Calling all primary school teachers - summer reading for year one

efrieze

Thanks for all your responses

patchwork_cat

There are lots of books for beginner readers http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&productId=218624&searchTerm=red+nose+readers

just as an example.

efrieze

patchwork_cat wrote: »

There are lots of books for beginner readers http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&productId=218624&searchTerm=red+nose+readers

just as an example.

Thanks - I bought one of these sets (the Leapfrog ones) - a set of 16 books, and we read the entire set one Saturday afternoon!!! They were a bit too short and a bit easy. I struggle to find non 'scheme' books that are at the right level but i will try what some others have suggested about about the Mr Men books.

balletshoes

I'd also endorse the previous suggestion about going to the library and encouraging your DD to pick out book she likes the look of. At our library kids can borrow about 14 books at a time - pick up loads, bring them home and see how she gets on. She might find a series of books she likes reading and which stimulate her .

jellyhead

Molly41 wrote: »

Oh I used to love Biff, Chip and Floppy. Brings back many happy memories. Another idea is audio books which give another dimension to the process of understanding the spoken word. We always used to have one on in the car x

I love the ORT books and so does my my son - I'm really surprised to see so many parents who hate them :eek: Is it because you had to plough through all of them? Our school skips books if they think the child is ready to move forward, and they give other books to the children who are advanced. My son was only level 9 at the end of year 1 but his friends had moved onto science type books or even books from the library if that's what the child needed.

Another vote for audiobooks here, both my boys have loved them (does this indicate that I'm rubbish at reading to them myself?!). My 5 year old (oops, he was 6 last week) is listening to lemony snicket books at the moment. Kate Winslet did a lovely recording of the faraway tree books.

jellyhead

I can't speak for all schools, but here they just started the year 1 child off on the same level they were on at the end of reception. It's probably worth speaking to the teacher rather than handing over a list to begin with, just to say that she's read a lot of the ORT books and do they want her to reread them, or to have a list of what she's read at home or whatever.

My eldest is at high school now, and I would say that his teachers have varied from those who are pleased when parents take an interest, and those who think the parents are too pushy and are racing ahead without their child gaining a proper understanding. I remember helping in a class of 7 year olds where a few of the parents seemed in competition as to which child would finish reading Harry potter first, and the teacher's opinion was that only 1 of the children actually took in what he was reading, and that the other 2 would be happier with different books, but there was no telling the parents.

mrcow

jellyhead wrote: »

I love the ORT books and so does my my son - I'm really surprised to see so many parents who hate them :eek: Is it because you had to plough through all of them?

I don't favour them because they don't particularly cater for talented readers. Many teachers and parents get so hung up about "reading levels" that they can become blind to the fact that there is so much more out there than progressing to a ORT level 8 or Black level, or whatever you're calling it.

Some children will learn to read CVC words and then within 6 months have progressed to Roald Dahl novels and are reading e.g. Swallows and Amazons within 12 months. Yet a school will still be sending home irrelevent book after book just because it's ticking the boxes and allowing them to progress a certain number of expected levels within a given year, when the child should in fact being encouraged to read more in depth books with more complex plot lines and characters which ORT doesn't have.

Not all kids fit into these boxes, which is fine except the standard norm in some schools has become to progress through a reading scheme regardless.

jellyhead

I see. As I mentioned, our school is very flexible with regards to talented readers. Neither of mine were particularly good readers at age 5 (both of them were the youngest in the class and my youngest was the last one to learn to read in reception) so I haven't had any problems with ORT. I think he started to get bored with level 9 though, he wanted to read Horrid Henry instead.

patchwork_cat

I agree go to the library. IF she is a good reader then have you looked at Rainbow Magic, not exactly classic literature, but little girls seem to love them and if she does there are over a hundred!

neverdespairgirl

jellyhead wrote: »

I love the ORT books and so does my my son - I'm really surprised to see so many parents who hate them :eek: Is it because you had to plough through all of them?

DS' school wants you to do all of them - and the extra reading books on each level, too. Which is why we're all sick of them!