Reading Levels Year 3, FED UP

[DrasticAction]

I posted years ago about them and got enough info about them to relax about it and forget about it. DD is avid and well known by her teachers for being a voracious reader.

Since Year 1 she is always in a book and has devoured all Roald Dhal, A series of Events ( whole series TWICE) Spiderwick Chronicles, Ottoline books, and How to Train your Dragon series with PLENTY in between.

I have always asked her about the story when she reads, plot, words, character and so on, and to me, she seems to have excellent grasp of everything.

So why at half term year 3 is she on ORT 11 [ years ago people came onto my threads saying their DC reading at my DD level at home were off the ORT altogether and allowed to read their own books.

So now, she has a boring rubbish book to read, quickly so she can get back to her delicious novels. The fact books I dont mind so much, but the level 11 ORT are to us now, pointless!

She reads allowed fluently and with expression, she easily de codes words she never stumbles, she can tell you whats going on, and now I am getting frustrated with this crap.

Maybe they haven't realized her true ability?
Can you make a appointment and bring the books she reads at home and let her read them in front of the teacher and ask what she thinks?
KS1, books normally goes up to lime level, but in KS2, there should be higher levels, or they would be free reader, I think.( I might be wrong.)

i've come across this before, it is easy for good readers to skip a lot of book styles (poetry, non fiction etc...) so sticking to the reading scheme ensures that everything is covered.

however, they should be flexible enough to just give a few books at each level, cover the more varied non story ones in full, and progress quickly. Maybe they don't have enough books to do this? Or maybe it is a TA/ or helper who is in charge of the books and doesn't have the authority/flexibility to do anything but plod through every book?

I agree , TeddTess.
My DS brings home school books occasionally, and those are the ones he wouldn't choose if he had a choice.
I agree there should be flexibility, but I also agree there are some good things about following reading scheme too.

ted I agree, I am happy for her to read the fact books, she loves these
( as do I) and also the play script ones and the poetry ones ( although we have loads of poetry books here).

I am pretty sure her SATS put her at 3a on Reading....
Its parents evening soon and I am going to suggest this ted thanks!! Its a good idea.

Also because they don't assess on a regular basis she then wonders why she is being moved up.

Thanks for letting me rant!

I think if you approach it not that you want her off the reading scheme, just that she finds the story books at the level she is on very dry and she is reading x,y,z at home with good comprehension.
Ask whether it would be possible for her to do just a few of the story books at each level and focus on all the other different genres.
at yr3 in DDs school they start to introduce comprehension worksheets which came with some of the books. Maybe that is coming and once she has gone through those they will be more flexible?

Tedd she has comp sheets, I find some of the questions extraordinary and don't make sense, but yes she has completed them.

I guess its a case of do they want her to read exciting lauded fiction, or crap ORT books.

We had the same problem at the start of Y3. I went to see the teacher who was supremely unhelpful and told me that the other children might be jealous (!!!) if my DD was allowed to read real books rather than scheme ones. So I went to see the literacy coordinator for the whole school and explained the problem. Literacy coordinator heard DD read, and promptly fixed the problem.

We have the same problem with dd1 (also y3). She's reading the 4th Harry Potter book at home at the moment but apparently the free reader books at school are only for years 5 and 6

I don't stress about it any more though and don't force her to read the books school send home.

Wow sounds like my ds's school is actually a good one.

Heh. My DS read the first three Harry Potters in Y2 and would cheerfully have carried on had I not told him he had to wait till he was older as they were getting a bit scary. He's currently reads everything that's not nailed down (this morning he nearly got a timeout because he wouldn't put his latest book down and get ready for school) and he's Y3. I think it's great.

I wouldn't bother about what school gives - as long as your DD has piles of books at home she'll be fine. I now get DS to read a chapter or so of his school book out loud and the rest in his head. I ask a few questions and then he can get back to his favourites.

Just realised that sounds like a stealth boast. Sorry. I am trying to agree that school readers are often out of kilter with what our DC read at home and that reading for pleasure is a key element. Schools are also concerned with comprehension and sentence structure etc...