KS2 SATS Level 6 reading

[moved]

I bought mine more than one reading scheme as the collection they were forced to use at school was so poor. Despite recording everything we did in the school record my daughter still felt forced to choose something desperate and random from school to read. They had baskets of jumbled garbage at school which were vaguely sorted into those different colour book bands. Reading would go so well in the holidays and stall during term time so in the end I wrote a letter asking them never again to ask her to choose a book at school as it was proving counter productive.

Funny, 20 years ago, I used Oxford Reading Tree (it was new) and baskets of banded books that I'd bought myself. I had 36 year 1 children and by the end of the year about a third were reading Flat Stanley style books or harder and all bar one were reading well. Even the one could read to a limited extent. They did all read aloud every day but in groups of six.

[Guest55]

Surely, it isn't the scheme that's the problem but rather the rigid 'rules' some schools created to use it?

[wonderwoman]

No reading scheme is perfect and I'm surprised there hasn't been a new widely read one in recent years. I can assure you that the Oxford Reading Tree was a vast improvement on Ginn that was widely used before it.

The skill in making the most of any reading scheme is the passion the proficient reader puts into any reading session. So with my own children and pupils I spend time talking about the cover, looking through at the pictures and discussing the book first. Modelling the excitement of reading a new book (even if I don't care about Kipper and the giant). Then I always read at least the first page and there is discussion during and after the book.

The absolute worst way to use a scheme is to read through each book in order, ticking them off and comparing progress to other children.

Also as a teacher, it used to really upset me when parents came into school saying books, their child had chosen, were too easy because their child could read most / all of the words. Well I can read all the words in a Financial Times article doesn't mean I have enjoyed or understood it - just a thought!

[Peridot]

We adored Oxford Reading Tree in our house. Our children were always hoping the book they'd brought home would be another one with a magic key story in it. The excitement was in the anticipation of what might be about to happen - real page-turners sometimes depending on the book. The DC are years 11 and 8 now - have the ORT stories changed since the ones we had and become more boring?

[wonderwoman]

We adored Oxford Reading Tree in our house. Our children were always hoping the book they'd brought home would be another one with a magic key story in it. The excitement was in the anticipation of what might be about to happen - real page-turners sometimes depending on the book. The DC are years 11 and 8 now - have the ORT stories changed since the ones we had and become more boring?

Lovely - as it should be. And no the stories haven't changed.

[mystery]

Oh we had little bits of oxford reading tree in the basket - but just fragments. Quite often the middle pages were missing too. Some ancient stuff from New Zealand, bits of ginn, some oup stuff which predates ort. A very weird mix. The rules appeared relaxed - choose your own book from that box. Children who are early readers choose on the basis of the cover. We ended up with stories about ghosts and burglars that terrified the life out of them, deadly poetry written by someone who had been given a restricted vocabulary to write with, books that were way too hard, books that were way too easy or dull as ditchwater. It was a nightmare. Teachers were not in the least interested in what the child happily read at home - their dreadful book baskets were the bees' knees and your child should read them as well as the book they were enjoying at home. Deluded and unreasonable - I presume the pressure came from the head.

[Yamin151]

No reading scheme is perfect and I'm surprised there hasn't been a new widely read one in recent years. I can assure you that the Oxford Reading Tree was a vast improvement on Ginn that was widely used before it.

The skill in making the most of any reading scheme is the passion the proficient reader puts into any reading session. So with my own children and pupils I spend time talking about the cover, looking through at the pictures and discussing the book first. Modelling the excitement of reading a new book (even if I don't care about Kipper and the giant). Then I always read at least the first page and there is discussion during and after the book.

The absolute worst way to use a scheme is to read through each book in order, ticking them off and comparing progress to other children.

Also as a teacher, it used to really upset me when parents came into school saying books, their child had chosen, were too easy because their child could read most / all of the words. Well I can read all the words in a Financial Times article doesn't mean I have enjoyed or understood it - just a thought!

Completely agree with all of this womderwoman, MADD I was never one of those tiger mums just wanting my boys to progress up the levels and tick off. The school however, was more like this, particularly in year 1. I went along with it, then at the start of year two the teaching assistant was horrified and put them both up two levels straight away it was nonsense. Reading schemes are great but they have to be flexible. My boys discussed pictures, meanings, all sorts, we never just ticked off words, but were ready to move on but one particular teacher insisted on them continuing each and every book in very level, it was ludicrous. Both are voracious readers, with a huge vocab and reports that reflect their ability to interpret texts etc at a hig level, this was no tick off exercise. Actually feel that in a world of "boys are gooh at maths and never enjoy reading", ours got painted with same brush and held back because they couldn't possibly be 'getting it' with reading. Sigh, rant over, all ok now.

[berks_mum]

A lot of schools have some set of books that children have to take home and read to the parent most nights while they are learning to read. The parents have to put some polite comments in the reading record each night. Depending on the school book supply, when the school declares the suffering can stop and the child it takes place in year r, year 1 maybe year2 and possibly into year 3.

Thanks mystery.

[berks_mum]

Yes, it could theoretically be a good experience but I know few people for whom it was.

To be fair, I have come across people who like the Magic Key books. Just none of them within this household.

berks_mum, if I'd known that Berkshire primary schools don't use reading schemes, I might have considered moving house before we had children .

The school had the same ORT reading scheme it seems but in Yr 1 DD was first learning to sit full time in school, make friends, understand English and then learn to read/write alphabet,numbers, count numbers and then phonics. She probably had a lot of to catch up in Yr1. May be all the nursery/reception stuff. The bilingual support teacher was very helpful. May be DD just saw the pictures while others read.
By end of year 1 she was 1c in all three, reading, writing and maths.

[MmeOgg]

I volunteer to read with children of various ages in our local primary school. I am not trained to teach them and wouldn't presume to do so.
All I can do is be excited about hearing them read, the books they are reading and the funny endings and story ideas they tell me about. And hope that a tiny percentage of my enthusiasm rubs off on them (and that they don't feel that reading with me is a chore).