read write inc?

[cascade]

could someone kindly explain to me how read write inc works? My dd who is in year 1 says she works from this scheme every day and is working on a certain colour level. I have been researching it but still not quite understanding it as the level she is working at doesnt match up to the level of books she is bringing home (ORT).

fred - a puppet can't talk properly. He can only use Fred speak. THis is the sound of the letter ie) cuh = C, tuh = T. He helps kids to first sound out the words, then they begin to blend them. Easy words that 'fit' with sounding out in Fred speak are green words. Harder words that don't work in that way are red words. Red words such as 'me & 'you' need to be learnt separately. The books that they use to practise read write inc have sections where they read lettersin Fredspeak, then blended sounds which they read at speed too, then a story and also a list of the red words.
The scheme is FAB - baffling at first but honestly FAB! It really works and it works quickly. Your DD should soon start to fly and be able to read fluently. Sorry to sound like I work for the publisher or wrote the books but my dd's have done it and it was great

ORT and RWI colours won't match up, they are not connected schemes. The RWI sessions are intensive daily sessions that help the children learn phonics - they use activities, repetition, learn little songs about the sounds etc. I have seen the scheme used in school and the children all seem to enjoy it. Oh and there is FRED too! Lots of fun, very efective.

what confuses me is that the RWI books are the blue level story books she is working on at school, but the level of books she brings home for ORT are level 4 (she has been on this level since summer term of reception. From what I have researched the two just dont match up. level 4 seems much easier than the school work of RWI.

In RWI the letter C is not 'cuh'! And T is not tuh --
C is more like a short sharp C! sound, T is more like a short sharp T! sound -- both hardly leave your mouth. P is a very soft puh sound, H is a very soft huh sound, (like panting breath) etc. S is a sssssssss sound like a snake.

I liked yogabird's explanation about Fred speak, otherwise, but not sure the sounds she said are at all right.

In RWI the children learn the sounds / letter shapes with a picture that has that sound, like 'r' (said 'urrr') for robot. And there are pictures with more advanced sounds/groups, so a picture of mum hoarding cakes and the children saying "That's not Fair!" for the 'air' sound.

Apparently you can go to the RWI website and there is a video showing all the sounds.
RWI has a good reputation, misdee's girls are on it (search for posts by her, or for the name 'Ruth Miskin').

DS2 is in reception on RWI, and the school did several sessions explaining to parents what it was about. DD is on a level of RWI, where they work on more complex letter arrangements (eg. 'u-e' or 'tious'). Working intensely in groups sorted by abilty, with a partner, is an important part of RWI.

I think RWI is quite prescriptive and some teachers balk at it for that reason, but it gets good results and the kids like it (esp. "poo at the zoo" ).

I have read the ruth miskin website, this is what i am confused about, dd has passed the stage of learning sounds, dd does work which from what i have investigated is working at a level 2b. so why then is she then reading books at level 4 ORT, which seem easier than the level she is working at RWI.

I wouldn't worry too much about the mis-match - it might well be that the school used to use Oxford Reading Tree so still has all the books lying around & lets children pick whatever they like to take home & read (which would explain the discrepancy), but is using RWI for teaching reading. The order of the colours is (off the top of my head, might get this slightly wrong): letters/sounds, ditties (red books), green books, purple, pink, orange, yellow, blue, grey. If she's reading at a level 2b that's great for a year 1 child - the government wants everyone to reach level 2 by the end of year 2, so she's well ahead of the game!
Why not ask the teacher if you're concerned, though?

no not concerned, yes shes on blue reading scheme rwi, im just curious as to why she would be on level 4 ort, they change the book 3x a week and have to read every book in level, she must have read about 30 level 4 books.

God, poor her. And poor you if you end up listening to her read, you must be sick to death of Kipper, Biff et al. It might be that the school has a policy of getting them to practise reading 'easy' books as a way of building up their reading stamina & confidence, perhaps? Who knows! Probably there isn't a logic to it, just that nobody's really sat down and thought about what they're doing....

to be honest, we dont read them anymore, although i write in she has, because she has already read it at school. we just read other books at home. it seems the TA listens to her read and changes her book.

Do they ask for parent reading helpers at your DD's school? I go in and listen to reading twice a week (with 1-yr old DD2 in tow) and change all the books and move the kids up through the levels when I think they're ready .

im not sure to be honest, different people write in her reading record, To be honest i dont intefere in the school process, They have much more experience in teaching reading than i will ever have. Im just curious as to why they make children read all the books in levels and why there is an unbalance in the work she does at school, to what she brings home.

yup my girls are/were on it. dd1 struggled with it, but reading is still enjoyable foe her, just not as quick as dd2 and her reading. dd2 is flying through RWI at astonishing speed and is now reading books independatly. she has decided this week she wants to read james and the giant peach and i find her tucked away reading it (dh is currently reading it to dd's for bedtime reading).

ah the grwat poo at the zoo sheet. i love that sheet [sighs]

I'm having similar problems with RWI. My daughter is in reception and has just been assessed at level D & E, she has done speed sound sets 2 and the green words but not red words yet. With me she is a fairly able reader but they have been sending her home ORT level 1 books and only just moved her to level 2 after much asking from me. I think these aren't challenging enough for her. She reads ORT level 3 and 4 with me, with some help but its challenging and more interesting. Compared to friends at other schools this scheme seems to move through reading levels very slowly and I am concerned they aren't moving her on as they want to keep the class together. Her and 5 others are apparently at this higher level though the reading books don't seem to reflect it. I am not sure what comes next adn if I should push for more or just chill and go with it. They only read with them once a week too which doesn't seem like much. Its all a bit new to me. Any advice pls.

Hi there. DS in Reception is reading both RWI and ORT books now- both at home and school. We got as far as the yellow RWI ones at home and they are a bit tricky for him so we've paused and are now trying level 5/6 ORT which seems to suit him quite well. He likes the magic key stuff.

The schemes are completely different. If you want you can buy the RWI books on amazon for £8.70 or something a set of 12 photocopies (ie very cheap!). DS flew through them up to yellow and as I say we have paused half way through yellow as they are getting a bit tricky/long for him at the moment. If anyone has any suggestions of what we could read at home apart from ORT which I'd rather avoid in future as he'll get in Year 1 at school then please suggest! He enjoyed Jack and the Beanstalk Ladybird series, found that quite easy, so maybe will get some more of those. Have got some Usborne Chapter books but think they are a bit tricky for the moment.

By the way jamie1 DS is bringing home RWI purple books from school still- although we've done the higher level ones at home and I've told his teacher this. It's fine, they also only read once a week so it's a very small part of the reading he does. I'm chilling, although we do keep communication open with the teacher and hope when more books start coming home from school they'll start matching more what he can do at home.

My son is in Y1 and started RWI in reception - I would say don't worry too much about reading levels (especially compared to ORT - it's just baffling!) and whilst you may find progress slow initially, as they progress you really do see how this scheme works. I only know RWI so maybe this is typical of all reading schemes but my DS started school barely recognising his name & knowing less than half the alphabet but is reading Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (not word perfect but not far off!) & didn't flinch at his spelling this week despite including words such as 'hibernate' 'miserable' 'something' & 'because'. Stick with it, plough through the easier books but introduce variety at home (I bought a load of DK readers from eBay - the Star Wars ones have been a real hit!)

My DS is reading ORT books and does rwi in class. I taught him the (incorrect) sounds of the letters before he started - I included the UH sound. He could not read before he started Reception and this scheme really suits him.
Thankfully he only usually has to read 3 out of 6 books in the level series rather than ever one. As Tgger says the school ORT books are only a small part of what he reads. He is Start Wars mad and so I will look out some DK readers.

If your DC is reading ORT Blue level 4, how do you know that this is reading level 2b?

I'd agree that blue level ORT books (Cliff Moon green level) are too low a match for blue RWI books. I'd expect a child to be turquoise/purple band at least.

There are a some children who decode brilliantly and steam through RWI because of their phonic awareness, without understanding a word of the text! We have one child (from Y1/2- 120 children) who this applies to. Do they benchmark children at your school?

I'd certainly have a word with the teacher. (I wouldn't advise that too often! )

I too am confused about the read write ink levels. My son (year 1) is currently a stage 8 reader(purple) and he is in an orange read write ink group. When asked, he says he finds the read write ink too easy but there seems to be no yellow group for him to move up to (a partner is required in this work and there is no-one ready to move). When I spoke to the teacher about this she said not to worry as the orange group would all be on yellow before the end of the year. There is a blue group in the class but she thought this may be too difficult . My concern is that he is actually ready to move on ,but as there no one to partner him in yellow, it is an easier and more straightforward option to keep him where he is whether he has surpassed the level or not.He happens to be in a very bright year and there are currently 5 Year 1's in the blue read write ink group (which is mixed in with higher years ,as is his orange group).Some of the Year 1's have a reading age of 10 and beyond ,but not all.They are all in the blue read write ink group. When I look at any levels chart ,a stage 8 reader actually links up with the blue level on read write ink (though I am aware that children can be on different levels in many instances).I do not want my child to do one hour a day of rwi which is not stretching him ,there seems to be no option to move to yellow so I am now wondering if blue could work for him. Is this a ludicrous idea and could he be missing out on vital repetition of certain sounds? My alternative seems to be to keep him somewhere that azt best does not stretch him in the least and at worst holds him back.I am confused about the read write ink levels. My son (year 1) is currently a stage 8 reader(purple) and he is in an orange read write ink group. When asked, he says he finds the read write ink too easy but there seems to be no yellow group for him to move up to (a partner is required in this work and there is no-one ready to move). When I spoke to the teacher about this she said not to worry as the orange group would all be on yellow before the end of the year. There is a blue group in the class but she thought this may be too difficult . My concern is that he is actually ready to move on ,but as there no one to partner him in yellow, it is an easier and more straightforward option to keep him where he is whether he has surpassed the level or not.He happens to be in a very bright year and there are currently 5 Year 1's in the blue read write ink group (which is mixed in with higher years ,as is his orange group).Some of the Year 1's have a reading age of 10 and beyond ,but not all.They are all in the blue read write ink group. When I look at any levels chart ,a stage 8 reader actually links up with the blue level on read write ink (though I am aware that children can be on different levels in many instances).I do not want my child to do one hour a day of rwi which is not stretching him ,there seems to be no option to move to yellow so I am now wondering if blue could work for him. Is this a ludicrous idea and could he be missing out on vital repetition of certain sounds? My alternative seems to be to keep him somewhere that azt best does not stretch him in the least and at worst holds him back.