?

[pokesandprodsforthelasttime]

Granted it's only the 2nd week of term and the teacher probably hasn't got round to assessing all 30 children yet.

But surely they should know which book band she left Year 1 on?

Is it my job to let them know where she's up to via the reading record?

Aww come on teacherwith2kids - you can't argue sound pedagogy against a parent's snit about book bands.

Because everything is dumbed down.

Agree with most of the others, perhaps she didn't seem very confident when the teacher listened to her read so thought she would take her back a step to create some confidence. Has your daughter done much reading over the summer?

Don't you think it is more likely that the teacher is just easing them back in rather than making any judgments about OP's DD's reading? Every year, at DS's school, they go back a few steps for the first 2 or 3 weeks - even though we know there is a solid handover from teacher to teacher.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. In P1 DS was in an accelerated reading group run by the Deputy Head where they read chapter books. She then retired and away went the accelerated reading programme so DS and the rest of the group spent P2 reading books way below the level they'd been doing in P1. Completely crazy but DS just kept reading voraciously at home which improved his reading. For your daughter I'd give it a few weeks and then see where she's at.

Holiday, as I said in an earlier post, there may have been a 'blanket' decision to send out books quickly, set at a level below where information from the previous teacher has taken them to.

I haven't encountered that myself, as a teacher or parent, but I can see that it would be 'easier' (politically) than sending 'the next book in the scheme' and then having to bactrack after a proper assessment, and 'easier' logistically than assessing them all early in the term (I did all mine on the first day, with help from experienced TAs who were circulating the classrooms to help us all to do so - and will do really in-depth assessments this week - but I agree that s logistically tricky in terms of workload and organisation).

It was probably a typo in the handover records. Just go in and ask.

It's the 3rd day FGS.

Teacher, are you ds's teacher?

She's just moved the free readers in year 2 back on to the scheme. Well, she's actually got hold of a pile of the higher end scheme books (Topaz etc), and moved the free readers onto them.

DS2 was delighted, as he actually loves the scheme books. I'm happy, because they're interesting books and ds2 has years of Horrid Henry ahead with me listening every night, but don't think that ours was a typical reaction...

Because she/he's hoping that it will encourage parents to use the local library more often?

As a Y2 teacher I've often dropped children back as much as 5 book bands because in my professional opinion they needed to consolidate skills.

The children at our school were all assessed by the new teacher at the end of last term but still, they have all been given work much below what they were doing last year. This has happened every year thus far and then it cranks up again over the coming weeks.

Sitting, no, I teach a higher year than that

5 book bands wow! How did they ever get that far on then??

FWIW I was helping out in a Y2 class today. Lots of the children didn't have their reading records with them, so when it came time to take them to change their books there was a lot of guess work going on.

The teacher is going round the class listening to each child read to re-assess them after the holidays, but it will take a few days.

She may have bungled (as DS's Y1 teacher did at the beginning of last year), or maybe she wants her to read it really well not just get through it. Depends on what sort of level we are talking.

DS, Y2, is in the position others have moaned about where the books in the Key Stage 1 library are a bit limiting. The books at home are not however so I think we'll use the school books to read well and test comprehension skills and the books at home for passion, love of reading, inspiration, excitement- shouldn't a school be encouraging those things? Hmmmm......... thoughts anyone?

Of course reading shouldn't only be about scheme books - which is why every day sees teachers reading 'real' books to and with the class, and why most schools IME integrate 'real' books into their schemes especially at higher levels. It is also why all schools emphasise the importance of reading to and with your child as well as 'hearing them read'.

However, there are 'technical' aspects of reading for which it is useful to have 'levelled' texts on which a child can hone particular skills. It is useful in the simplest example, to have proper phonic books on which to rehearse phonic skills. Or non-fiction books with a low reading level but all the features of this type of book.

The two are complementary. The aim is, of course, for a child to love books and reading (both for themselves and being read to and the whole world of books and stories), but to do so with full independence they need a range of skills - and banded books can help them to acquire these efficiently.

Does that make sense?

I misread the title as "ridiculously sexy reading book". Which would be quite a concern.

Ha! Brilliant!

It is a book band she was on in reception. It was ridiculously easy, she could read it will her eyes shut as my mum would say!

Do children read any better than they did 30, 40, 50 years ago. I never had reading books to bring home nor did my children. My mother never heard me read; she never chose my books for me, I just got what I fancied from the library, and cast my eye over the Daily Mirror from the age of 6. My own children did likewise but by then it was the Guardian. My grandchildren in spite of phonics and daily practice read no better or worse than their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles.

The majority of children will learn to read regardless of the teaching method employed. Some will really struggle with "conventional" look and say methods and never be confident readers. I know of plenty of adults in their 50s and 60s who will confess with embarrassment that they struggle with reading. Phonics is a lifeline for that rump who would otherwise be left behind.

my daughter has just gone into Yr1 and yes she came home with a level below where she ended last year - she was a bit worried she had done something wrong but I said the teacher probably just wanted to check how she was reading after the holidays or may put everyone down a level to make sure they could read it well. anyway 2 books later and she was up to one level above where she finished last term. Seems right for her given what she reads at home, she enjoyed it and read it brilliantly. It wasn't stupidly long which is good as it was read in one evening leaving her time to read some of her own stuff before having another school book which I think is a big plus point.

Yes the same happened last year as well which is why I'm annoyed. But was sorted out at parents evening in October in the end. I was just wondering why really. Is it standard practice or is the reading record from the previous year not passed on to the next class? Or are the school just badly organised? It makes no odds anyway as DD has loads of suitable books to read at home, this sort of thing just worries me because it doesn't give me a great impression of the school!

I don't think it's standard practice. DD read to her new teacher on the first day of term this year and was put up to slightly above where she'd been at the end of last term. They seem to have decided to spend the first few days assessing everyone quite intensively and giving the children a lot of choosing time where they've been making labels for their pegs, leaves for the classroom tree, writing descriptions of their families and favourite toys etc etc. I think it's been quite good - most of the tasks have been perceived as fun by the children and it's definitely better than last year in Y1 when DD wasn't really assessed until several weeks into the term.

I definitely agree with the person who said that after a holiday break the students are often not at the level they were at when school broke up. It doesn't take long for them to settle.

Give it a bit of time and then go and see the teacher.

Often teachers will have a meeting with the parents at the beginning of a new term to touch base so this could be a good time to talk about how the books are chosen.