Moving through reading levels

[Sneepy]

I'm curious as to what the current thinking is on moving through reading levels. DD2 is in y1 and her reading is coming along nicely. Her understanding is good as well as her technical. It seems to be the policy is to read every book in every level before moving on to the next--when DD1 was doing the scheme she was moved up as necessary. I just feel we are never going to get to the end if she has to read every book in every level!!

they don't want them reading the higher levels yet as they contain themes which she says are not suitable for a 5 year old - such as sleepovers and boyfriends etc what a lame excuse - I've never seen a book like that. Yes DS1 had a few unsuitable ones - boy trying to commit suicide because he was so sad, but that was the exception rather than the rule. Don't think DS2 ever has.

DD read 43 books at her last level.

looking back in DDs reading records they have read anywhere between 0 and 26 books at a level. having said that the 0 followed the 26 where she had been on the level reading way too easy books for too long and then skipped the next one.

My DD was at ORT level 8 for a whole academic year there were 25 books to chose from at that level and we read every single one 3 times each!!

Library books and charity shops kept us going - I also say do what you have to do with the reading scheme ones then move onto something more interesting.

At DD's school, they don't seem hugely worried about levels. They don't seem hugely worried about teaching reading actually The children are told which box to select from, but most of the books are not from any scheme I recognise, and look as though they were published 20+ years ago.

Luckily, the school don't seem to care whether or not children read school books- so DD and I generally read library books and leave the school ones in her book bag.

I do wish they would get more involved with home reading, if only so that I could better relate to threads like these!

Teaching reading means something completely different once the mechanics of getting the words off the page have been dealt with. I presume your daughter's school was helpful with that bit. I expect some teachers are better than others when it comes to teaching textual analysis. (I have come across one teacher who said that she didn't know how to do it.)

I am genuinely amazed at how many schools do the 'read every book in the level' thing - especially since i have never taught in such a school, and only know of 1 in the town I live and work in.

My current school does 'banded' books up to a very high reading level - so many 'real' books are integrated into reading levels well below the end of the scheme. We have 'benchmark' short reading extracts + sets of questions / scores for fluency etc which are used whenever required to see if a child needs to move up bands.

DS, in recveption, moved through ORT from level 1 (Day 1), level 4 (week 2), spent a few weeks on level 7, and then whizzed through the levels up to 14 by mid-year, then on to chapter books carefully selected for / with him by the cass teacher and TA. DD went a little more slowly (she couldn't read on arrival at schiool, unlike DS) but was on the 'chapter book bands' - which go all the way up to Year 6, as the highest bands include e.g. all the Harry Potters, Artemis Fowl etc - by early year 1. Some levels she read nne of, some she lingered on for a while as she consolidated phonics, but never was there a feeling of 'ticking off the books'.

I'd have thought sending out the publisher's plan with the bookbands listed beside the yeargroups would have a lot to do with it. Then there are the bookbands listed by NC level. I'd have thought there were lots of administrative reasons for insisting on reading every book at each level, even if from a book reader's perspective it's dull madness. The book readers don't buy the scheme, nor do they control the reading policy.

Columngollum unfortunately DD's school has not been helpful with either aspect of reading- decoding or comprehension. I'm sure some teachers are better than others at textual analysis, but as a starting point they could at least read with the children occasionally! And, you know, maybe show them some different types of text and talk about them and stuff.

Can someone explain the colour codes for reading levels please?

Here you are

www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands

My current school does 'banded' books up to a very high reading level - so many 'real' books are integrated into reading levels well below the end of the scheme. We have 'benchmark' short reading extracts + sets of questions / scores for fluency etc which are used whenever required to see if a child needs to move up bands.

This is what DD's school do too. To be honest, I have rarely heard of a school insisting that a child read every book in a particular band before moving up. However, it is something I read a lot on Mumsnet...

What difference does it make what people have heard of and what they haven't? If all parents in an Internet forum sent their children to the same primary school then it would be odd if they all had differing views on the reading policy. But since they don't it's hardly surprising that their experiences differ.

I can't see how what people have and haven't heard of makes any difference.

Oops, teach me to mumsnet with a toddler on my lap. As I said, personally I think there are very few schools with such a policy and that in many cases overbearing parents are being merely fobbed off with this excuse because they do not trust their child's qualified teacher to make a judgement on their reading level/ability!

The TA said to me a few days ago 'DD will move up a level this week because she's read all the books we've got at the level she's at... She'll cope fine though...'

But yes, I'm an overbearing parent who doesn't trust the school.

And upon what grounds do you suppose that so many parents who post that their school has such a policy are wrong?

I think your argument runs:

The teacher is qualified, the parent is not, therefore the reading book is at the correct level.

Am I right about your argument?

Incidentally, before you continue to posit the qualification fallacy you might want to consider this argument:

The doctors and nurses at Mid Staffs Hospital were all highly trained and highly qualified individuals therefore the care that they were giving was appropriate.

My DD's school does not have this policy at all. In fact on a couple of occasions when my DD had made a sudden leap forward with her reading she has missed out a level completely. The first was green level where we'd done a fair bit of reading over the summer holiday. But she also missed out turquoise when her reading improved v quickly mid-term. They do have an awful lot of books at each level as they offer books from lots of different schemes. DD has occasionally finished all the books in her colour box but not usually.

DD also gets to change her book daily if she wants to so I do think the set up in our school is very helpful. In year 1 my DD's teacher has been very quick to pick up when DD was ready for a new reading level to the extent I haven't had to ask any questions about this at all this year. I did raise it previously in YR where there seemed to more of a discrepancy between what DD could do at home and what she was doing at school but the Y1 teacher is very on the ball.

Could you go in & collect (borrow) every book on that level she hasn't read. Do it on Friday & come back on Monday saying "She's read them all" whether she has or hasn't.

We can go in & get books, although our school doesn't have this policy.

Teachers are human, of course they make mistakes! However, there are an overwhelming number of posts from parents concerned that their DC are on an inappropriate reading level, yet so few concerned with other aspects of literacy, numeracy and other topics within the National Curriculum.

Why is that do you think? The cynic in me has my own theories on why that is the case...

The more you post though, collumngollum, the more I believe you should home educate your children. I genuinely believe no teacher will ever meet your expectations.

bunnyjo

I am an over bearing parent who has seem my dd reading click in the last year, she devours books and her teacher has admitted she is the most enthusiastic book lover in her class. She currently has two books on the go, Matilda and Our Island Story He Marshall. She reads allowed to me, with perfect expression, perfect nuance, its a pleasure to listen too ( as we keep also getting told in the reading record), She doesn't know about two or three words a page, we have a dictionary that we refer too, looking up, conscientious, epicure, eccentric formidable and so on, she has a good guess at what will happen next, she can point to words used to describe mood, character and so on.

Teacher says she might get to stage 8 by the end of the year she said " She may get to stage 8 by the end of the year", hold onto your hats people!

No I don't trust the teacher.

yet so few concerned with other aspects of literacy, numeracy and other topics within the National Curriculum

Reading is the key to all areas of the NC.

I am personally not worried about Maths, we are top table, we know strong number bonds to 20, and 2, 5, 10, 11 and almost 3 and 6 times tables, good form on halves and all the other stuff they do.

We know what 1066 was in basic form, we know about other pockets of history and our expanding our knowledge right now with our island story.

We have basics in Geography and are working on sentences and general literacy. I can see how my DD grasps these subjects I can see she is a solid Maths student but I can see there is no major run away talent there. Therefore I do not need to worry that she is being noticed or stretched enough there.

BornFree, then speak to your DD's teacher. Ask her why your interpretations of your DD's ability are so far removed from her expectations.

well after reading your posts Bunny dont see the need, I will just trust her...but if she has got it wrong, hey ho....she is just human....