How challenging should reading be?

[AleHouseWench]

I'm not sure if I'm right or if I need to give my head a shake so am open to all advice. I firmly believe my son (year 1) should be on at least the next level of reading book. He reads everything he gets almost fluently, uses expression and understands what's going on.

I don't feel that he's being challenged at all. Surely there should be some words he's struggling with or just can't get at all in each book otherwise how is ever going to learn.

I have shown him some examples of higher level books (which he has also had home from school) which he can still read well.

What are you thoughts? Does anyone know what criteria schools use to move them up.

I just wanted to gain some outside opinions before I spoke to his teacher. TIA

"teachers who have to follow certain literacy policies" no teachers have to follow the statutory National Curriculum and should question any policy that contradicts it.

Not sure, trifle. I think part of the reason we've moved forwards is because an increasing number of teachers were going against their policies, or at least trying to get them changed.

I've not actually seen a policy that refers to when the level of books should be changed. It's usually left up to the class teacher's discretion. There may be rough guidelines, but I'm not sure about hard and fast rules.

The matter with me is that you are still responding to me. Please stop. I have nothing to say to you

On that note I'm going to leave you all to it. This isn't worth the hit to my blood pressure.

"they should be struggling with approx 1 in 10 words if the book is of the correct level." Assume different poster?

"As pp said children should be reading at 90% accuracy" also not Trifle

1 in 10 words? Really. I never knew that about benchmarking.

I think it was the basis of benchmarking. 90-95% was supposed to be a text at instructional level, 95-100% a text at independent level.

Somewhere around that this mythology about reading at below 90% accuracy means that a child wont understand what they are reading. I suspect that's mostly ideological rather than based on any evidence.

Somewhere around that, this mythology about reading at below 90% accuracy means that a child wont understand what they are reading built up.

And benchmarking is based on Reading Recovery

"1 in 10 words? Really" no not really its utter tripe!

Extraordinary behaviour.

90% accuracy is bolted on to miscue analysis - also outsmarted and has no place in the new curriculum.

*outdated

"The rule of thumb is that they should be able to read 90% of the words" now this one was Trifle a little late for the party

fairly intense debate among the teachers from what I can see...can I please wade in with question related to the op?
My dd, also y1, is pretty similar to the op's dc. She can read her current reading level at ease with no virtually no difficult words at all. I brought this up at parents evening and at first teacher tried to fob me off with other reading components - expression, punctuation, comprehension etc. I pointed out dd is fine with all those too and then she admitted that she couldn't move dd up beyond the pace of her table because she is not able to deal with dd separately. She's in the top table so there is nowhere else to go. Teacher recommended we should read more challenging books at home and visit the library.

Is this acceptable in a state primary? Basically working below the child's level because of a resource issue?

No, it bloody well is not!

I despair, I really do.

There was intense debate between teachers, yes. Still not sure what about though

Vickster99, my ds was in similar situation, had to join in with children with lower levels at school for things like guided reading. It wasn't too bad though. He enjoyed reading books with other children.
He loved any books so he didn't mind reading easier books at all.
And by YR3, there are more children at similar levels.

Vickster99, I understand that for guided reading your DD will need to read the same book as the rest of her group, but I don't understand why her own reading book can't be at the appropriate level for her? Why is this a resource issue for the school? My DD chooses the books herself from another class, and the teacher/TA rarely get her to read to them in any formal way, so there is really no extra resource required? What a shame for your DD!

Of course the teacher is right that you can provide ample reading opportunities at home (I daresay you do already!). I don't see why your DD can't have an appropriate school book though!

Vickster99 your point is true. if there is one child, they have to do extra work for that child. I think in my dd's class that's what happening. Teacher also mentioned in the parents meeting they can read from library and other sources. Even guided reading they are using two levels below. They want to make their job easy ,so telling fob stories comprehension,punctuation and etc etc.

Ginmummy1 That's what my point is.They bringing books home so we are helping them so teacher doesn't have to spend her time or they might have limited stage books for particular year.

Agree with Ginmummy1. Didn't realise dd had to read level below for her own reading as well. That's not good. You should ask teacher, at least she gets appropriate books for her own reading.

"virtually no difficult words at all."

Isn't that because once you can read there are no difficult words, there may be some which are new, but the vocabulary of any school reading book is pretty unlikely to have many new words at all? And you certainly can't predict if the words they do have would be in any particular kids vocabulary.

DD is in Yr 1 has no difficult words (her reading book today is a fun book of Roger McGough poetry ) her cadence is far from flawless on the poetry, so it seems like a good book for her to read to me.

I guess my real question is what do you expect from the reading scheme books? Other than a 90% accuracy rate of course

I've got the opposite problem. My yr 1 has been moved up very swiftly to lime - level 11. He can read it and rarely comes to words he can't work out but it is hard going, sentences are longer and he needs to get the punctuation right to make sense of them. We started reading a page each, and in between was reading books of about Level 9 at home. Now he is starting to grow in to them but I'm hoping they don't put him up again soon! They never listen to him read, but was just putting him up when he had read 6 books of that level in the series they had given him. There seems to be a bigger choice of Lime!

I'm despairing too! Dd is in a "challenging" class, lots of behavioural issues and around 5/6 dc diagnosed or on the asd pathway ( I know how hard that is as my ds has asd so I'm not having a dig )

I feel she is being majorly let down, this week she was given 2 books on Monday as usual, easy to read, red colour which she has been on since Easter of reception as i mentioned up thread. She hasn't had her books changed once all week and I'm going to write in her reading record that she needs new ones. Teacher asked me to " remind " her to assess dd in a few weeks as I'm getting fed up of watching my dd lose interest in her school books. We read at home and she's on blue level for guided reading, makes no sense.
My dd is bright, she's learning several languages and instruments, is doing well at school and the reading situation is getting ridiculous.
I know I have to trust the teachers judgement but what I got from parents evening re the " reminder " has left me with little faith in their methods.
Sorry for hijack op :)

I would be upset too.

I had this with my ds. I could have got him the next decodable level from my school, but he developed a teacher mum radar.from an early age . Instead, we ordered books from Reading Chest and ticked the decodable boxes - exactly the same books as my school arrived but he loved the fact they were addressed to him.It worked.

I'm going over to the Reading chest to have a look, thanks for the advice :)
Much appreciated