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Primary education

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Reception teacher told us not to read everyday

346 replies

TeaJunky · 06/12/2013 11:58

Ok, so dd started bringing books home. She initially brought the purple level with no words then progressed onto pink quite quickly. She reads her school reading (phonics) book to me everyday and as the reading book is changed only once a week, she began to find this boring quite quickly.

I wrongly assumed that she is perhaps ready for something more challenging and I wrote this in her reading record.

Dd's reception teacher called me in at the end of the day and proceeded to show me the whole reading scheme on the trolley and explain that it only consisted of 500 words and the whole point of it was to achieve fluency blah blah (I already know all this). She said dd had been tried out on some 'harder' books and struggled with them hence she stayed on pink.
That was fine by me, so I suggested that she perhaps needed a new book more often as she read everyday. The teacher said 'really, don't read everyday because it can get boring really quickly'.
I pointed out that it actually wasn't me pushing dd to sit down and read, it was her bringing her book bag from her room and literally dragging me onto the sofa to read - she said 'honestly, don't let her do it everyday' Hmm

What ?!

The second thing that worried me about the whole conversation was the fact that the reading scheme only went up to level red, so the whole of the reading scheme was only three levels; purple (pre words), pink and red. She said that's the highest they can go in reception on the scheme.

Am I right to feel that this is a very limiting and pre-determined scheme with no room for differentiation or individual progression?

This is a highly thought of school and we are happy with everything else but the whole reading convo we had seems so bizarre.

thoughts ?

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mrz · 08/12/2013 16:02

I don't think the teacher will be bothered whether you write an essay about all the books either. [rollseyes]

mrz · 08/12/2013 16:05

mrz We have decodable readers that are organised for guided reading/taking home and we have decodable readers that we put in the reading area. Children can choose these to take home or read them during continuous provision - these books are rotated often.

my question is ... why if your resources are so limited do you put reading scheme books in the CP reading area or don't you have many other books/time interact in the reading area either?

columngollum · 08/12/2013 16:07

The problem is that to comment the child has to first read it.

If schools don't mind the comment being either she didn't read it or she read it well, (when in fact she didn't read it at all) then it wouldn't matter what they sent hope and everybody's happy.

mrz · 08/12/2013 16:12

If you don't read it don't comment Hmm

Pie8er · 08/12/2013 16:15

Because we have double copies of some books/odd books that were part of a scheme but have never come back. We have some incomplete guided reading sets so we use those.

We also think it is nice that children are able to choose a book suitable for their ability that they can access during CP.

mrz · 08/12/2013 16:19

Because we have double copies of some books/odd books that were part of a scheme but have never come back. We have some incomplete guided reading sets so we use those

Why does that matter?

We also think it is nice that children are able to choose a book suitable for their ability that they can access during CP. Biscuit

columngollum · 08/12/2013 16:22

I don't think that'll work, they write the title and date in, so not commenting will leave a lot of half blank pages. Moving up the reading scheme is broken but I think several tens of half empty pages in the reading diary would break the system quite a bit more. If you participate and argue your corner when necessary at least you earn the right to comment as need be. It's not a perfect system. But, (accepting the odd big bust up from time to time,) it's livable with.

Pie8er · 08/12/2013 16:22
Xmas Biscuit

It appears nothing will be good enough for you.

Feenie · 08/12/2013 16:26

Whether it's good enough for the children is what's important.

And to me none of the reasons for limiting their reading seem sound.

mrz · 08/12/2013 16:28

It's a comment in a home reading record book not tablets of stone

Pie8er · 08/12/2013 16:28

I don't feel we are limiting their reading.

FrameyMcFrame · 08/12/2013 16:28

They'll all learn to read there is no rush.
Studies show the go slow approach achieves best results for attainment and happiness in children.

FrameyMcFrame · 08/12/2013 16:32

Actually it's such a misconception that teaching 4 year olds to read is good for their development.

4 year olds should be playing. That's how they gain optimum development, as masses of studies show.

mrz · 08/12/2013 16:33

They'll all learn to read unfortunately the statistics clearly show that isn't true

Pie8er · 08/12/2013 16:36

Completely agree Framey

mammadiggingdeep · 08/12/2013 16:58

I have nothing but sympathy for the teacher who has to deal, on a daily basis with you column. Noting they do could be good enough for you, it would appear whatever they do, you think it's wrong, misguided or even done as part of some 'control' exercise. I think you'd be suited to home schooling.

mrz · 08/12/2013 17:03

If I were her daughter's teacher I'd send home Beatrix Potter while making sure she was actually learning to read not just recite Wink

teacherwith2kids · 08/12/2013 17:04

I find it - as a teacher, and as the parent of a fluent pre-school reader as well as a child who became a fluent reader while in reception [and I mean fluent as in 'could read anything put in front of them', not 'could read e.g. purple levelled books fluently'] - absolutely astonishing that schools have 'capped' reading schemes for Reception or Y1 or whatever.

Even DS's first primary, though a disaster in other ways, worked tirelessly to find him suitable books - books that moved him on in terms of his reading, but were age appropriate in content and above all interesting and relevant to a 4 or 5 year old [it's all very well being able to DECODE long chapter books - but finding ones which are within a 4 or 5 year old's span of interest / life experience is a real skill].

Most schools I have been into have reading books in shared areas for exactly this reason - accessible to all, no problem for less able readers from higher classes to access the books they need to keep learning, no barrier for more able reader to access the books they need.

Equally, I find 'rationing' reading books bizarre. If you've read a book, you've read it. Unless there is some scheme for extending the life of a particular book, some kind of response to it or specific questions or a need to learn it by heard or something, then there is no neeed to keep it any longer. However, if the child wants to go back and read a book they've really enjoyed again a while later, then they should be able to do that, alongside some new books.

mammadiggingdeep · 08/12/2013 17:05

I would fora quiet life but I wouldn't sleep at night...poor child :(

teacherwith2kids · 08/12/2013 17:06

(DS - marked ASD traits at that age, though much less noticeable now he is older - did have to learn to play, especially with others. It was harder for him than learning to read. But who said it was one or the other?)

FrauMoose · 08/12/2013 17:10

I think some children do just 'put it together' quite suddenly and go up loads of stages in the space of a week or two. This happened to my daughter in Year 1, and I told the teacher that the stuff she was being sent home with wasn't a challenge for her. Nothing changed, so I think then I wrote a letter. Finally the class teacher tested her and found she was basically at the end of the Oxford Reading Tree, not somewhere near the start.

After that my daughter just got to choose books from the school reading courner and got to read them by herself for most of literacy hour. I can see this sort of thing is potentially a bit of a problem for teachers. But you can't really deal with it, by shoving the child backwards.

mrz · 08/12/2013 17:11

I would justify it in the knowledge that mummy would be providing Beatrix if I didn't

mrz · 08/12/2013 17:11

and compensate with lots of age appropriate stories in class

mammadiggingdeep · 08/12/2013 17:12

...and dare I say a spit of fun for a change...

mammadiggingdeep · 08/12/2013 17:13

Spot....typo!