Read Write Inc

[LifeIsntAllDiamondsAndRoseButItShouldBe]

Hi. I have a question for those whose children have used the Read Write Inc phonics scheme please.

Can you please tell me how long your child stayed in Grey Group and what year they were in? Aware it's the final level in the phonics scheme and would also appreciate any insight into what they went on to read after that. Is it the same scheme or did they go to Oxford or similar?

Thanks so much.

No idea how long at each stage, but at my DS’s school the kids just moved on to picking their own books from the school library after Read Write Inc. My DS is dyslexic and was slow with reading and he moved on to Moon Dog books and the Magic Belt books which are early reader books before picking his own.

There’s a parents guide to Read Write Inc here - home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

Children are supposed to finish Grey by Christmas of Y2, but obviously there's a big variation. I work in a Junior school, and we have 20 children (out of 96 in the year group) on Grey in Y3, as well as 11 who are below Grey (mostly new arrivals with no English in the past year).

To get off Grey, children need to be reading 80-90+ words per minute, with "intonation that shows some comprehension", know all the sounds, and be able to read words like comfortable, enormous, invisible.

The children I'm starting to pick up for extra interventions are those who have assessed at Grey again for the fourth time now. A term an a half in one level is about as long as they should be, but obviously it depends on the child (and if they were moved up earlier levels too quickly, we'd expect them to stay on Grey for longer).

After children finish Grey in my school, we move them on to Purple on Oxford. The infant school move them to White, but for some reason we've adopted Gold, White and Lime all into Brown, so we put them on Purple to bridge that gap from RWI Grey to Brown (which is what they should be reading by the end of Y3).

My eldest daughter did grey in year 2. It was around a term - so approx 1 book a week covering all 10 books in the series. Her year group was very disrupted by covid and no one did grey in year 1. My younger daughter in year 1 is about to move onto grey. I know the year group above had quite a large group finish grey in year 1 last year.

After finishing Read Write Inc they use the phonics time to look at a novel as a group. They also have reading books home from PM which is an Australian series and I don’t know how that compares.

My DS finished grey in year 1, I can’t remember exactly when. His school always sent home both RWI books and Oxford Reading Tree books as well though, so once they finished RWI they just continued with ORT. I think he was probably on purple when RWI finished, then now he’s in year 2 they continue with ORT and he tells me that in phonics lessons some of the class are still on RWI and the ones who have finished do guided reading - this term they’ve been reading Fantastic Mr Fox.

Sorry for the delay in replying! Thank you, all very helpful. My DS in year one, so not concerned he is behind, but I am concerned he isn't progressing. He doesn't read to anyone weekly outside of his phonics group where he says he reads to a partner only. So aside from the half term assessments and reading to me that's it at school. We have had two comments in his reading log since September which I think is poor. We also have an issue with books being changed regularly. I guess my concern is as one of the more able readers he has been left to coast while the focus on moving others up levels. To me he reads well, but I am not sure he is an entirely phonics reader and definitely uses recognition and context to read. Then again, maybe his fluency needs work or his comprehension isn't where it should be. I think I will speak to his teacher. Thanks again all.

In our school no child in Year 1 is getting of Grey. Only when the phonics check is passed. Even the most able. Just ask the teacher the policy.

Last year DD finished grey half way through reception (she could read before she started school) and was then allowed to choose anything from the library. This year, they’ve introduced Oxford Reading Tree and she’s on lime. We also have an issue with books being changed and very little written in the reading log. She reads other books at home!