Why is DD having to go through each of the ORT picture books when she is reading chapter books at home?

[morningpaper]

Why is DD having to go through each of the ORT picture books when she is reading chapter books at home?

Is there really a point to it?

She isn't on War and Peace or anything but it seems mad that she gets 10-sentence-books to read at home every night when she spends an hour every night working her way through The Famous Five collection.

I had hoped that year 1 would be a tad more challenging - or am I missing something?

Yes, some of the scheme books are boring. Esp when you have to listen to them being read to you several times over! But they do get better ( a bit)

What happens when they get to the end of reading schemes? What level books, in fact, are the end?

The ones dd's been having are so repetitive, it's very frustrating for her to read the same sentence with just a few variations page after page. They're Storyworlds stage 9 and seem, to me, much less interesting than the stage 7 & 8 books in the same series.

IF, at dd's school (and it sounds like your dd's school is using the same colour bands)I believe there are 3 more colours after purple (white, gold and brown iirc, not necessarily in that order) and then the children move onto banana books which are first chapter books.

Sadly IF scheme books can go on forever, as has been shown on MN. Think ORT goes to about level 16! However many schools let children become free readers once they get to end of Y2 and almost all once children are in juniors (Y3). There are the odd schools who let children become free readers before this but so far I haven't known any child (even very good readers) whose schools do this.

Oh and meant to say - have a look out for the Allan Ahlberg books. They are really funny, nicely spaced out, split into short manegable chapters, lots of good pictures and really gripped DD. She rereads them again and agian - things like The Man Who Wore All His Clothes, and The Cat Who Got Carried Away -> all about the Gaskitts family.

Have just looked those up Hula and found the following titles:

The Man Who Wore All His Clothes
The Woman Who Won Things
The Children Who Smelled A Rat
The Cat Who Got Carried Away

Are there any others? It is dd's birthday just before Christmas so am going to put them on her wishlist for friends and family to choose from

That might be them all. We have two. Will look for the other 2 to go in DD's stocking as she has enjoyed them so much.

Thanks Hula

Interesting. DD (y1) reads well, chapter books at home and ORT level 9 from school. Although she finds the ORT easy she certainly doesn't think they are boring! But she will also read dd2 baby books and enjoy them too.
(I hate the ORT books, not good for very early readers and pretty boring....)

Sorry to be a dope but what exactly is a 'free reader'? Does it mean they can read literally anything or things within their age range? Could they read Dickens? (assuming they could understand it) Or would it be more along the lines of Roald Dahl's easier books? I mean, would there still be any limits to their reading?

Actually we've got some of those Allan Ahlberg books, I used to read them to dd, I'll dig them out. I've found a number of things for dd to read, some suggested by you on other threads hula. Actually she's quite a fan of the later ORT books, I don't mind them either, but as I said she doesn't get these from school. This particular Storyworlds range (anyone know it?) has previously not been too bad, nor some of the later Lighthouse stories. It's just since she's been moved up a reading band that she seems to have brought home very repetitive stories where nothing really happens in the narrative. She finds them rather pointless.

free reader just means they are allowed to choose their own books.

thirdname, dd has a series of her favourite first books she ever read, some of them level 2 or 3, which she keeps on a shelf by the toilet and reads when she's sitting having a poo! Sorry if TMI, couldn't find a 'nicer' way of putting it. She's very fond of some of her old easier books. Some of them are lovely, charming books with beautiful pictures.

Thanks hula - but within a range of any kind?

At the moment dd chooses her books but from the purple band box.

DD has read some of the Lighthouse and Storyworld books, plus Ginn ones too. Some of the levels don't seem to tally with one another.

A "fre reader" ability varies with schools as to when they allow them to become a free reader. DD can read anything within her age range and beyond, but her school doesn't have free readers at this stage - maybe towards end of Y2, and def by Y3.

its possible she just picks one she likes the look of or doesn't know where the other books are.

We had a child in year 3 who would re-read the ORT books over and over again, I then discovered by going with him to change his book that he hadn't even noticed the 3 other boxes of books he is allowed to select from

Sorry - haven't read whole thread as am short of time, but does your DD need to be on any kind of official reading scheme if she's reading the FF at home? My DS was doing the same in Y1, and his teacher said he could read whatever he liked. She went with him to the school library so he could choose whatever he wanted to take home; she was also happy for me to provide a list of what he'd read at home. He's now in Y2, and does the same, by and large. He sometimes chooses ORT books from Level 16 or whatever it is (as they're available in the classroom), but might also choose relatively straightforward books about chocolate production, which he'd have been sailing through before he started school. The school and I agree that, so long as he loves reading, it doesn't much matter what it is!

MrsWeasley dd probably does go by the cover.

hula, a lot of the levels don't particularly tally but I think that's why you get, in the purple band, maybe a stage 8 Lighthouse, some stage 7,8, or 9 Storyworlds, an odd stage 8 or 9 ORT etc. I think they're grouped according to difficulty rather than level given by the pubisher?

I couldn't answer that dottoressa as my dd is nowhere near reading FF to herself. She's still very much lacking in stamina for that many words on a page and she still mostly likes to read aloud to me. But in that situation I see what you mean although a lot of other posters have given good reasons why it's important for teachers to tick certain literacy boxes.

Yes, you are right. DD's school doesn't do the whole banding and child choosing from a box. The teacher gives them their next reading book, which are kept on a bookcase outside the rooms. The levels mix a lot. DD will just be happy when she gets to choose fully I think, although is happy to just read anything on the whole fortunately.

Morningpaper - dh (primary school teacher) has just read this and wanted to reply, here is his tuppenceworth

Your daughter should not be reading the easy 10 sentence books at school if she is capable of reading chapter books like the Famous Five. It is a teacher's responsibility to ensure each child is suitably challenged by the level and pace of the work expected of them - not holding them back. There are tests which schools can carry out to determine your daughter's specific reading age, and then more appropriate material can be provided for her.

If she is forced to read basic stuff which is well beneath her, she will soon lose interest and enjoyment of reading which is not a situation you want to find yourself in.

An earlier poster mentioned that it is a rite of passage to go through the ORT scheme - which I completely disagree with. All teachers should focus on the needs of the child rather than ticking boxes on a reading scheme chart.

If I were in your position, I would request a meeting with your child's teacher to discuss the reading material. I would also suggest that your daughter be present for at least part of the meeting where she can talk to her teacher about the books she is reading at home and what she enjoys about them. Hopefully, the teacher will see sense and deal with the situation appropriately.