Read Write Inc books-help/advice pls

sahj

Can anyone help please,

I am trying to find a chart or something that gives a rough idea of what book your child should be on at what age. This is the green,purple, pink, orange, yellow etc set of books by Ruth Miskin.

I have tried googling but it seems that the reply to this question tends to be along the lines of every child is different and therefore there is no guide.

Thank you

Caroline73_2

Why worry about reading age. It's so arbitrary. Just enjoy time reading with your child, that's them reading to you and you reading to them.

My eldest couldn't read at all at 7, he's nearly 13 now and considered gifted and talented. He's in all the top sets and predicted to well at GCSE level. My 5 year old is fairly fluent at reading. We've done nothing different. One was just a late starter.

sahj

Caroline73 wrote: »

Why worry about reading age. It's so arbitrary. Just enjoy time reading with your child, that's them reading to you and you reading to them.

My eldest couldn't read at all at 7, he's nearly 13 now and considered gifted and talented. He's in all the top sets and predicted to well at GCSE level. My 5 year old is fairly fluent at reading. We've done nothing different. One was just a late starter.

I was told today that my dd is "struggling" so I just want to know how far behind she is.
If she is that far behind then I have cause to worry, if shes at an average level then I have no reason to worry because she is progressing through the books and I have no concerns with her ability.

I am waiting for an appt with her teacher to discuss this further but in the mean time I am of course worried so I am trying to find out where my dd is currently at.

Owl

she will be OK, the books re designed to be progressive, and we expect most (not all) children to have finished the phonic but by the end of yr 2 at the latest, some will do it earlier, some later... It really is what their website claims and every child os different....

Now, as a teacher, I understand your worry - please, just read with your child, enjoy reading, reading activites and just talking about the books. She will get there, maybe just slower than her peers/ age group.

Owl x

sahj

Owl wrote: »

she will be OK, the books re designed to be progressive, and we expect most (not all) children to have finished the phonic but by the end of yr 2 at the latest, some will do it earlier, some later... It really is what their website claims and every child os different....

Now, as a teacher, I understand your worry - please, just read with your child, enjoy reading, reading activites and just talking about the books. She will get there, maybe just slower than her peers/ age group.

Owl x

Thanks Owl.

I hope people dont think Im just trying to be a pushy parent/want my child to be above average etc.

This is not the case, I just want to ensure I am doing my best for her whether she turns out to be the best/worst reader in her class.

Her reading record comments contradict what the teacher told me today, hence I am going in for a chat with her.

I am very happy with my daughters progress- she is progressing well in my eyes and is moving through these books every 2-3 weeks. Her reading and writing is constantly improving so I am not worried. My problem is that the teacher has stated she is struggling so I cant help but wonder how far behind she is, if she is at all, but with no comparison/guideline I have no idea.

kingfisherblue

Does your daughter choose to read outside of school? I think that this is quite important, as it helps develop 'proper' reading and not just reading a scheme. Encourage your daughter to read anything and everything, but without pushing her. The back of the cereal box might not be a classic novel, but it is still reading and that is important (I'm not fussed on classic novels anyway ).

Let your daughter choose books from the library or bookshop - she is more likely to read something that she has chosen herself. Boys tend to enjoy non-fiction more an girls, but maybe your daughter would read about something factual that she enjoys? You could try poetry - it's never been my favourite type of reading, although there are some poems that I enjoy, but my daughter read poetry almost to the exclusion of anything else for about two years.

Do you read? Sometimes children need to see you reading for enjoyment. If it is something that you don't have time for, your daughter might not be inclined to make time for it either.

Cuddling up together with a story is a great way to encourage a love of reading. If you can make it a regular part of your routine, so much the better. My 11 year old son and I are reading Michael Morpurgo books together - that is, I read, he listens, we discuss bits and pieces. He is perfectly capable of reading them himself, but still likes me to read to him.

Most of all, don't worry about your daughter's reading ability. Any worries that you have could make her feel anxious as well. Her reading may not be great at the moment, but there will be other things that she is more advanced at. Think swings and roundabouts - she will catch up with her reading, but may struggle with other lessons occasionally.

My older son has special needs and couldn't read until he was nine, despite him looking at books every day (he used to sit and tell himself the story, following the words with his fingers, but unable to read the actual words). Then quite suddenly, he could read simple stories. It's as though everything just clicked. He is now 13 and has the reading age of 7, which I am delighted with. It is a joy to listen to him reading a book and enjoying it - but I still read to him, and will probably continue with this into adulthood.

Good luck x

barbiedoll

Echoing the other posters, don't worry too much. All kids read at different stages, if you're happy with her progress (and you're telling her so!) then she sounds fine.

She may not like reading at school so much, does she have to read out loud to the class or to the teacher/teaching assistant? She may just be shy, or embarassed if she sees a word that she doesn't know how to pronounce.

A good way to get kids reading stuff other than school books, is to have the subtitles on the tv. If it's an educational programme or something that she particularly enjoys, it can be quite beneficial. I use subtitles sometimes because my hearing is poor and my son is always asking what a particular word means, or pointing out the spelling or typo mistakes. (Which can be hilarious on a live programme, such as the news!)

Wait and see what the teacher says, she won't want to criticise and she should be able to offer some practical advice too.

sahj

I love reading and my dd knows I read nightly-got lots of books in the house.
I read to my dd probably 4-5 nights a week at bedtime but we do tend to read other things at home/out and about- road signs, shop names, leaflets, words on magazines etc so we are practising daily. Also she has weekly homework which always involves spelling/writing/reading. I think she has enough with what we do already and she is still very young- in her 1st year of full time school, just turned 5.

The teacher is now off till next Monday so Ive got to wait to speak with her. I just cant understand how she can say my daughter is struggling when she is moving through the books at a steady rate and suprises me all the time with her progress.

I have not had any reason for concern until the teacher made this comment, or I wouldve mentioned it far sooner than 5 weeks before the end of term!

patchwork_cat

Does your DD read to you every night? Do you have the read write inc parent's handbook? Have you seen the set you can buy at the book people?

sahj

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Does your DD read to you every night? Do you have the read write inc parent's handbook? Have you seen the set you can buy at the book people?

She doesnt read to me every night- I let her choose whether she wants me to read to her or vice versa. Generally she prefers to read to me during the day but come bed time shes more of a listener.

I do not have a handbook- to be honest I wasnt fully aware of what RWI really was until yesterday when I started to look in to it.

I will take a look at the book people, thank you.

patchwork_cat

When I say night I mean after school. My children read to me every day after school as soon as they were given books to take home,(we also suplimented this, reading old favourites from toddlerhood and buying level appropriate books, initially in the reading tree scheme which my youngest did) in the early days it was a book a day and as the books got a lot longer maybe 1 every 2 - 3 days. They would also get a bedtime story until about 7 then on the whole they read to themselves at bedtime, unless they wanted a book that was a bit beyond them, then it was a chapter a night.