5 pages a day reading limit???

[KatieKat188]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster.

Very sorry for the long rant and if anyone reads this whole thing, thank you so much in advance!

My daughter is 5 yo, in Year 1, and attends a small private school near us. For the most part, we have been overall very happy with her experience so far, and have been pleased with her reading and writing.

However, all of last year, her teacher kept sending home reading books which were too easy for her, and I spoke to her several times about this, and eventually she started giving her books that were slightly more on her level.

This year she has a new teacher who assessed her reading level at the start of term a few weeks ago and I was instantly a lot happier with the reading level of books coming home, and she was on the Level 4 Biff, Chip and Kipper books.

However, last week, even though her book was a Level 4, it was a bit on the easier side again, and I wrote in her reading diary 'read whole book' - it was about 20 pages with 1 short sentence per page. They swapped the book out and the next one was equally easy for her, including going over the reading comprehension questions, so again I wrote 'read whole book.'

The next day I was met with a note in her reading diary saying 'please only read 1 - 5 pages per day.' I asked my daughter about this and she said her teacher told her that she should only read 5 pages per day in her book.

This bothered me all of Sunday and I e-mailed her teacher this morning to ask what this was about and why school would ever tell a child to limit their reading, and the response I got was that this is school policy, because they often find that children rush to get to the end of the book because they want to swap it or move up a level and haven't actually mastered the comprehension of it. She then recommended that dd is free to choose a second book from the school library and read that after doing 5 pages of her reading book if she wants.

When I tell you I've been shaking with anger and seriously considering withdrawing her from there for the next term...

Is it just me or does this seem completely counterintuitive??? Only read 5 pages of one book because it's school policy but then read as much as you want of another one.

I would understand if it was a case where they are reading the book together as a class or something and don't want anyone reading ahead, but that's not what it is. The kids each choose their own reading book and swap it when they want to.

My husband works at the school as well and spoke to the Head of Primary who said, don't worry, of course you can read more with her if you want to.

But that's not the point... she was told by her teacher... at this young age where she is only starting to really form her opinions about school and reading independently... that she shouldn't be reading more than 5 pages a day.

So she now feels like she is doing something against her teacher's wishes if she wants to read more.

I have honestly never heard of something so insane. I am all for testing reading comprehension. You want them to write a few sentences about the story before swapping it? Great. You want them to tell the teacher about the story before swapping it? Also great. You want them to answer questions about the story? Great. Test their reading comprehension before swapping or moving up.

But in what insane world is it ok to tell a child they SHOULD NOT be reading more than 5 pages?

sigh

I’m not saying the policy is good or bad because I’m guessing they have a reason for
it (?). However, I would expect a school policy to be documented, or they shouldn’t refer to it as one. Sounds like it may have been a contentious issue previously if they’ve increased the pages, so seems a little odd it wasn’t mentioned at the school/class induction meeting.

Don't be silly, simple clear communication would be far too easy! OP would rather throw a strop and withdraw her child, that's a far more rational and adult way to deal with this very minor annoyance!

Though I would not expect it in a well-resourced private school, it is possible that they don’t have enough books at each level in the reading scheme and so don’t want families to ‘use them all up’ and demand to move up a level ‘because she’s read them all’.

It would of course be much better for the school to buy and integrate a much wider variety and number if books, including real books, at each level. However, until then, just asking them to clarify to your dd that she can read other books as much as she likes would be fine.

"Shaking with anger"...kindly, OP, that is an extreme response. I am a primary school teacher, and also have an able reader who is in Year 2 at a state school.
Honestly, it wouldn't bother me if she was told to read 5 pages a night of her school book, as we would then just read something else afterwards. State or private, reading at this age isn't just the job of the school. Any good parent will read to/with their child. You also need to explain to your DD that the teacher means 5 pages of the school book. If she's very worried about getting into trouble (which won't happen), write a note in her reading record/diary so the teacher can address this with your DD.
Teachers don't always get things right, granted, but to be "shaking with anger" is really extreme. The only thing I think that would provoke the same response in me as a mum, is if a teacher was racist or abusive etc.

Shaking with anger… seriously, are you quite alright?

Thank you for the giggle. 🤭😂

Just read whatever she wants and the amount that she wants, while ignoring an idiot Teacher?

I hardly think the Head will line you up and shoot you at dawn.

Yes, which is why I e-mailed the teacher and asked for clarification, and the clarification was that the 5 pages per day is a school policy.

Listen to the professional, highly trained teacher and calm down your shaking!

Just get her other books to read apart from the one from school, no big deal.

This.

And, kindly, you need to chill out Op. Your DD is at the start of her education journey. Shit will happen along the way that you will need to deal with. But this isn't one of those times.

Get some other books which are more interesting and a bit more challenging to boot.

My child struggles with reading, however the competition to get better amongst the class and go up reading levels is a big thing. It doesn't mean she has real skill or confidence in reading just because she read the reading book. She wants to go to the next level.

I get her to read other things, sometimes signs, other books etc which have value in their own right and show reading for reading's sake is interesting or fun ( it's a good story, tells you something interesting, is helpful, etc).
There are more than one ways to skin a cat and some actually are more effective than others. Look at it that way!

Just sign the homework diary to say the 5 pages have been read (even if the haven't), and offer her any other book you fancy. Or, even better, read to her.

The teacher is wanting to make sure that some basics, phonics/comprehension, are being covered. She can keep track this way.

I think you are making too much of this - tell her the teacher just wants to keep track of things and that you and she can read whatever they like. If you make an issue of it your DD will be concerned about it. Just laugh it off.

Honestly - there will be far more important things to exercise your brains over as her school career progresses. Just chill!

I used to do this all the time with my DDs and no harm was done.

So none of you have ever read late into the night because you were so enthralled by a book that you wanted to finish it??
The Biff and Kipper books are "mysteries"...even I as an adult wanted to see what happened at the end! For an eager and interested child, to stop half way would be torture!

Hi OP, as a reader I really struggled with this in school. I'd bring home a book and have it read day 1. This then became an issue when I moved from primary as I'd spend my time bored in class, zoning out whilst we read and dissected a book I'd finished weeks ago.
I would say although daft, there may be merit in teaching your daughter to read 5 pages of the class book and then read another book for enjoyment so she has the habit as she goes through the rest of school.

It's 5 pages a day of her school reading book! You know that. Your DD knows that if she applied any logic because her teacher told her she could have an extra book from the school library. But she hasn't applied any logic because a) she's 5 years old and b) you haven't pointed out this to her. Stop getting irate because your DD has misunderstood and then pretending you don't understand either.

Kipper and the Giant is the best book ever.

My ds' teacher was sending too easy work too.
I queried this and it turned out they had never actually listened to him read.
I would be very very wary of assuming the OP doesn't know her child's reading ability best here.

I guess the system is one book per week, and you're supposed to read 25% of the book every night. This is standard. Really this seems like such a minor issue. Just buy your daughter extra books, or go to the library and allow her to read for pleasure.

When I tell you I've been shaking with anger and seriously considering withdrawing her from there for the next term...

Dramatic, much?

Is it just me or does this seem completely counterintuitive???

HOW, when the teacher literally said she is free to take whatever books she wants out of the library and read however much she likes of that after her 5 pages?

They are not stopping your child reading, they are monitoring the steady progress of a whole class via levelled books. Teachers have to keep a log of who has these books at any time and ensure that the kids go on to another book in a certain order. How is that going to work if every kid has a book per day?! They can't spend an hour every day sorting books out!

Just do as you're advised and buy her more books.

Separate school books and home reading books.
Easy. Ultimately if you don't trust the teacher or the teaching then you need to find a different setting.

It's really common for pupils (often encouraged by parents) to try and whizz through the reading schemes. There's really no benefit.
Your child's future success is not dependent on how fast she gets through Biff and Chip.

God, my son is nearly 6 and can just about write his name, never mind read a book 😳

This was the same in my case too. Teacher/TA hardly ever read with my DS as they didn't need to because they "knew" he could read and they knew I read with him everyday. But then wouldn't let him have harder books because they hadn't heard him read and only had my word for it that he could.

I’m team OP. This is not a school that encourages learning, but encourages conformity and box ticking.

I would look for another school myself and in the mean time I’d fake the reading journal and have DD read the whole book the day before it was due to be swapped out.

Applying the same rule of 5pgs, no more no less is ridiculous and is actively holding your child back.

Just buy her some suitable books. A lot of kids find Biff and chip easy. At some point she will find a subject difficult so just be glad she finds something easy. You can concentrate on her maths or other skills that might be harder.

I think you (and DD) are missing the point that the teacher doesn't want her to read more than 5 pages of her school reading book. No other books are limited.

This is not the hill to die on

The teacher has told you why.