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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

What to do when the child is clearly on the reading level?

19 replies

ihavenosecrets · 30/06/2009 10:33

Ds is an August born baby and is nearing the end of his reception year. He has been on red level for a few months, since May I would say that he has mastered that level and has been ready for the next level. When he brings his reading books home he reads them with no assistance and is not challenged by them. At home ds is reading the yellow and blue levels with very little prompting.

I have made comments in his reading record that ds found the book too easy or not challenging enough but they haven't moved him up a level. I really don't want to come across as an awful pushy parent and I am worried that the teachers would think that I was trying to do their job for them if I say anything. What would you do?

OP posts:

lottysmum · 30/06/2009 10:45

I had the same problem with my dd...her school (small) virtually went at one pace for all ....they only used one reading scheme ORT which meant she ended up reading nearly every book at every level...I didn't broach the subject because I was concerned that her comprehension may not have been has good has her reading...or she may have been a good sight reader and therefore was going slow for blending.....

However....due to other reasons I moved her school and thankfully the new school have a super reading/comprehension scheme which has enabled her to move on at her own pace and she is thriving..... reading also helps in every other area of education too...like writing...so it's awful when you have a child who is able and has a genuine love of reading and they are held back......

I would speak to the teacher but also let your son read more at home...join the library etc.

lljkk · 30/06/2009 10:50

I don't know what red level means. Public libraries are great for when they start to read independently. If he's not quite ready for what the library has on offer, you can get him to read some of the books in story books that you are reading with together. Just point at some of the words he knows when you come across them and ask him to read or sound them out.

Oh, and this amuses me because DS loves them anyway: Dr. Seuss books. Most of the words are very simple and DS (also a summer boy nearing end of reception) can sometimes read a whole page by himself of The Cat in the Hat, Fox in Sox, etc.

bruffin · 30/06/2009 10:50

Books that are bought home are not supposed to be challenging. They are to raise confidence. You will probably find he is on a different level in school.

morningpaper · 30/06/2009 10:51

I have given up fighting this battle

DD is in year 1 and still bringing home picture books with one sentence on a page

This year I've let her take whatever she is reading at home into school for Quiet Reading Time

she is still bringing home picture/sentence books but I don't bother doing them with her, I just let her get on with what she is happy with (books from the library)

DaisymooSteiner · 30/06/2009 10:56

Not at my dc's school bruffin, they read the same books at home and school.

Original poster

ihavenosecrets · 30/06/2009 10:56

The good thing about the reading scheme at ds's school is that it encompasses a variety of books from different reading schemes so it isn't too repetitive. Ds does read a lot at home so he is being exposed to other sorts of books.

I'm not overly worried because as I said we do read lots at home. I'm a little concerned that if they haven't gauged his level correctly that this might impact on the work that is allocated to him in the classroom or result in him falling behind.

OP posts:

Original poster

ihavenosecrets · 30/06/2009 11:03

I thought that bruffin, but I also help out at the school (in a different class) and the view seems to be that as soon as a child is developing confidence they move them up a level to provide more of a challenge.

When I read with ds he seems to enjoy it more if he has to think about it and decode the words whereas with the books he is bringing home he can read them with his eyes closed, well not exactly but you know what I mean!

I want to say something but I am such a wuss and don't want to be seen as overbearing so I will probably keep quiet for now.

OP posts:

mimsum · 30/06/2009 12:45

I didn't want to come across as a pushy parent so I didn't say anything for ages about dd's reading level. However eventually dd started getting very upset about it. I kept telling her it didn't matter what level she was on at school because she was reading and enjoying much more advanced books at home. But that didn't pacify her as she craved the acknowledgment from her teacher.

Eventually I had a word with the teacher who agreed to move her up a level and since then she's just gone flying through the levels, and now has to go upstairs to get 'chapter' books from y2. They're still way below what she's reading at home, but she's much happier and she feels her honour is satisfied!

mummyrex · 30/06/2009 13:44

Hi lottysmum

could I ask what your child's school is using?

In our school they read every book on the level and they don't like speeding them through. The reason? I know for a fact it is because there are not enough higher level books in school at present!

Hi secrets, if it is causing a problem for your dd then talk to the teacher if not maybe leave it and see what happens in Sept. Have you got a local library?

Bramshott · 30/06/2009 13:49

I would stop reading the books from school, and get some books from the library. No point kicking up a fuss in school at this time of year when they are winding down anyway.

GooseyLoosey · 30/06/2009 13:52

I found in reception last year, they did not really focus on the level they were reading at, but on builing confidence. It was not until ds was in year 1 that they started to push certain children through the levels quite quickly until they found the right one for them. As it is now June, I think I would wait until next year and see what happened. If I was still concerned by say the first half term, I would raise it directly with the teacher.

zeke · 30/06/2009 13:52

Almost exactly the same situation as you! I actually wrote a note and put in on the front of the reading diary with a paper clip asking for him to go up the yellow. The teacher agreed and has subsequently put him up to blue. I know that at least one other mum has done the same. Their reading can improve so suddenly I think it is perfectly reasonable for parents to help teacher monitor this.
There is one boy in my son's class who was on yellow when my son was on blue, within the space of a couple of weeks he has gone up to blue and then straight up to orange. I know his mum would ask to have him moved up.

lottysmum · 30/06/2009 21:08

Hi Mummyrex

My dd's school is on the Ren Learn Accelerated Reading Scheme....it has worked really well...

The children select a book within a given range which is normally starts just below actual reading age. They then take a computer test which will assess their comprehension of the book and produce a report...once they have read a few books at this level and achieved a certain pass rate on the tests they can move onto the next level...teacher still hears the children read each week...books are also varied and interesting for the new reader ...like Horrid Henry....Rainbow Fairies...Non Fiction too...my DD was reading all about Gravity yesterday!

The children also earn certificates when they reach milestones....

mummyrex · 01/07/2009 09:29

Ah, yes I remember it now, I looked into it a few years back but I was home-edding and they wouldn't sell it for use in homes.

Looked very good, glad it is working well for your child's school!

Jux · 01/07/2009 09:59

When I helped out in school with reading, at the end of the year the chldren had to read long lists of words which the teacher then guaged the reading level from.

At this time of year teacher's are so overworked getting end of year stuff done (ticking Gov boxes) that having a word is probably not such a great idea.

Wait until September and if he's still reading stuff below his competence then have a word then. IME teachers do not take offence when parents ask about this sort of thing.

Madsometimes · 01/07/2009 10:46

Different teachers have different styles and generally in year 1 and certainly in year 2 teachers focus more on the academic side of school. Therefore I would not be surprised if your child was moved up several levels in year 1. The main thing to remember is to keep reading with him using additional material from the library. If you can keep this up through the summer holiday, then you will be in a good position to ask the new year 1 teacher to reasssess his level in September. Many children fall back after the holidays because their parents do not do reading every day.

HappyMummyOfOne · 01/07/2009 19:50

I agree with the big difference in year 1. DS's school concentrated more on the sounds and phonics and decoding words in reception rather than rushing through the books.

Year 1 seems more book focused and I have requested several times to move up a level and a new one always comes home. We currently have two books, one he can read well and one from the next level - its great as his confidence is good plus he gets the challenge.

We also used several reading schemes at home over the holidays, through chickenpox etc and he likes the variation from ORT. Having sorted through them recently to have a clear out I have noticed its not as easy to purchase the next levels as it is the first 6 or so which are readily available. Is quite funny to see DS read Peter and Jane - it seems so dated but I loved them when I was younger.

ThingOne · 01/07/2009 20:42

We have boxes of books outside the classroom so by now the parents just change book level (ORT) when they feel it's right! My DS1 was quite slow to start but has really got going this term with the books. He's read all the school's selection of lilac, green and blue this term and is now on red. If it was up to the school I reckon he'd barely be on green.

We went on holiday last week and I got a selection of early reader books from the library. He was a bit hesitant to start with, as it wasn't the familiar ORT stuff, but we looked at a few of them again this week and he was happy to read them. I just grabbed about five different ones which looked vaguely right.

mussyhillmum · 01/07/2009 20:47

Hi. I think this is a fairly common situation. Certainly, my DS1 had this problem when he was in Year 1. It got to the point where he was finding his reading books so easy that he started to resist reading. Our local library and children's book shop stock the Oxford Reading Scheme (our school uses an erratic mixture of books) so he started on those as well. It rejuvenated his interest in reading and his confidence and enjoyment soared. He is now in year 2 and is an avid independent reader.

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