If a school is using Jolly Phonics, what type of reading book should they be sending home with a Year 1 child?

[HorseStories]

Is it normal to have reading books sent home from other reading schemes?

The ones DD is getting home (Y1) do not contain de-codable words, nor do they contain all common and recognisbale sight words. DD 'read's the story because she remembers it and the pictures give away obvious clues. If I cover the pictures over, she can barely read any of it.

The books seem to knock her confidence rather than build it. We worked on some phonics over the summer (which she enjoyed as it was time alone with a parent with little sister kept out of sight) and she started to make small progress. These reading books seem so pointless. Is it normal though, in schools, to do it this way?

Perfectly normal to mix and match. We had ORT and Rigby then some Ginn - some mainly phonetic, some less so. Using the pictures to asseess context and meaning is a valid skill to learn and not all English words are decodable phonetically anyway.

Schools can have a variety of reading schemes and may group these together in colour bands from pink (lowest) to lime (highest).

What has happened at our school is although we have embraced proper phonics teaching our budget hasn't allowed for a complete replacement of reading books. Only a few of ours follow phonics teaching - Big Cat, Rigby Star, Songbird. The rest are old Ginn, ORT, Storyworld and others. So IME it's normal!

You could check with the teacher what they expect you and her to do with the book. My DS had a mix of phonics and reading scheme, but sometimes brought home books which they called "shared reading" - the idea was that they could pick out the words which they knew or could decode, plus use the pictures, and then you read the words they didn't know. I think the theory was that they could see how the words they already knew fitted into more ocmplex stories.

I thinkk it is important to use a range of scheme books, and other non-scheme books too, when learning to read. It increases vocab (scheme books often use a limited number of words IME) and puts words into different contextx. It alsi introduces a range of text types, such as fiction, non fiction, poetry, plays, etc.

DD learnt to read with a whole range of books: ORT, Ladybird Key Words, Ginn, and lots more as well.

Oh dear! If a school is using a synthetic phonics reading programme then it certainly should be providing decodable books too.

10 Reasons Why Beginning Readers Should Only Use Decodable Books:
www.aowm73.dsl.pipex.com/dyslexics/resources_and_further_11.htm

Mixed methods:
www.aowm73.dsl.pipex.com/dyslexics/main_method_2.htm

We teach a synthetic phonic programme and thus only send home books which support that teaching (Jolly Phonics and Read/write inc 'Miskin')

We do a lot of work with parents on the importance of sharing lots of other books with children with a far greater range of vocabulary and our ultimate aim is to get them off any kind of 'scheme book' as soon as possible. The majority of children by the end of year 1.

My concern is that she is a beginner reader. She's not even clear on all her sounds. Ought it not be one thing at a time?

Yes

my ds school send home spirals and oxford learning tree as well as key word books (like flash cards ) with a word on it i.e and, he she ,the dog,cat etc.....

when he first started bringing books home last year in reception his teacher told me they learn to read by memory and the pictures help to remember ( i too was concerned my son was reading the picture not the words) he now can read the words that he knows.
i was told that when you finished the book go back through the book and ask your child to tell you what is happening ( in their opinion) in each picture as aparantly it helps to re enforce the story?
i did and i think it helped.

They should have guided reading in school so that the teacher can assess her reading skills.

We have just been to a meeting for all parents of yr1 and were told that the books they bring home should be ok for them to read. The guided reading will challenge them more.

The pictures help them, they call them "picture detectives" in our school.

We did phonics and my son knows all the phonic sounds but knows that some words have to be just learnt and recognised.

The first read through of the book he may need help with a few new words like "imagine" but the second time he usually recognises it. We also break words up like "sometimes" and "outside" (that is from his current reading book but he is considered above average for reading) he is a June baby.

Speak to her teacher if you have concerns.