Old style Biff Kipper and Chip

[CharisInAlexandria]

I have just been sent home the first reading book for my reception age child.

It’s old school Biff, Kipper and Chip and has sentences in it like

Chip wanted some sugar

My kid is just starting to blend cvc words.

Not sure how to deal with it really. Should I just ignore these books and dig out the phonics ones I used to teach my older children?

Or should I say something? I did try a few years ago the last time this happened with one of my older children but was brushed off.

Are there any articles that show that schools should be only using phonics based reading schemes? Or are they free to do as they wish?

Well there are newer books with Biff, Kipper and Chip in called Floppy’s phonics? Are they using those ones?

I don’t understand why they have to learn 20 tricky words before they start though.

I have literally just started with my reception son myself using my own books after seeing the school one (hence the thread) and I think the only tricky words needed to get going are [ I, a, the] which I have just pointed out to him. Much easier than [wanted, sugar, some] and that was just the first page of the school book.

Feenie, you are right, once I have taught my son to read using phonics I should teach him to spell using phonics.

It’s just knackering though. I have a job as well. I wish the school would just teach these things properly.

It has an outstanding ofsted and gets really good results. But the parents are all quite committed and tutoring is common.

I wish your school would as well!

I'd recommend Phonics International to help you.

Thanks I will look them up

I have the jolly phonics book (as in the ones teachers would use) and made sure I knew the sounds. So when we hit words we didn’t know, I could explain them using phonics.

The thing is - you can’t shield your child from every single word - mine picked up words from our own books at home. Mine are excellent readers now and we didn’t teach them by sight. It was rooted in phonics, and they weren’t confused if I told them stuff before they learnt it at school.

this is the book I had

My eldest DS learned to read through mixed methods. It was bloody awful - lots of raging (him) because there were so many non-decodable words, and I wouldn’t let him use the pictures to guess. He got full marks in his phonics screening in year 1, but many of the class got under the required score. He loved reading, but it was a slog.

When DS2 went to (a different) school, he brought Home phonics books and he’s absolutely sailed through the programme. No tears, no stress - just building on his knowledge every day. If DS1 had learned in that way, he would have flown from the start.

Is all biff chip kipper off limits? I’ve been reading some with dd this evening, should we stop? It was all decodable.

Floatingcamel they definitely do a phonics series because I was doing one called The Dog Tag with my DS tonight. The children’s names aren’t decodable for his basic level of phonics other than Biff so I just told him what they were.

Obviously once your kid has done enough phonics they will be able to decode the old style ones as well. I mean I didn’t need to guess myself by looking at the pictures when I read the one they sent Home.

But I do think the vast majority of schools use mixed methods regardless of what the government guidelines might say.

Was looking at the website of another local primary with a good reputation and it sounded no different from my children’s school.

It was talking about phonics but also mentioned patterned language and picture cues.

So it makes me think there would be no point talking to the school about it or sending info in. If they don’t care what the national curriculum guidance is I doubt they will be bothered by my opinions.

I appreciate my opinion will vary from most others on this thread, but phonics is not the only way to teach reading, despite what the national curriculum guidelines say. It’s part of the picture certainly but not the whole. Using pictures to ‘guess’ words alongside knowing the word begins with ‘s’ so is ‘shoe’ not ‘boot’ or similar is ok. As for reading, consider its purpose to us as adults. We read for necessity but also largely for pleasure. I fear we lose sight of this in early reading and what we need to do is foster a love of books. Visits to the library to choose books of any level that you might/ will need to read most of is really important. As for phonics schemes, they have their place, but don’t sweat if they can’t read all the words or de code them, help with a word, and move on. Biff chip and kipper books are more palatable than some other phonics schemes.

“The thing is - you can’t shield your child from every single word” why would you shield your child from words? Just don’t expect them to independently read them until they have the knowledge to do so.
Home reading scheme books are intended to reinforce what they’ve been taught so books need to match their current knowledge and skills.
You wouldn’t expect a toddler to climb a mountain because they’ve mastered the stairs so why expect them to independently read a book containing words they haven’t got the knowledge to read.

“My DS has just started reception and his class are being taught phonics and are using the Biff, Kipper and Chip books. He's learning the tricky words, once he's learned 20 he'll get a book “ sorry but he’s being taught multi cueing /mixed methods not Phonics.

Just don’t expect them to independently read them until they have the knowledge to do so

My dd wanted to read anything and everything. Regardless of where she was on the reading levels.

My point was that I armed myself with the phonics knowledge to teach her how to spell out the words phonetically.

Where did I say I expected them to read independently 🤔 please don’t misread or misinterpret my posts.

I will add, I wasn’t about to say to dd “no dear you can’t read that because you’ve not mastered the basics”. Especially as we’d find her sitting in her room reading our books out loud all by herself....

We have a mountain of books, of all levels in our home.

“Where did I say I expected them to read independently”

Where did I suggest you had Said independently? The problem is that schools are sending home books beyond children’s ability to read independently with the expectation that they do just that. I would hope parents are sharing lots of other books with their child but as you’ve discovered you need to fill in the gaps in knowledge. Not a problem because these books are being read for a different purpose..

Believeitornot, that’s working for your child and that’s great that she is so curious and you can teach her on the fly like that.

What I did with my older two children was quickly take them through the five phonics levels using floppy’s phonics, songbirds and traditional tales. We ignored school and they moved to the next level as soon as they were ready.

Once they had done that they were ready to read most things, look and say books from school, picture books from the library.

It sounds like your child is enjoying your approach and learning to crack the code. There are some that even figure it out themselves independently

But I do think the vast majority of schools use mixed methods regardless of what the government guidelines might say.

They're not guidelines - they're statutory. I think it probably just seems like it because of the plethora of these threads on MN. I hope so, anyway.

Using pictures to ‘guess’ words alongside knowing the word begins with ‘s’ so is ‘shoe’ not ‘boot’ or similar is ok

It's ok to teach guessing, but is nothing to do with reading and something to avoid. Weaker readers rely on guessing and get into difficulties very quickly.

We'd just read the book! Perhaps I'd read it to them and ask them questions about it or ask them to tell me what is happening in the picture or how did floppy feel or what might happen next. Etc you can get a lot from a book even if it's not pure phonics or you can't read it. Inference and comprehension are important.

you said don’t expect them to read independently....

I take the approach that we have loads of books in the home, we went to the library from a young age and they saw plenty of words. Yes sometimes School books weren’t right, just have a word with the teacher and engage with phonics so you know how to tackle unknown words.

So this thread is about school books?

Well it started with me getting the first school book home for my son and realising the school was still using the look and say ones.

I then decided I needed to teach him myself as I did with the older ones.

I guess the thread can be about whatever people want it to be

Newme, I have read my child literally hundreds of library books most of which are a lot better than that one!

But I take your point. I should look on the bright side.

Obviously the thread was about reading books sent home to practise reading skills.