Can I ask please what ORT books your Yr2 child is on?

[HelenaBonhamCarter]

Ds is struggling quite a bit and is coming home with Sparrows, which looking at the OUP website (will find link in a mo) is stage 3/4 and meant to be kind of beginning to middle of yr1.

He's just gone into yr2.

He is still finding these books tricky in places though he gets through them in the end.

I just wnated to compare with a few others really so I can see whether this is even on the tail end of normal!!!

but want to press for some extra help maybe or at least patience from the school.

Thankyou.

Tree thingy

my dd has just gone into yr 2 also, there seems to be a huge variety of abilities, some on level 3/4, some free readers and everything inbetween

just a warning: you could get a lot of people saying level 8 and so on because they're proud of their children, which is nice, but wouldn't take it as a comparison guide for yours

Don't worry DS1 and DS2 were both reluctant and then just suddenly accelerated once they found a book thhe really liked. ORT are not that interesting for boys sometimes. I honestly cannot remeber what stage they were at but now their readng ages are well ahead of their actual age.

A really wise headmistress at our previous Prep told us to get them factual books with simple short sentences embedded in pages of pictures on whatever subjects they were into.

The other trick is to do reading at home every day and even in holidays. Just five minutes or a certain number of ages every day. Practice aand sheer volume of reading is also important. Not enough reding is done in school in my view and it is often left up to parents at home - if you are not doing it with him then it just is not enough to rely on the school.

It was not the same in my day. I never brought a book home but we read for hours at school each week.

It worked.

Thankyou...good to know it isn't just us.

The ORT are really boring aren't they - I find them utterly dull. It makes me want to write him our own books that will make him laugh instead of sigh 'Oh no do we have to?'

I will hunt through bookcase and find some better stuff I think. ABD you have inspired me

DS2 is on level 4/5 on ORT, I have stressed about this but feel that it is going to come, IYKWIM.

Good to hear about others at same level.

HBC Agree with ABettaDad's advice to get him factual books ... boys prefer them to fiction. My ds2 is in yr2 (August baby) and is on level 5 which he can sometimes struggle with. However, when they mix in the odd factual book about sharks or bats he is well away. As in all yr2 classes there is a very broad range of reading abilities. I help with reading in his class and there are some kids on level 2/3 and some reading the Telegraph Don't fret, he is fine.

Have you tried DK readers? They have really interesting topics and cover things like Star Wars and The Chronicles of Narnia. I've managed to get a few from the library and my dc loves them. They are so unlike the usual early reading material. DK readers

Those look amazing thankyou so much. I'll try and find them in the shops and have a look. Lol at the telegraph

I've just been told he may be doing something called 'slow processing'. Not a clue what it means so have begun a thread.

Thanks again for all your help.

'Having worked most ages at school, the early fluent readers arent always the best later on'

So agree with this WTWCA - that's why some of the boasts on MN are so laughable. Children who learn to read at a steady rate are usually better at comprehension, as the boooks they've read have always matched their age. Children who read Harry Potter in Y1 (so common on some of these threads ) have not go the life experience, the vocabulary or the powers of inference to appreciate it.

I agree with all the posters here - my ds1 has just gone into year2 and is on ORT level 5.

I was really stresing about it earlier in the year but now I think - he'll get there eventually.

We also read EVERY day at home with him (which can be a bit painful sometimes!) but it helps to get into a routine.

My ds1 is on the lowest ability table in his class and is one of the few (maybe 6 children) who are on level 5 in that class, but if he is happy I dont care.

See I don't really feel good when those on level 5 are the lowest in their class and termed 'struggling' when mine is on level 3.

helena, just read your last post

I didn't say this before because it is not a boast. My child was on level 10 when he left Year One: he was a brilliant ORT reader.

It did him no favours: now he can't stand to do any work and is definitely not fulfilling the potential talked about all those years.

Do not fret, please. Don't transfer anxiety and stress and pressure to him. Just read away, listen to him, try different books, and when he doesn't want to don't force him. Read to him, or tell him stories, or buy cartoon books or comics.

Competitive reading is a road to hell. Your ds will be absolutely fine.

My practical tip is to recommend Badjelly the Witch by Spike Milligan he won't be able to read it but you will both laugh your heads off

think i went over the top there

am sure you are doing all that stuff with the reading, probably a bit of grandmas and egg sucking there

it's just, the pressure, i think it can be awful for parents and children

Ds is on level 5.

Your ds may just suddenly click with reading. My ds was on level 2 for most of year 1 and then suddenly he seemed to get it and went up a couple of levels within a few weeks.

Handwriting is a different story

Ds is in yr 2 by the way, not sure my post made that clear.

Thanks for that link noidea. Ds (and me) find the ORT books very boring. His current faves are Mr Men as he finds them hilarious.

My DD who has just gone into yr 2 is on stage 8, but free reads at home, she loves it BUT BUT BUT, as other posters have said, do not fret. My DS, who is now 10 HATES reading with a vengeance. Indeed, I think he was only on about stage 2 at this time yr 2. He can read just fine, is a free reader, but doesn't flow, no expression, lack of comprehension sometimes and basically just doesn't like it. We have bought him many factual books, mainly on animals as that's his passion which helps. Agree that they need to read for about 5 mins every day, so as not to pressure those who really don't like it. Just try to remember, all the children have different strengths and weaknesses. We certainly have the diversity in one family. My 6 yr old arguably reads better than the 10 yr old!

i think I need to go back and change the thread title actually, to 'Please come and tell me if your DC are on stage 3 or below in yr 2 Thankyou'

weak

Never mind
thanks for the tips, I don't mind for mY sake where he is on it, at all - just for his iyswim, because he is so behind and worries about it. I don't care a jot really.

your first big job is to stop him worrying

you can't concentrate when your worrying and you lose the joy and interest

everything else will follow

Also, as I'm sure you realise, reading level is nothing to do with overall ability/intelligence/whatever. My daughter left Y1 on ORT stage 10 and she's an incredible reader (fantastic comprehension too, not just reading blindly). BUT other children in the class are on level 4 ORT, yet are streets above my DD in other areas, eg. maths. All children have a talent for one thing and need help with another - no biggie they nearly all get there in the end

helena I am very sorry if my post made you feel bad I wasnt boasting when I said my ds1 is on level 5 ORT....as far as his teachers are concerned he is very behind

I agree with mmrsceptic - your first job (as mine was) is to stop him worrying. I found it was a self fulfilling prophecy really...he was told he was behind and so stopped trying because he found it so hard.

It all came to a head in March this year when he came home from school and told me he hated school (he doesnt - he just hates literacy!) and that he had a "stupid brain" I also overheard one of the girls in his class describe my ds1 to her mother as "slow"

After a couple of (pointless) meetings with his teacher I decided to do something about his confidence and looked on the web for ideas. Someone on MN receommended an online early reading programme called "Headsprout" and it has REALLY helped ds1 with his confidence - he went up a reading level within a month of starting it!

If you go to Headsprout.com you will find all the info.....the 1st 3 episodes are free to try and there is a 30 day money back guarantee if he doesnt like it. It is online based teaching and has 80 "episodes" for them to complete (my ds1 only has 7 left to do!) they recomend 3-5 times a week - we average 4 times. He loves it and it is especially good for boys as it takes place in 4 "worlds" - space world, dino world, undersea world and jungle world. It costs £120 but you can pay in installments and for that you get 20 hours of state of the art early reading teaching and also a progress map and stickers, books and also you can print loads of books from the website and flashcards too. You also get a individusl progress report after each episode. (I dont work for headsprout by the way! )

My ds1 was on stage 3 when he started headsprout and he did find the early epsiodes easy but they get harder!

Hope that helps x

Helena

ORT levels are the work of the devil and you really should try and ignore them if you possibly can.
My DDs school sned a mix of books home and jump around within levels depending on what they think the child needs to practice and what the child is interested in. That is WAY better.

Try and just find some things he likes with great stories and great pictures. It helps enormously.
DD liked these and my DS liked these ones especially the Disney/pixar titles

Thankyou guys and please don't feel bad that I felt bad etc etc

I'd have felt bad anyway and it wasn't anyone's fault, you were all trying to be kind and i'm sorry I was so rude.

Becaroo it sounds like you have really helped him...I'm trying different books now, because ORT is as dull as a very dull thing that has fallen asleep.

I'm sure he will click eventually.

Thankyou once more for all your lovely posts.

xx