Questions about Reception teaching.

[Amateurish]

My daughter is in Reception. Is it normal for kids at this stage to still be a bit clueless about numbers? IE she still doesn't appear to get her head around numbers larger than 10. So, for example, if she saw the number "41" she might often read it as "14" and also would not have any feeling for whether 41 was more or less than, say 50. When do these issues get taught in school?

Secondly, it is reasonable for me to ask the school to try to challenge my daughter more with reading? The books and words she gets sent home with are way within her comfort zone. They say they are giving her more "advanced" books ("green" band?) but she can read them in about 30s flat. The books have possibly 5-6 words per page, and are probably 8-10 pages long. I don't want to appear pushy so wondered what the done thing was.

Cheers

My experience is that reception class is very much about socialising the children and training them (for want of a better description) ready for more formal learning in yr1.

My dc4 is currently in reception and he can count up to 100 and read simple books. But I don't think he would recognise numbers much higher than 10, possibly up to 20? I would expect him to still reverse numbers (as does dc3 who is in yr2 occasionally).

Reading is one of those things that it depends how the school is doing it. I know ours are sending home 'easy' books for several days to try and reinforce the comprehension side of reading rather than just recognising/sounding out each word.

Is it possible for you to go and ask the teacher in person? They may be able to explain what they are doing in this particular class.

Certainly in Wales this is completely within expected numeracy skills, which for reception are:
count reliably up to 10 objects
read and write numbers to at least 10
compare and order numbers to at least 10

Year 1 has:
count reliably up to 20 objects
read and write numbers to at least 20
compare and order numbers to at least 20
use number facts within 10, i.e.:
– doubling and halving, e.g. 4 + 4
– bonds of 10, e.g. 6 + 4

and year 2:
count sets of objects by grouping in 2s, 5s or 10s
read and write numbers to 100
compare and order 2-digit numbers
use mental recall of number facts to 10 to derive other facts, i.e.:
– doubling and halving, e.g. derive 40 + 40 from knowing 4 + 4
– bonds of 10, e.g. derive 60 + 40 from knowing 6 + 4
recall and use 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables

There is however a lot more to maths than just the counting - using money, time, shapes, measurements etc.

If you want the full list of numeracy it can be found on the numeracy components link on this webpage. This may be a little different to England of course.

Sorry, forgot the reading question.
Are you using 'normal' bookbands e.g. like here because they seem a bit longer than you say at green level, but equally, green level is ahead of expected for this stage in reception. Not that it really matters. I would ask the teacher what she is expecting for your daughter to be achieving in her reading. DS is reading the green books and his target for example is "to have an opinion on what he has read". We might spend as long/longer discussing his books as actually reading them.

For year 1 books we (Welsh framework) have the following lists for 'reading' them:
choose reading materials and explain what the text is about and why they like it
apply the following reading strategies with increasing independence:
– phonic strategies to decode words
– recognition of high-frequency words
– context clues, e.g. prior knowledge
– graphic and syntactic clues
– self-correction, including re-reading and reading ahead
read suitable texts with accuracy and fluency
read aloud with attention to full stops and question marks
read aloud with expression, showing awareness of exclamation and speech marks
identify simple text features such as titles and pictures to indicate what the text is about
look for clues in the text to understand information
understand the meaning of visual features and link to written text, e.g. illustrations, photographs, diagrams and charts
identify words and pictures on-screen which are related to a topic

retell events from a narrative in the right order
identify information related to the subject of a text
recall details from information texts
use personal experience to support understanding of texts

express a view about the information in a text
explore language, information and events in texts
make links between texts read and other information about the topic.

mathswise - sounds perfectly reasonable at that age so don't worry about that.

If your green is book band 5 then yes that is ahead of reception expectations for reading but I PERSONALLY believe a child should have reading books that challenge them. My eldest was given books at her level in reception (well quite a bit below her level really but they did try) and my youngest is currently in reception and is bringing home level 6 books which are a bit easy so I have put a note in asking if she could try something a bit harder as she is reading fluently, easily and with expression. I tend to ask in a wooly way like 'what should x work on in order to be able to move up?'.

littlemissgreen - that made me chuckle - my DD's opinion on some of her books is that they are rubbish with no real story! have to say she is right...

Thank you all for some very helpful advice

Ds doesn't seem to have much formal teaching with numeracy. However he seems naturally inclined this way and can read 3 digit numbers and tell you how to make them e.g. 200+30+3=233.
He can also use his number bonds so knows that 7+3=10 so 70+30=100

But his reading is hopeless. I'm hoping he will eventually get there! He has zero interest in it.

In reception we look at working with numbers to 10 then 20. Addition and subtraction are with single digit numbers for the expected level of achievement. Having said that, children should be encouraged to progress from their own starting points.

If your child is a very good reader (sounds like already exceeding expectations) at this stage in the year I'd be looking for her writing to be progressing to a similar level. Maybe that is something you can support your child with?

Just to correct myself, my daughter is not being given green band books like I thought. They are Oxford Reading Tree Stage 2, which I believe is equivalent to band red.

I've given her green band books which she can read no problem, but am not sure whether it is reasonable to ask the school to give her something a bit more challenging, say blue.

I find that books sent to read at home tend to be of a level to consolidate learning and give them success. Often the guided reading they do in school time is pitched at a higher level. But I would write in the reading record that your daughter seems to read these books very easily.

not all schools do guided reading DontputyourfingerinthejellyNel. Ours certainly doesn't. So the reading is just their own personal reading books.

I really don't think it would be unreasonable to ask the school if she could try something harder. I would note in her reading record that she reads them easily, if she has a good understanding of the story, if she notices punctuation, if reading is fluent, if she can talk about what might happen, if she has good expression in her reading and so on. Hard to do with the very basic books but these are all the skills they will look for. I personally would also note what books she is reading at home. I do. so if we have a school book that day (3 a week so therefore only 3 evenings a week reading those, the other 4 days we do home books) I would write that one but on the other days I will write what has been read (if it is a reading level one then I would put the level too) and I note if there were problems etc. We had the songbirds phonics ones at home so I would put which phonic sounds were focused on in that book and if she struggled with any in another book etc. I tended to try and give her the relevant songbirds book to either the sounds they were doing that week at school or ones I knew she was finding more difficult to pick up. So whilst the school books were too easy she could be more challenged in the other ones.

Retired (male) Teaching Assistant here -

In the MN Book Reviews, "Children's educational books and courses" section you will find the Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary. This could be a useful book for you both to learn more about Phonics, and it gives tips and hints on reading and spelling. A motivated child can use it on their own, or a younger child can enjoy it with adult support. It will take a child right through primary school, and into secondary.

Numeracy: I will add below my standard advice regarding number concepts.

[When our DS was in Reception, before I became a TA, I was surprised that no 'formal' maths seemed to be taught. I helped accompany the class on a field trip into the countryside, and we came across a particularly tall foxglove plant. The teacher invited the children to estimate whether the plant was taller than myself. I then stood next to it, and it was slightly taller than me! DS did a painting of it in class, which, at the end of term, graced our kitchen door for several months!]

?QUOTE:

Practical things are best for grasping number concepts - bricks, Lego, beads, counters, money, shapes, weights, measuring, cooking.

Do adding, taking away, multiplication (repeated addition), division (sharing), using REAL OBJECTS as just 'numbers' can be too abstract for some children.

Number Bonds of Ten forms the basis of much maths work, so try to learn them. Using Lego or something similar, use a LOT of bricks (of just TWO colours, if you have enough) lay them out so the pattern can be seen of one colour INCREASING while the other colour DECREASES. Lay them down, or build up like steps.

So:

ten of one colour none of other
nine of one colour one of other
eight of one colour two of other
seven of one colour three of other

etc, etc

then of course, the sides are equal at 5 and 5; after which the colours 'swap over' as to increasing/decreasing.

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

I am sorry it seems complicated trying to explain these concepts, but using Lego or counters should make understanding easier.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

There are good web sites, which can be fun to use :

www.ictgames.com/

www.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html

UNQUOTE