Yr 2 - reading - is my DD v behind? pls help

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MY Daughter is on level 5 books which at our school is purple band. It goes red, yellow, blue, green then purple then some others. The books she is getting are 32 pages long in total with 3 or 4 stories and a poem in.

She started the year on blue so we did loads of reading at home and now she is on purple. She has obviously made alot of progress over the last 6 months but I think she still may be below the national average for this time of year in yr2.

Anyone know?

Am worried that I might have to step up even more if she is going to hit the national average by yr 2 sats. Her teachers are v reluctant to talk about national averages and have said she may not hit it by summer for reading.

In your case I would ask for more clarity and screw their reluctance. kICK UP A stink, say your really worried and go OTT then they can calm you down and tell you whats going on.

sorry I DO NOT know whats average or normal though in YEAR 2.

What is the series name she is reading and some book titles? This could help us figure out where she relates to the national average. After we figure out what stage books she is on you can compare it to this:

www.readingchest.co.uk/4/book-bands

Purple is supposedly the first of three Y2 bands (blue being the last of Y1). So theoretically she's slightly behind as we are halfway through the year.

Does she enjoy reading? Does she read other books/comics for pleasure? Some children just don't seem to get on with "scheme" books.

i think your daughter is doing very well for her age. in my childrens school they have bands. i think you have to reach band 12 before you can start on a level 1. my youngest son 8 is on band 8. he hates reading and his reading ability hasnt progressed since last term. he is bringing home books that is 20 pages long. i think children will pick up in their own time. if your daughter enjoy books she will improve very quickly.

Yes its all v confusing - it looks like our school doesn't tie in with the Reading Chest colour bands. She is on stage/level 5. They use a number of different reading schemes within each stage/level mainly Oxford Reading Tree, Big Cats and New Way.

The number of pages won't help, the number of words might give a bit of a clue although that's long winded to say the least.

To identify which national book band she's on we'd need the title of one of her recent books. The school have to provide you with her NC level if you request it, although if they are being really awkward then they'd make you do so formally, in writing, as part of a request to see all the information they hold on her.

I'd suggest you go back to the teacher and insist that she provides you with her current level (saying you will make a formal request if she will not provide this information - you are entitled to it after all). Also ask for your DD's next steps / targets so that you can support her working on these at home. You can easily find the reading APP grids which will help you see how each level progresses and what she needs to achieve before she reaches a 2b.

You could also consider buying some workbooks that focus on comprehension. These provide short passages and a series of questions to work on the various skills she needs.

Thanks tired thats good advice. The books she's bought home tonight are The Shine Key (ORT - says stage 6 More Stories A on back) and The Go-kart Race (ORT - Stage 6 More Owls).

So looks like she's just been moved up to stage 6 today as yesterday she was on a New Reading 360 Level 5 book called All For Fun.

Anyone know how far behind national average she is for this point in year 2?

Well done to her for moving up to stage 6! According to ReadingChest for age 6-7 (year 2) the levels are 7,8 or 9. So yout DD is nearly there.

Also check out fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/oxed/primary/literacy/ort/ORT_Chart_for_web_.pdf?region=uk

which also says the same thing.

Whether she has moved up depends on how the school have organised their boxes because different scheme numbers can still fit in the same colourband. Also wouldn't they tell you via her reading record book if they had moved her up?

ORT books are not always banded correctly by schools if they follow ORTs own stages because stage 6 ORT books cover a range of book band colours.

fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/oxed/primary/literacy/ort/bookband_listing2013.pdf?region=international

Both of these books are orange and this equates to roughly 1b/a depending where you look & also on whether a DCs comprehension skills are ahead of their decoding skills which is possible.

See this for more info - it relates to guided reading but has info on the skills for each colour band:

www.mewan.net/curriculum/english/getfile.php?src=25/a_guide_to_pregression_in_reading_skills.pdf

If her book band is equaling her NC level (like I say it may not be) then I'd be kicking up a fuss if they haven't drawn this to your attention before now - even more so if she doesn't meet the level to be given extra school support.

Just to clarify - her NC level may be higher than the rough guide provided by book band colours - but you need to know to ensure you are supporting your DD by working on the skills she needs to progress!

tired that second link is great - very informative.

My son is Y2 and went up from Purple band to Gold in January of this year....he is about to go up to white band next week (according to his TA) and he is one of the highest boys in his class (there are only a handful of girls on white band at the moment above him).

So no I don't think your DD is very behind at all - i'd say 50% of my sons class are lower than purple, 30% are reading at a purple level and 20% are above purple (eg gold or higher). We're in a very middle-class-grammar-catchment area, so some high achievers in the class (already, in yr2, mums are muttering about 11+....arghhh!), so worry not, sounds like your DD is doing just fine!

So my yr 2 DD has just been levelled at 2A (which I believe to be around average for yr2?) and she reads lime level, which is above white.

So if my DD on white is average for yr 2, I suspect yours is a little behind.

Having said that, DD read white. Level for nearly a year and only recently finally went up.

I should add that she is by no means the top of the class!

some schools will only move them up the levels when they can complete all the required NC requirements for the level associated with the book band. others will move them up as their basic reading ability enables them to read, understand and enjoy the book.

I don't think you should worry about her, and these reading levels and colours etc are NOT an exact science at all.

Just encourage her, reassure her she is progressing, and help her to ENJOY reading all sorts of books, including non-fiction, and other material - leaflets, posters, adverts, comics, instructions and recipes etc.

Also she should be having a go at writing, maybe keep a brief diary or journal, about what she does, where she goes etc. And don't forget about numeracy, and other subjects. Yes, reading IS the most important at this stage, but hopefully she will enjoy and make progress in other subjects too.

Sorry to say this - but I do think that you need to put in extra effort and help her get her reading up. Not even for the SATs or levels, but for her general confidence, especially as she progresses to Y3. As she moves to KS2 learning pace really accelerates and you don't want her reading holding her back and, also, you don't want her noticing that she is behind as it is not that great for confidence!

By Y3 many kids become "free readers" - but for that to happen they need to reach some specific NC level which depends on a school - at some it is 10-11, at my DD's it's 14-15.

At her Y2 class right now average level is about 10-11, and the highest girl is at 14. There is one struggling girl at level 6. It makes it hard for her to follow some written instructions already, so her mom is really trying to work on her reading.

Also forgot to add - best way to get her reading up is to find books she likes and just keep practicing. I would do use banded books for that but rather find good early reading books that she might want to read. She is around 7, so her comprehension ability is way beyond what she can read at level 6, so it is a challenge! If she is girly - I'd try Rainbow fairies - despite what I think about them as literature, I do see their value in getting reading practice. You DD will find them a bit difficult, so try alternate - you read a page, then she tries, etc.

If she is more boyish - try Captain Underpants (same disclaimer as Rainbow Fairies). My R.Dahl loving DD could not stop laughing at them - and simple text and comics-styled pictures really help to make it easy to read.

Finally - look for Usborne reading scheme books - great pictures and interesting stories!
www.usborne.com/downloads/book-bands/urp-book-bands-nc3.pdf

I think she's about where she should be end of year 1/ beginning of year 2, so not that far behind at all. My ds moved though stage 6&7 quite quickly, it was like the reading all clicked into place at around this point. I wouldn't panic but just do a bit of reading every night with her. She'll get there.

Thanks guys - loads of good advice here!

Forgot to say she is also summer - born. Which may explain things a little.

Try reading eggs, it has done wonders for some of the more struggling ones at my DCs school. My DS loved it, it was his treat. Y can google it and try it for a couple of weeks for free, then if y recommend it to people and they use it they give you two more free weeks.

Well worth it.

I'm a volunteet reader in my daughters yr2 class and there is a huge range of reading abilities. From those who are very fluent and reading Roald Dahl type books to those who are still on the first 4 or 5 levels (probably more yr1 or even reception levels).

Does she enjoy reading? Maybe try to get her some books on a subject that interests her, even if they are non-fiction. A lot of the school reading books are a bit boring. Many of the girls in the class love Rainbow Fairies (yawn!) and I've noticed their reading has really started to improve once they found books/subjects they were interested in.