another precious mum with reading question

[pantomimecow]

DD was last tested in reading in may last year when she was in Y3 .She got 4C for reading (optional SATS) and reading age (nonsense I know ) 12.something.
This year she is in a mixed Y4/5/6 class and i was casually asking her who was in each reading group.It sounds as though she has gone down a group.I started asking her which book each group were reading and when I looked on the internet her group were reading a Y4 book (which is her age ) but 3 of the other Y4s + some Y5s were reading a Y5 book. Now I know that those Y4s may be way better than her but I still feel she should be doing more than plodding along with the one she's on (It's Rigby navigator series)
Do i say anything to the teacher or just let it go ?
They don't send home any formal independent reading now.She is reading Mallory Towers which she absolutely loves ,and there is definitely a place for books one loves , but but I don't feel the school are dong much to expand her reading.

Is it possible that she's advanced with reading but not with her writing style? My ds is a very keen reader but has yet to develop his writing skill to the same standard. All the children he sits with for literacy are reading at 4 color bands below him.

I think you should go and see the teacher. At the moment you are worrying about it, so the sooner you speak to the teacher the better. They'll be able to explain why your daughter is in that group and if you're still not happy you should be able to find a solution by working with the teacher.

As a teacher I always preferred parents to come to me with their worries about their children. It's far better and more productive if you are working together.

I agree with mary7b (incidentally, you sound like a lovely teacher, please teach in our school). It could be to do with writing style.

Mine are both good readers but have suddenly been dropped down a few reading levels because the TA says their writing style is not up to standard. Actually, it's pretty good but one of mine has problems with spelling. I did speak to the teacher about it, but they were not prepared to budge, so now they very quickly read the school book (5 minutes) to get it done and then read their own books - also like Malory Towers at the moment.

It seems rather unreasonable to hold a child back in reading because of their writing ability. My creative writing ability was zilch (although grammar, spelling, punctuation etc were fine). If they'd held my reading back on the basis of my writing 'style', I would have been reading Peter and Jane until I was 10!! (Showing my age there!)

Children should be encouraged to progress to their maximum ability in each area of the curriculum.

Another one here whose dd seemed to be held back in same way as yours in Y4/5 - also v high reading age but not so hot on writing. I was a bit annoyed at the time BUT looking back on it I can see why they did it. She did then catch up on writing and in top group for all of Y6.

Don't let it discourage her reading and writing at home, though. I think reading expansion best done at home anyway.

Quick question for Pantomimecow: does your daughter's class have separate reading groups and English groups? When I had a class they were entirely different, as it is common for children to perform better in reading than writing or vice versa. You could check this with the teacher.

And thank you for your lovely comment FernieB! What a shame about your children's teacher. You are doing the right thing under the circumstances and as GrungeBlobPrimpants says, you could encourage them to practice writing (in a fun way!) at home.

Reading groups are seperate from literacy groups.
Her writing in Y3 was 3A which I am guessing is about average (?)However she is the most atrocious speller and i remember the teacher saying this had pulled down her writing grade.

3A is actually above average for Year 3. Children are expected to increase by 1 level every 2 years. The average level for a child to achieve in Year 4 is level 3.

As for her spelling, it shouldn't have brought her grade down by much, as it is only a small fraction of the overall mark. Being a poor speller also does not mean that a child isn't 'good' at writing!

One of mine is also an awful speller, but I think that can improve through reading. Which again, begs the question why do teachers restrict their reading on the grounds of poor writing? Surely the wider read a child is, the better their writing will become.

Do you find that if you ask her to look at her mis-spelt words, that she can correct them herself? Mine often mis-spells due to trying to write quickly (accuracy gets lost).

Thanks mary7b. I do have them practicing writing at home. Both of them write songs and the music teacher is helping them put their songs to music at school and they are making a video with some friends. The music teacher likes their writing!

Fantastic FernieB - I love to hear that children are being encouraged to write in a fun, but meaningful way at home!

You are also very right when you say that the more a child reads the better their writing will become. It is extremely important to ensure your children read a wide variety of reading material, instead of sticking to a reading scheme. This will enable them to increase their vocabulary, improve their writing and general knowledge skills.

By the way do your children, FernieB and Pantominecow, use the 'Look, Cover, Write, Check' method for spelling, as this is the best one to use?

We kind of use the Look, Cover, Write, Check method to learn spellings. As both my DD's know some of their spelling words already, they like me to test them as soon as they get their words so they can see which ones they need to work on during the week. Then they write them repeatedly and test themselves by covering them up. At the end of the week, before their school spelling test, I test them again and we usually have full marks at home.

Ds is the third most advanced reader in his class. Don't flame me, he's bright and has worked this out for himself and I am pretty sure he is right as there are only 3 quite advanced readers in his class.

He is not however on the same table as the other two advanced readers who are on the highest ability table and I have observed that this is because his writing ability does not match his reading skills. He needs to concentrate/focus and practice more and improve his presentation (he appears to be at the same level as the other children on the his ability group table).

Last year he was on the highest ability table because of his reading and maths. This year the emphasis is on bringing his writing on a bit more.

I'll admit I was surprised after he came home in September and said "I'm not in the top group any more mummy" but we found a big positive in it for him which switched him over to being very content with the situation.

I did not query his reassessment with his teacher as she seems very experienced and in control. After the first open evening and viewing work on display and exercise books, I agree totally with her assessment re his group level and would have made a pushy foolish parent of myself if I had leapt in there with "why is ds not in the top group this year when he is in the top 3 for reading ?"

P.S. - Much as I adored Enid Blyton books and devoured whole series of them when I was young, I don't find some of them to be the most academically challenging for his reading level/age. Ds loves them and they are great for engaging him, he gets excited, wanting to find out what happens next etc but I try to get him to alternate them with other stories/books with more challenging text and vocabulary in order to expand his reading skills.