Are there any alternatives to Oxford Reading Tree Books ?

[Gelamum]

My 6 yr old is quite a long way behind with her reading. She isn't SEN but I have had twins in the last 3 years and so have been lax at helping her at home, and its just been very hectic. ( bad mummy ) and also she is summer born and always finds it hard to keep up with her class in Y2.

ORT doesn't seem to appeal to her but she always wants to read books which are exciting but too hard ( eg Charlie and Lola but type is ToO haRd fOR beGINinerS ) or books on witches or anything not like ORT for a stimulating change.

Are there any others that are easy enough? with levels ?

Thought I could try and get a few second-hand, or even new, as I have three kids they will not go to waste...

Please help someone ???

mrz
Afraid I don't know if Primary Phonics has a UK English version or not. The one I have is US version, which means you have words like "gas" instead of "petrol" and "pal" instead of "friend" - but I don't think this detracts from its general usefulness as a teaching tool - in fact, most children like learning about the differences between UK and US English - but of course some people might prefer a UK version if one is available.
I first came across this scheme since it is highly recommended by Margaret Walton (whose book for teaching dyslexics is the best I have ever come across - and is in my opinion far superior to the Toe-by-Toe which is used in my local schools). She is a dyslexia expert at the University of Wales, Bangor - so I reckon she should know what she is talking about!

I was more concerned with spellings rather than dialect but thank you for your help.

mrz and any others possibly interested in Primary Phonics
I forgot to mention that if you would like to download free sample readers and worksheets you can do so by going to the Educators Publishing Service website www.epsbooks.com

Thank you anissa I reviewed the books when they were first published but wondered if they had been reissued with UK spellings.

mrz
The answer is I don't know - but I am sure you could find out by contacting the UK stockists, Better Books ([email protected] or on 01384 253276)

My son is yr 2 and a reluctant reader in spite to being read to every night of his life, which he enjoys, and we have had tears from him at home over his frustration with his reading, he does try hard.
He has started on the remedial reading programme at school, and what a difference it has made, a bit of one on one with the teacher, (who he previously disliked and is a bit of an old boot,) but it has been a blessing and we are really pleased with his progress.
Maybe ask your teacher if they are participaiting with the remedial reading scheme, its worth the time defo.

Hi All

Have to endorse everything that maverick has to say. (Disclosure my mother is one of the authors of the Dandelion readers that she recomends above (www.phonicbooks.co.uk)).

I really enjoyed the post on picking a decodable reading scheme. I'll forward it to them. I know that when designing their books mum & co have tried to focus very hard on not supporting guessing in the pictures and text. They also avoid repetition. It is amazing to watch kids really decoding new words they have never seen before quickly and easily right from the start!

I have had three kids go through the system with Oxford Reading Tree(and others - most of the so called phonic reading schemes are actually pretty unstructured and throw in loads of tricky words very early on) and word tins. Clearly I am in the lucky position that I had access to the Dandelion Launchers and Readers and was able to teach them alongside the school reading without to much problem. I also lucky that they all seem to be picking up reading fairly easily (child 3 is still in reception).

One thing I would say is that decoding a book full of mainly new words can be harder work than reading a book where you can guess or follow a repetitive pattern. If you are teaching your kids yourself make sure you follow the kids lead and stop when they have had enough - you don't need to read to the end of the book if they are tired leave it until tommorow or try and a simple word game instead.

Phonic books have a blog here: phonicbooks.wordpress.com/
They'd appreciate feedback and will happily answer any questions you have.

I think the idea of clubbing together with other parents is a good one. Best of all work on your school!!

Lisa

I'd endorse the calls for your daughter to get school remedial reading support, and a fairly hardcore phonics-based approach.

I do have one additional tip - since I think you said you read her bedtime stories - just pick out any phonically decodable words you can and get her to read them as you go along.

Lots of books for 6-7 year olds have speech bubbles in the pictures, which are usually short and suitable for beginners to decipher, and onomatopoeic sound effect word in some sort of stand out text (BANG!, CRASH!, SPLAT! KERPOW!) If she can read them straight off, then great, if not then decode them together.

Apologies if you're already doing this, but I found it worked very well with my kids - they got impatient if I did too many, but a few per story really helps reinforce school phonics work.

Just discovered that Ladybird are reprinting the Peter and Jane 'key-words' books.

Text dull but pictures lovely. (Especially the 1970s Christmas tree in one of the early ones!)

I think what appeals about the Peter and Jane books is that it was a structured approach. It was whole word reading but it built confidence by only giving you words that you knew.

The Dandelion Readeea have taken the same sort of approach but phonically. So they only introduce sounds that kids know. In other words the first book has five letters. Then it adds another letter right the way through the whole code. This is a sure way to build confidence - just as Peter and Jane did!

I am horrified when i look at some of the reading books for reception. They have lots and lots of words the child has never seen before and cannot decode. In other words the scheme is not structured in any way. How can we expect kids to develop confidence when we set them up to fail???

OP said her daughter enjoys Charlie and Lola.

You could read this together, asking daughter to read the odd page, paragraph or speech bubble.

We often read bedtime stories together, with me reading the majority and my dd reading fun bits.

Usborne Books also have a great reading programme.

Has anyone mentioned Sunshine books yet? Am no expert, but they seem to have more interesting and fun stories in the early stages than the ORT scheme.