How would you classify a child as a 'Free Reader'?

[KEGirlOnFire]

At the end of last term my DD was assessed for her reading (to decide on groups for the next year I imagine) and she was put on Level 8 (Purple).

While chatting to the teacher about this she said that while she was a solid Level 8 (not just reading the words but fluency and comprehension aswell) they would class her as a 'Free Reader' and that she could pretty much pick anything she wanted and read it (she was reading 'Goldilocks' to her classmates in the book corner at the time ). But I don't understand why she's classed as a 'Free Reader'. I know it isn't an official term but certainly, even though she's reading up to Level 10 at home (I've got the Ladybird 'Read It Yourself' Books that go up to Level 10), I can't imagine that she could pick up the local paper and read it fluently.

So what do they mean by 'Free Reader', is there some context to this dependent on age?

Sorry - I don't know about DD's reading but my writing is horrendous!! I mean I did manage to get a book on Chocolate!

I think your post title poses a really interesting question.

Schools have very different criteria for free-readers, although from reading MN posts I think level 11 (lime) is the most common. Generally I think these schools are doing their pupils a disservice.

At DDs school 'free-reading' comes after stage 17, so 6 additional colours beyond lime. Thankfully, as well as ancient scheme books, the higher stages have 'real' books too.

Matched to NC levels (as they were) I think the scheme is designed to take children to at least level 4b. Certainly DD is a 3b and on stage 15 - we shall see. I'm still not sure that a child should be classified as a free-reader even then

I think part of becoming a free reader should be a willingness (and obviously the ability) to consistently take responsibility for your own learning. For example using a dictionary to help understand new vocabulary and seeking help on how to pronounce an unknown word that has a variety of phoneme options or asking for help when meaning isn't clear.

Whilst Auntiemalcolm's DS continued to progress superbly whilst reading easy (for him) books, I've read posts on previous threads where children have failed to progress in juniors due to the badge of free reader gained in infants leading to parents (and presumably teachers) seeming to think that the job was done.

The phrase "can read anything" makes me when in relation to free-reading infant children. For example how about some Wind in the Willows?

Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.

OR

Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gravelled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air.

Free-reading infant children may be able to read those sentences, but to fully understand them, and the multitude of similar (beautiful) sentences ... then again, this is Mumsnet

Hmm I hate the expression free reader,aren't all kids free to read what they like?Said expression infers kids just don't have the skills to warrant them to be free to read what they like or to be classed as a real reader.It's like they're imprisoned by the scheme and not deemed worthy of the keys.

The more you read the better you become.Freedom to choose what you read can encourage children to read more.

All of my three were free readers at the end of rec and beginning of year 1. If they hadn't I would have ignored school reading books and done our own thing anyway as the books sent home were frankly dire and didn't foster an enthusiasm for reading. They would have simply died of boredom sticking to the upper levels.

I get the need for scheme books in the first stages but towards the end sorry not so much.It is perfectly poss to do separate reading comp exercises in school to the reading a child does at home particularly when you consider that after the early stages kids are rarely listening to by their teacher anyway.They do structured guided reading in school too.

All of my 3 are extremely good readers now with very good comprehension skills.I am convinced a lot of this is due to the huge breadth of books they've covered during their primary years.

I think you have made an assumption diamondage about what being a free reader means, as well as implying that infant children are short changed if they become one.

My understanding of a free reader is that children are freed from the constraints of a reading scheme. Reading schemes are only there to teach children to read, there is nothing magical about them, and once a child can read at a level at which they can confidently access 'real' books, then they should do so.

You don't need a scheme to take you to a 4b, you need Francesca Simon, Roald Dahl, Jeff Kinney, David Almond, Eoin Colfer, CS Lewis, Michael Morpurgo to name but a few. The reason reading scheme books go on to these levels is more to do with money in the publishers' pockets than anything else. The fact that schemes are including real books at this level proves the point that artificially manufactured books aren't necessary, and actually do the children a disservice by taking up their valuable time that could be spent reading some great books by great authors.

Once children become 'free readers' they aren't let lose on the whole of the British Library, it simply means they can access a range of carefully chosen books written by authors who want to write rather than reading scheme publishers who want to make money.

I agree SeagullsAndSand - you posted this while I was writing mine! Apologies for the lose/loose error in previous post!

Exactly which is exactly what my dc had.Their fab rec teacher at the time had allocated shelves in the library and lists of progression.I was a literacy co-ordinator pre dc and felt her steering was spot on.She knew her onions as well as any publisher.All 3 of my dc will be 5s poss 6s by the end of year 6 going by their levels so clearly no harm had been done by their early immersion in choosing their own books to read.

xposted again!

At my DCs school, in KS1 they become free readers when they reach ORT stage 10. They then get to pick their books from a selection in the classroom.
When they go into KS2, they go back on ORT books until they reach ORT 16 or year 6 at which point they become free readers again and can pick books from the whole school library.

I don't think any infants or juniors or indeed adults have the ability to "read anything" which is my point ... we never stop learning (or we shouldn't)

Who said we should never stop learning?

Not entirely sure what it has to do the conversation as a whole.

No-one is a 'free reader'. I'm very clever and have a first class degree in literature but I can't just pick up a book about physics and read and understand it without any help, for example.

The idea that we should rush children through a reading scheme so that they reach the Holy Grail of 'free' is a bit counter-intuitive to me, tbh.

'Free' in this case means freedom of choice. I can't read an ancient Sanskrit manuscript but I am pretty sure I could read the words on the page in the physics book then, because of lack of interest , i would set it aside and go back to something I chose to read.
:)

There is always freedom of choice, however in the teaching/learning sense learners needed to be supported in order to progress. Calling five year olds free readers is a "con" it either means there aren't appropriate books available to teach the next step/skill or that the school wants to flatter the parent.
Children should experience a wide choice of books but they also need to be allocated others to teach specific skills.

Yet again I agree with mrz :)

I love the mn boasting that little x was a free reader so very early.... grin.

Boasting or reality and info pertinent to the thread.If you don't like it look away.

I couldn't give a flying stuff who reads what when but I do care that kids read- a lot and don't spend their lives thinking all reading consists of is books read to them or dry reading schemes churned out by publishers and full of annotated texts.

I am a free reader and was from an early age too.Like my children I use dictionaries on the odd occasion I find an unknown word but I am free to choose what I like so I do and read- a lot.Its not rocket science.

At our school they give kids a lot of freedom past a certain level with what children read at home and send home books or texts they have covered in guided reading in addition.Seems to work.

Quite frankly I'd rather my dc had an excerpt or article from a real book covering the areas needed than a sanitised reading scheme text no kid wants to read the whole of days after the interest has well and truly gone.

Oh and nobody is talking about 5 year olds(or indeed any age child)without a proper grasp of phonics,an ability to read fluently and confidently with good comprehension and dictionary skills.

my children were able to choose their own book from about book band 3 so they were being given an element of choice but within levels and if they were sticking to all the same type then the TA would select for them. Our school classes free reader properly as after brown/level 11/12ish I believe. In Yr1 children can reach level 10 or 11 and then be allowed to read other books than the school ones if the teacher thinks they are up to it but they won't be 'off' levels. Then go back to levels in Yr2 at which point if they demonstrate the necessary then they can go and choose any book from the library I gather. having said this they do guided reading in Yr2 which is obviously leveled so I suppose they are 'free to choose any chapter book but still leveled in the class'

I too agree with mrz and this is the disservice I was referring to, although perhaps with too sweeping a generalisation because of course there will be some schools that manage their free readers well.

I think the reason that many schools stop at band 11 is because that's where the national scheme banding stops. Over time they invested in several schemes and finally they had a system that allowed them place the books in their correct order of difficulty. At least with respect to look and say books at any rate, but going down that path leads to another thread.

Beyond that point, schemes go back to their individual banding and these do not correlate that well with each other. A school can go down that route but due to the lack of national banding beyond lime may just stick to one publisher, or develop their own banding system, but many don't as it's still a significant cost. It's much less work and money for a school to just say, oh now a child can choose from the library and anecdotally at least that often means just leaving the child to it.

In fact anecdotally this thread demonstrates exactly what I mean - many parents not listening to their children because they've become free readers, with teachers recommending that they should be listening to their child until year 5 or 6 whatever their reading level may be.

And whilst you certainly don't need scheme books to make progress children do need guidance. A friend's DD is a superb reader (level 5c at end of year 4) but she has many books at home that she's started but then given up on. I think it's a shame there isn't someone, ideally her teacher, taking the time to match her with appropriate books, instead of letting her re-read the whole Harry Potter series again, and again and yet again. Some might argue that with such achievement what does it matter, but surely even bright high performing children deserve to be guided out of a reading rut?

I agree with a lot of that Dimondage.There are lists of graded "real books" though.

That said I think,if a kid say wants to read say The Hobbit and it's not the perfect level for them all power to them.

After a certain level experimenting is a valuable part of reading.

I also think there is a point when kids suddenly take off with huge enthusiasm and encouraging that alongside keeping it going for as long as possible is hugely important(particularly with boys of which I am the mother of 2).I'm not so sure that a mish mash of dry reading schemes containing adapted "classics" at the end does that and to be frank after 5 days a week of being taught reading with texts decided on by school a bit of freedom at home is a good thing.

My dc are in year 5 and 6 and I hear them read and I still read to them.My dd had the HP rut and interestingly school told me to keep my beak out when I tried to steer her out. They said there is so much in them that she would still get a lot from them and they covered all sorts of genres of school anyway.They said she'd pull herself out of it and she has although she still dips in and out like a favourite pair of slippers.

I still hate the phrase "free reader" it's connotations,the ethos that kids shouldn't be free to choose what they damn well want to read and school should have full control.It's so restricting and must surely clip confidence.

A balance is needed.

Also a love of reading is as important as being able to read.

If kids don't read a lot they don't hone their skills and improve as much as they could.

Well I'm agreeing with a lot of your views too SeagullsAndSand

Of course there's nothing wrong with children reading books above their level without full understanding ... for pleasure. They can still learn from and thoroughly enjoy such books despite a considerable amount passing over their heads.

You also make a good point about Harry Potter, with a series that long and started very young there's definitely going to be more to gain and understand with 2nd and 3rd rounds.

But I still think the whole early free reader, left solely to their own devices, is a rubbish outcome for at least some (if not all) children.

Sorry genres in schools(Ipad woes)

You don't need graded books just the knowledge to select an appropriate book to develop the skill/s needed for the child to become a "better" reader.

Agreed mrz, but I don't think many parents have that knowledge, so if the school doesn't do it ...

Actually mrz can I ask you, if you could see that a child needed to improve their understanding of themes, not basic ones such as you find in Fairytales, more starting to see themes that are less obvious, what sort of books would you recommend?

My DD is on lime but isn't a free reader. For practical purposes she can read most children's books but isn't completely word perfect. There are higher levels at my DD's school but they don't seem to class that as free readers even then.