Go on honestly what reading stage is your reception child on

[schmoopoo]

???

Laundryfairy I am sorry you have had harsh criticism before.

I don?t think my post was harsh. I am genuinely surprised that any child in FS2, let alone several children as indicated on this thread are reading at stage 7-8-9-10-11 (though we don?t use those poetry books ? but I assume stage 11 is beyond the highest Biff and Chip books in difficulty).

I have heard a lot of children read over the years (my 3 and lots and lots in school) and I have never known a child to be at that level. I am sure your DS is. That?s wonderful.

However can I reassure anyone worried by posts of ?level 9-10 actually? that that is most unusual for a 4-5 yo. I do fear that pushing children through the stages too fast can lead them to be attempting a book that is way too hard for them and thus put them off the whole thing. I have seen this happen. It?s not a race.

Good posts Hulababy.

I think GooseyLoosey's post is interesting. Her ds is officially on level 3 but she knows he can read the level 7 books.

Presumably different teachers do things differently in terms of how many books have to be read at each level.

It's not a race, all children develop at different rates and teachers do need to be sure that the children actually understand what they are reading, learn about punctuation and expression etc whilst they are working their way up to longer stories with more varied vocabulary and a more interesting plot.

I like the look of the poetry books, our school don't seem to use them so I might buy some for ds although he still have his favourite cat in the hat books which are a bit like poetry and he loves re-reading them.

Like I posted earlier, ds is currently finishing level 9 but he still really wants lots of colour pictures to accompany each story and his handwriting is definately that of a 5 year old. There are, without doubt, children in his class still on the 1+ stage and loads on level 2. I notice that the book baskets in the classroom are mainly full of stage 1, 1+, 2, 3 and some stage 4 books so this is presumably the norm. I don't know where the level 9 books are from (maybe class 1 ?).

The OP asked "Go on honestly what reading stage is your reception class child on ?" and I participated in the hope of contributing to an overall average being established but I do appreciate that this attempt could be skewed by mums only posting if they thought their child was doing well and keeping quiet if they didn't think so.

The reading stage is not relevant - what is relevant is whether a child can read AND COMPREHEND what they read. My son's school takes things very slowly. He's in the top group but getting a real mix of books to bring home at different levels. They don't work through the ORT stages in a linear way.

I take the book out of the bag. We see what page she is on. She reads. I try to concentrate and not plan what I want to read when she has gone to bed..or if I can persuade DH to watch Life on Mars again. I put the book back.
Am I supposed to be noticing what book and what level. All I know is sometimes its Kipper and Biff and sometiomes its Deb the rat and Sam the pig.
I don't know. Stop asking me. I'm tired.
And no I can't help DS with his History. seriously, leave me alone.....

sitdowngeorge thanks for that post.

I don't doubt the level yr DS and others are on but your last post shows that even you know it is very high.

Well done him (really ) but the vast majority of FS2 kids will be on level 1-2-3 maybe.

Certainly there's only one child in our middle class high achieving school beyond that levell - and we are very pleased with the progress of the year.

So please OP or any others don't be worried if that's where yours are!

I'll see if I can bring the average down by adding my daughter's here. ORT level 2. And she's a winter birthday so one of the oldest in the class. #

She's just started to bring some other books home with more phonic based sounds in them. These seem better for her AND for us. They are like real stories with lots of rhyme and repetition. I SOOOOO hate Floppy and co.

I have been thinking about this post and agree that the level isn't helpful. I am getting frustrated (again) because my DDs class seemed to have stopped doing any sounds and aren't doing any blends etc, presumably because they have done what they need to do for reception and can't possibly do anymore. This means that the books she is bringing home really now do not support her learning. The old ORT books are so out of date why why why are schools still using them. I cannot also see how they are that good at estimating how a child is progressing? Can anyone enlighten me?

Also I would be interested to know from other parents with reception children how far they are now moving on with sounds/blends/spelling.

DD is coming to end of ORT level 4 I think - they have moved to the new house and they have been doing a dragon dance etc. She started on them about a week after joining reception and has had a different one every night to learn (except holidays - 2 at weekends).

She enjoys them and they are sufficiently entertaining to keep us happy whilst we read with her. They seem very multicultural and this alone has broadened our DD's horizons.

We read the book to her as part of her bedtime routine. She has to read it back to us the next morning before she gets ready for school.

On a related topic how is spelling being taught in your child's reception class. Our DD gets a list of 5 very simple words and has to to a test on a Wednesday morning. Apparently they are split into small groups and the teacher reads out the 5 words one a time and they have to write them.

I know that our DD has got a bit confused with her upper and lower case and wrote "anD" in her test this week.

I have said this before on MN, but is mine the only school where they only get ONE book a WEEK (and none at half terms or holidays, or if there is a trip on book change day)?

There is no reading diary or record either. My dd is doing well (and dd1 did too - free reader in Yr 1), but surely her rate of progress must be slower than those able to read approproiately-levelled books more than once a week???

She only reads at school (in a group to a parent helper) about once every 3 weeks, and this has only been for the last couple of months. We didn't get any books home till after Christmas!

How come there is so much variation in what schools do?? DD enjoys reading, we go to the library, but we are at the stage (ORT 4-5), where she is intimidated by a lot of books, so reading scheme ones targetted at her level of ability are ideal to build confidence. School says they don't have enough resources to give more than one per week. Tis rubbish imo.

Butkin - no spellings to learn or tests at our school - a good thing I think.

School does do 'word of the day' which is referred to a lot during that day, but nothing more formal than that. The school subscribe to the theory that learning spellings out of context isn't that helpful.

In reception, the emphasis is on phonics, so children are praised for writing phonetically plausible spelling even if it is rather bizarre - sgoota (scooter) for example...

ListersSister I agree with you on the difference in what schools are doing, I am talking state sector here by the way. My DD reads twice a week at school and currently we get 3 books each time although I am going to ask them to reduce this now. I really don't understand why it is so very different. In other industries 'best practice' is used I don't understand why so much time and money is being wasted by each school doing their own thing.

at spelling tests in reception.

LS dd's school is a bit similar to yours in that they only change their reading books once a week. But they do it after reading it through with the teacher and choosing two new ones for the following week. I guess your class does guided reading with the teacher? dd's class does that also once a week and twice a week her group go off to do focused writing and phonetic spellings for half an hour after lunch. Somehow or another it seems to work and dd and her group are all progressing very well.

We don't get set spelling to do at home, the school doesn't agree with that. We just get lists of phonemes / graphemes and other phonic exercises to keep running over.

Hi ANMHE, I think they revise and revise what they've already done in Reception. Lots of repetition. I totally agree about the ORT books although dd is enjoying the 'Magic Key' ones, I think they start about level 5 or so, they're very engaging stories. Have you thought about buying the Jelly and Bean series of phonic-supporting books? They're available online. They're very slim and simple but each one practises a very particular phonetic sound and dd loves the illustrations. I'm sure they've helped her no end.

Just taken a look at ORT reading levels- DS (5) is on stage 4 and doing really well. We both enjoy the Biff, Chip and Kipper books - just realised how many we've missed out - what a shame!!

Also reading New Way - Fat/Pat Pig etc.

I enjoy the ORT more - all the stuff that goes on in the background like Mum stepping in dog poo at the park - very funny - much more entertaining than Janet and John!

1+, just gone up to 2. DS1 was on level 1 until well into Y1, apparently he had just memorised the books in reception and could not read out of context so he had to do them all again! He's 7 now and off the scheme so they do all get there in the end. Second or third time around I'm much more chilled about it - its not a race, some of the best readers struggle with comprehending what they decode etc. I had a reading age of 16 at aboout 7 and I'm not a genius!!

Our school sends home reading every night (pages or a whole book read three times), DS2 is heard reading every day at school too.

Just following on from previous discussions re: 'workload'. Ds has to read a new story every morning with me then again later with TA and comments go in his reading diary. He gets 5 'words of the week' on a Friday to learn by Wednesday and this term has started to get 10 spellings to do at home then at school. On Friday he also gets a book to read with us over the weekend and he has to draw a picture and write about the story to be handed in on the monday. It's an independent school

Smoggie that sounds like an awful lot for reception, is your ds happy with that?

My ds1 is 1+ and I am immensely proud of him. Like Crackerofnuts (I think it was, crack something anyway ) he could barely draw at playschool and only just recognise his own name. Now he is writing things phonetically, reading simple words and has stopped hiding from his teacher! He is doing so much better than I ever could have expected from him and the school and his teacher have been brilliant.

DD in reception was several levels higher I think (cant remember and shes now in yr2 and on white books but no idea what ort level, I think it was 10 in first term, I only ever check when i read threads like these!!) and had lists of words to learn to read and then same lists again to learn the spellings but all this was to be done at their own pace, no pressure to have learnt them by a certain day. Her spelling is excellent as is her reading.

DS1's birthday is August and DD's is november which i think makes a difference but also they are just very different children with different interests and abilities in different areas and I'm proud of both of them!

Smoggie - that sounds like an awful lot of homework for reception, even for an independent school! Dd got nothing like that last year - inafct only daily reading. She only just gets that amount this year in Y1!

Dd never gets any homework at all other than to read her reading books.

Must admit I thought it too much. Up until this term they've just had the picture/story on a weekend and words of the week for WEd. Spellings were introduced this term. NEedless to say their letter over the Easter break encouraging us to keep them ticking over with half an hour of work each day fell of deaf ears!! Half an hour of work for a normal child translates into an hour of us cajoling ds1 and it's just not worth it. Holidays are meant ot be just that - a break from the work. I rebelled

NOt sure on ORT. He's on the green Story Street ones which are the last level in the reception/yr 1 section. He reads those without help as well.

He reads teh Apple Tree Farm ones at home.

Haven't the faintest idea - we get random books home - sometimes ORT 2, sometimes ORT 3, sometimes "Sunshine Spirals". It really doesn't bother me tbh.

ORT level 2, songbirds or something

she is 5 so one of the oldest

doesn't really enjoy reading lately, gets v cross and says she is rubbish so I don't force the issue

she LOVES books however, flicking though them and having them read to her

DS2 has been getting the last set of Sunshine Spirals recently, we haven't seen Biff and Kipper for a while though. No doubt the Magic Key will return with a vengeance in the Autumn.