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?

Impecunious your posts on this thread are wonderful.

No impecuniousmarmoset I want my pupils to be secure in knowledge and skills rather than allowing them to race ahead leaving gaps where the stretching made learning too thin to support future progress which is why despite moving a number of my class back in the reading scheme they made on average 23 months progress in just 9 months.

Teacher22kids: Parents insight into their children is put down at the same time as parental input is demanded. It's not surprising parents get frustrated.

or even parents' insight

Just as an aside - having done an in-depth assessment of one of my pupils today, my suspicion that they have gaps in their reading knowledge and skills was confirmed. Having moved the child to the right type of books to help us to address those gaps (and agreed a plan which mixes reading for pleasure with reading 'to learn to read better', including a wide ranging reading list of 'real books'), I had a meeting with the mum after school.

'Oh, thank goodness. I have been noticing that [insert list of reading behaviours] exactly as you say, and I am so glad that it has been picked up on and you are addressing it'

Mum also fiulled me in with other details, which having only had the children for 5 days was really helpful, and mum and child have gone off really happy.

Maybe in RL I don't come over quite as I do on MN....

That doesn't mean no parent ever has a problem with a teacher wrongly assessing their child's ability, or that all teachers know better than all parents. I'm sure you wouldn't suggest either of the above.

That doesn't mean no parent ever has a problem with a teacher wrongly assessing their child's ability, or that all teachers know better than all parents. I'm sure you wouldn't suggest either of the above.

Further to mrz's post, it is interesting that parents perceive "revising a child's position on the reading scheme" as 'holding them back from making the progress they need to'. One of the reasons that I have been revisitng all the children who have come up to me as 'free readers' is that analysis shows that it is, on average, exactly those children who have made least progress in their reading.

And I shall say again - I expect a reading scheme to be a minority of the reading diet of the children in my class. I read them real books, we choose library books together, there are reading lists and author visits etc etc etc. However for the DIRECT teaching of reading, a book which has been levelled and can be matched to a child's learning needs is very useful, because it enables really targeted input so that they can make better progress....and this eventually give them much fuller access to the rest of the wrold of literature.

I agree that no teacher is infallible. Equally, not all parents are impartial judges of their children's abilities. It's a dialogue, not a confrontation, especially as not all children perform in school as they do at home (some children better, some children less well).

No group is right all the time. Which is why it's surprising that teachers always, automatically assume the teacher is right in any given situation such as the one described in the OP and the ones described elsewhere on the thread.

I actually said, earlier in the thread:

"In the OP's case, the teacher may have made a mistake (easily resolved by note in the reading diary), may not have had records passed up to them (ditto), may have started the year by issuing easy books before a new assessment (worth waiting a week or so for that), may be acting in response to an assessment of the child in class which may eventually be proved incorrect (for example, the child may have been very hesitant when first reading to a new teacher), or may be acting out of a longer term pedagogical plan (may have responded to a concern either in reading or in wider assessment e.g. phonics testing etc that shows phonics not being used to tackle unfamiliar words or whatever)."

Definitely not assuming that the teacher is right! Could be a mistake, could be lack of information, could be a blanket school / class policy [which i wouldn't agree with, btw], or could be for pedagogical reasons. I suppose I originally came onto this thread to put a teacher point of view, and to say that sometimes, moving to a simpler book may have a genuine reason - in order to balance views from others who said that is must be a mistake. Not that is ALWAYS has a pedagogical reason, just that it COULD IYSWIM?

None of those are good enough reasons. Fine for a child with an active parent. The parent can pick up the problem. If there is no active and interested parent then the child will fall through the net. The child will swiftly become bored and put off reading. It's simply not good enough. I hope you can say that.

"or may be acting out of a longer term pedagogical plan (may have responded to a concern either in reading or in wider assessment e.g. phonics testing etc that shows phonics not being used to tackle unfamiliar words or whatever)."

I'm not a teacher but this seems very wrong to me. If there are problems with phonics then address them at the same time as the child maintains progress on whatever scheme. I can think of no swifter way of demotivating a child and putting them off reading than by telling them (in effect) they can no longer read the types of books theyve been reading, they're not good enough to read those books, and sending them home with books they will think are too easy, or baby books, or much too simple for them, or behind all their friends.

Well, it was the first reading book of the year and could, for a variety of reasons, be anomalous. A single reading book at an incorrect level is not going to put a child off reading. A series of these, and no re-evaulation or reason given, might well. I would expect a Year 2 child to be read with very regularly in school (it is slightly different higher up the school - much of our direct reading teaching is done through guided reading, using a specific group book) and so would hope - I know that the teacher is not infallible - that it would be re-evaluated regularly. A school in which low-level reading books are issued routinely, with no checking and no rationale, would be demonstrating bad practice, I absolutely agree

"I would expect a Year 2 child to be read with very regularly in school"
Isnt this rather optimistic?

In my DC school the only reading with the teacher is guided reading

That is fine for my DC as I listen to them read every day. Which IMO is why it's important to have the correct level of book (which DD does not have).

So you are suggesting that a child should be denied the books that they need to actually be make progress in their reading because they will be 'behind all their friends'? Why should they be denied the opportunity to make real progress? The child I assessed today had been reading books to hard for them. They had made no progress as a result. Socially, they were reading the same books as their friends (not getting much out of them, but turning the pages). Now they have books to read that will actually enable them to make better progress - and as a result child and mum are hugely motivated about reading again, though a balance of carefully-selected levelled books and a rreading list of authors they might try.

Apologies about spelling. Need to go and do some work so that my pupils will make progress tomorrow

Simpson, is your only source of books the school scheme books? Can't your daughter read other books to you some of the time?

(Apologies again. In the same way that all parents here have assumed that all parents are as motivated, knowledgable and objective about their child's ability as they are, I tend to assume that all teachers work a bit like I and the teachers I know do. Every profession has its 'bad apples'. Every human makes mistakes. I am not denying that teachers make mistakes - and would hope that you would accept in return that not all parents accurately assess their chid's abilities in all areas all of the time)

Teacher - it sounds like you have taken the time to explain why this child has dropped level(s). Personally I would be fine with that (especially the list of other books to try).

Unfortunately some schools are not so helpful, I have been told DD cannot free read because her NC level is not a level 3. So has been given Biff etc instead.

Surely it would be better to give a wide variety of books, different genres, fiction, non fiction etc instead?

Of course DD is lucky, she has me to provide these books instead. But nobody at the school looks in their reading diaries to see what else a child reads at home, so how do they know she has read them?

X post teacher

"I would expect a Year 2 child to be read with very regularly in school"
Isnt this rather optimistic?

This is interesting. Do you think so? I have a new Y2 child who has been at school for exactly one week this academic year and she has read to a teaching member of staff twice, once with a teacher and once with a TA. Last year she had the opportunity to read to staff members (as opposed to parent helpers) about the same number of times a week. And we just had a parent meeting with the teacher where five or six parents offered to help with reading and changing books. I will do a couple of hours a week and the others will do the same and between us we will probably get each child reading with an adult at least once more a week. Is this unusual? It's not a particularly highly regarded school, btw, though I happen to rather like it and so does DD.

Can I ask a favour of the teachers on this thread please, if you are able to spare the time? Could someone give me a brief description of exactly how children are assessed in reading in their school at the start of a new academic year? And how regularly through the school year that a formal assessment is done?

Just interested to see how it's done at junior level as obviously as parents we don't tend to get much formal feedback in our children's reading assessments other than at the end of the year at report time.

"So you are suggesting that a child should be denied the books that they need to actually be make progress in their reading because they will be 'behind all their friends'?"

You know very well that is not all I said. If you are not worried about motivating a child, and don't think that motivation is important when encouraging reading, and don't think that children notice what reading scheme levels are, and don't think they notice when they are set back months, years, or several levels in reading, and don't think any of these can affect motivation, you are free to ignore anything I wrote. However I don't a good teacher who knows children would think those things. I don't think you think those things. So please don't ignore the motivation factor. It counts, a lot, you know it, I know it, all good teachers know it and most parents know it.