Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

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

Original poster

Oxford Reading Tree - what level do Biff, Chip and Kipper stop at?

70 replies

NoahAndTheWhale · 27/01/2010 22:42

DS is on Level 7 (ones that don't have B, C and K in - Robins or More Robins or some other bird). Will there be more of the great trio when we get to stage 8 or is that it?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
maxybrown · 28/01/2010 08:05

It is very painful yes, Also, yes all 60 in one day at least anyway. Cue rocking in a corner time

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 28/01/2010 08:20

I have a secret liking of Biff and Chip

The ds's school has recently added many more ORT books to their scheme and DS2 loves bringing home B & C stories. Now he's on Level 7 the stories are a bit longer and I am enjoying them on the whole...

DS1 is on Level 9/10 and he has had mostly non-fiction books so far. The one on environmental disasters was interesting, the one about diamonds less so...

Hulababy · 28/01/2010 08:51

My favourite must be the level 1+ book. Whole text is:

Oh Floppy
No Floppy
Oh Floppy
No Floppy
Oh Floppy
No Floppy
Floppy Floppy

Oh, that one is riveting!

lisata · 28/01/2010 09:50

Actually I quite like them too in terms of content (especially once they find the magic key) but not the early ones.

The problem is that some kids really can't learn to read with them because the rely on look and say. The first word in the first book is "why" - how ludicrous is that ... a tricky word that is irregular. What great way to put for a child off - especially when it is their first book ever! You wouldn't expect your child to jump off a diving board the first time you took them swimming. Why do we do this with reading???

ORT quickly add words like "conjurer" ... crazy! One way round it is to just read all the stupidly inappropriate words to your child and then just get them to sound out the decodable ones. Another way is to trash them (or leave them for later) and get some good decodable texts (-:

Sorry about the rant but 3 kids have all be sent this books home from two different schools and they make me fume.

Lisa

Original poster
NoahAndTheWhale · 28/01/2010 10:16

I agree that some of the words in them are very hard for anyone to work out.

Had forgotten that one about Floppy (look I have remembered his name ) Hula. But once DD gets onto the torture fun of the early ORT books I'm sure it will appear as part of the after-school excitement

OP posts:
Lotkinsgonecurly · 28/01/2010 10:22

I've got used to them and DS loves them. Now on level 8 am slowly getting getting acclimatised.

I still think Biff should be a boy though, every time she is mentioned I can't understand why not called a girly name

asdx2 · 28/01/2010 13:04

Really dislike them here it was worth changing schools just to never have to listen to them again never mind all the other positives
Mind you dd is number 5 so I have served my time anyway.

asdx2 · 28/01/2010 13:08

Biff is a nick name for Rebecca, Chip is Charles and Kipper is Christopher I think from what I remember of nursery teacher's introduction to ORT many many years ago.

Bramshott · 28/01/2010 13:17

DD1 is on level 10 now I think, and we have just got shot of them. Mind you, we now have "The Masked Cleaning Ladies of Om" who are not a million times better !

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 28/01/2010 13:22

I always think Biff should be a boy

They definitely do improve as you go up the levels although DS2 had 2 level 7 books recently which were a bit hard for him to grasp.

They were about Riddles, as in logic puzzles and quite hard to explain to a 5 year old.

One was 'write down how much I weigh'. The answer was to write 'how much I weigh' on a bit of paper and the character did this but I had to spend ages explaining DS2 what this was all about. He still enjoyed it though.

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 28/01/2010 13:47

Nooo - Biff is a nickname for Barbara, not Rebecca.

MumNWLondon · 28/01/2010 13:53

DD now on level 7, and it appears they go up to level 9, although only 12 on level 8 and 9. As we are getting through 6 a week thats only another 4 weeks....

DD(6) also had the riddle one this week... she really enjoyed the riddles, but found it a bit scary when the goblins locked the children up, took away the magic key and asked they how they wanted to die! It continued in the 2nd book, which luckily had been send home as well but I had to read it to her as she couldn't read ANOTHER 32 pages nor could she go to bed without knowing the ending. She did read it to me the following night but she complained to the teacher than the book was too scary!

But she really likes them and worryingly DS (3) wants me to read them to him as his bedtime stories!!!! I agree that the early books are so boring.

DD's teacher said she thought content of some of levels 7-9 not really suitable for year 1, and most of class are on level 3/4.

satonthesofa · 28/01/2010 13:54

Oh I quite liked them and DS enjoyed reading the higher level ones too. He became quite animated reading them. So for us they have been a good scheme.

Some of them do take some explaining.I seem to remember the concept of Cheques was one when he looked blankly at me.

clayre · 28/01/2010 14:02

we're only on level 5 i dont think i can take much more, even dd is bored of them!

Elibean · 28/01/2010 14:47

I knew a Biffy, it was short for Elizabeth...

dd reads a whole range of different reading schemes at her school, so we've only had one or two Biff and Chips. One was last night, something to do with a Victorian Adventure and I have to say it was one of dd's favourite ones yet...she actually wanted to read the whole thing

(No idea what level it is, because at her school its one of the 'turquoise' level books, whatever that means).

Tamarto · 28/01/2010 14:53

Hulababy, my DD recently had that one home, riviting isn't it.

My DCs school have just this year embraced ORT and to be fair it's an improvement on their old books however i am very very glad that DD is the last one to enter he school.

Original poster
NoahAndTheWhale · 28/01/2010 15:02

How do you get through 6 a week MumNWLondon? Reading half a book takes DS 30 min and we don't always read every night. We get them two at once, but one might get changed before the other IYSWIM. I also don't think that the children read all the books on each level.

Books don't get changed that often and the children are only heard read about once a week (I listen to reading and there is a sheet you initial when children are heard, so I am sure of this).

Might have another thread about how often books are changed I think.

OP posts:
BlauerEngel · 28/01/2010 15:16

Slight thread hijack, but for those of you whose DCs are on level 7 (we had the riddle book this week as well), which year/age are they? Do you think level 7 is appropriate for that age?

Original poster
NoahAndTheWhale · 28/01/2010 15:29

DS is in year 1 and is 6. He seems fine with the books he has had, but I don't think we've had a riddle one.

OP posts:
MumNWLondon · 28/01/2010 16:15

We get 2 at a time, books changed on Mon/Wed/Fri if she had finished them. They only change on Wed if you have finished both though. They only seem to hear her read around once a month. This doesn't really bother me - they have a quite a few kids who are struggling as they don't speak english (and the parents don't speak english) so these kids need more support.

DD reads for after gettting home from school (halfway) and at bedtime (to the end). Do this every day. DD happy to read whole book at bedtime if she has a playdate or activity, takes around 20 mins if she is being slow. Last week we didn't get them changed on the Wednesday (as we had only read one by then) so it was just 4 books.

re: the Riddle book - DD is in year 1, October birthday.... so 6. I think the level is about right - just she is a bit scared in general even by Little Red Riding Hood or three little pigs because of the wolf!

However I think its on the edge, and they would not be suitable for younger... I posted on earlier thread that she was on ORT3 and could basically read anything and was finding the ORT books v boring/easy. Had to speak to head who said that she thought that she wasn't sure ORT7+ suitable for year 1, although did agree to put her up. Most of her year 1 class on ORT 3/4 - and this is a school that was one of the top primary school by the SATs tables....

Original poster
NoahAndTheWhale · 28/01/2010 16:52

Ours only get them changed when they are heard by the teacher/TA/Parent helper so the process is a bit slower.

Most of DS's class is also on level 3 or 4, although there was a girl who was on level 8 a while ago. I think that at this age the range is going to be quite large as some will "get" reading much sooner than others, and also the age of children can quite often make a difference - the most advanced ones are mainly autumn birthdays, although one girl who is advanced is a summer birthday.

OP posts:
rabbitstew · 28/01/2010 18:32

There appears to be an Oxford Treetops level 16, presumably part of the Oxford Reading Tree series, but fortunately absolutely no Biff & Chip in sight, just books with chapters in and stories about monsters and magic. They still have the feel of being written for an educational purpose - ie words chosen carefully to be stretching, but not requiring too many trips to the dictionary to find out what they actually mean; and a plotline to follow over 100-150 pages - and I guess are the last stage prior to killing yourself reading books entirely of your own choice.

Goblinchild · 28/01/2010 18:42

Chip's real mname is David, for those who like a little mystery...

Original poster
NoahAndTheWhale · 28/01/2010 18:45

I'm sure I read something about why their names are what they are, but my lack of memory means I have no idea what it was

OP posts:
Goblinchild · 28/01/2010 19:16

Barbara, David and Christopher. I have no idea about their parents.