2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Shirl]

DD1 attends nursery but I have taught her to read at home. I am using the Oxford Reading Tree plus various learn to read type books from the library and simple toddler picture books. At the moment she is reading stage 5 but is ready to move to stage 6 of ORT. According to the ORT website it means her reading age is about 6 (she's 3 3/4). She starts school in September.

 

Anyway her nursery teacher has started sending her home with books which are way below her reading level. DD doesn't mind because I guess it's a confidence boost but in the meantime I'm having to buy 3 or so new books a week at about £3.25 each. I spoke to the teacher and tols her about her reading level and she just said there's no point rushing through the books because she'll be at the end of the scheme before she starts school. I couldn't believe my ears. Surely the fact that she is progressing so well is a good thing?

 

So (after being long winded) should I not buy anymore of the ORT books? I don't think she would learn nearly so fast without them and she enjoys them, but what do you think?

[Couperwife]

personally, I would buy/get her the books. then when the teacher is giving her lower books, give them back and say "oh, she has read that".

 

you could have a word with the teacher/ head teacher and tell them that sha is bored with those books.

 

teachers have to "differentiate" so they should have a range of books for a higher ability child.

 

good luck with her, reading is a fab thing and everyone should be encouraged, not stopped.

 

cathy

x

[Basset]

Hi Shirl,

 

I'd also be interested to hear from any teachers, as I had the same problem when my daughter first started to read. My son also starts school in September, and is making good progress with his reading, he especially likes the ORT books!

 

My daughter's teacher at school told me that they like all the children to progress gradually through all the different stages, to make sure they have completely grasped everything. She advised that if the child was more able, it would be no problem to read the school book and another book of our own choice at home.

 

She also said that if the more able readers progress too quickly through the levels, then they do get to a point where the subject matter is deemed inappropriate (too grown up) for their age.

 

I'm not sure what to make of that. I think that schools generally don't like to make exceptions for the more capable, and would rather just stick to their normal ability bands.

[Bexiboo]

Hiya

I am not a teacher but have three children so hope you don't mind me replying.

 

I was thinking a couple of things.

 

Could you not loan the ORT books from the library? It sounds like it is getting expensive to keep up.

 

My son did the ORT books and as we got up the levels we didn't just have to do the reading we had to do comprehension. So there would be a sheet with each book with questions you had to ask the child to make sure that they not only learned to read the words but actually understood what they were reading. It did mean it took him longer to change books and things but the teacher assured me that it was the best way as she said that there can be children who can read but don't actually really understand what they are reading which is just as important as knowing the words.

 

Also does your daughter read any other books or just the ORT. If not then perhaps you could take her to the library to see all the different sorts of books available. My son loves to read books full of facts

 

Anyway I hope you don't mind me replying

 

Ali

[riane]

Well Im a mum and a foundation teacher running a nursery and reception class. You should be congratulated in giving your daughter such a good start with her reading skills. There are some things you need to consider; the oxford reading tree scheme is a very good all round scheme . If you use all the different types of books your daughter will stretch her phonic, comprehension, fluency and expression skills. There is so much more to reading than being able to say the words on the page and it is important that your daughter is confident with all these skills in each level before she moves on. It may be the teacher feels she needs to develop more in a particular area and you could discuss this with her more. Also a diet of just scheme books is a very limited diet. Children need all sorts of different books and need to be read to by an adult so they can follow texts with lots of previously unseen vocabulary, hear fluency, phrasing and intonation and expression in your voice. Bedtime stories are still the most important part of learning about reading. Also information books cookery, reference, dictionary etc. Libraries are very good for all of this. Please go back and talk to your daughters teacher. Show her the books she has been reading and ask for advice. If she does not seem able to offer a suitable book go and see the Foundation coordinator or key stage 1 coordinator after that the headteacher should be involved. At my school all the reading schemes, in fact all the school schemes start at three and children move along as and when they are ready to . There are no age barriers. good luck

[ubereglu]

How about finding her some different books to read, which are relatively simple and not on the scheme. Something that came to my mind are Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond.

[Chickvic]

I work in an infant school but I'm not a teacher! There are always teachers who insist that each child reads nearly every book in the level and then others who let them progress freely and then others who push them up levels and they can't manage

 

I was very lucky with my DD, she learnt to read after being at school for 2 weeks! (The nursery she went to was rubbish!) Her teacher was very pleased and they didn't have ORT at her school, that came in when she was in Yr 1. My mother had bought all the books home from her school and DD had read them all. Her teacher in Yr 1 was very good and ordered the highest levels of ORT for her, tried her with them and then said they weren't any good for her and let her pick her own books. She is now 10 and doesn't have a reading level at school, she borrows books from the library.

 

Unfortunately I do think sometimes that it comes down to the teacher you have.

 

Keep up the good work, and I agree with Bexiboo and get the books from the library.

[Shirl]

Thanks for the replys.

 

Believe it or not in the whole of Essex there are 3 stage 8 books. That's it no other levels. I have emailed the library service to complain though. Don't suppose it'll do much good but it made me feel better.

 

We do read other books with her and obviously we ask questions and talk about the books to ensure comprehension. It's amazing the words she doesn't understand. For example it mentioned a cellar in one of the books so we had to explain what it was. I guess because we don't have one it's not something she's encountered, but as an adult you almost assume people know these things.

[Shirl]

Well Im a mum and a foundation teacher running a nursery and reception class. You should be congratulated in giving your daughter such a good start with her reading skills. There are some things you need to consider; the oxford reading tree scheme is a very good all round scheme . If you use all the different types of books your daughter will stretch her phonic, comprehension, fluency and expression skills. There is so much more to reading than being able to say the words on the page and it is important that your daughter is confident with all these skills in each level before she moves on. It may be the teacher feels she needs to develop more in a particular area and you could discuss this with her more. Also a diet of just scheme books is a very limited diet. Children need all sorts of different books and need to be read to by an adult so they can follow texts with lots of previously unseen vocabulary, hear fluency, phrasing and intonation and expression in your voice. Bedtime stories are still the most important part of learning about reading. Also information books cookery, reference, dictionary etc. Libraries are very good for all of this. Please go back and talk to your daughters teacher. Show her the books she has been reading and ask for advice. If she does not seem able to offer a suitable book go and see the Foundation coordinator or key stage 1 coordinator after that the headteacher should be involved. At my school all the reading schemes, in fact all the school schemes start at three and children move along as and when they are ready to . There are no age barriers. good luck

 

Sorry took me so long to reply other people had posted inbetween reading the first few posts.

 

We do still read with her and are working on expression. We've covered , speech marks and . Often after she's read a book we'll go through it and say "He was excited so how would it sound?" At least from what you and others have written I feel as if I am doing the right things. They only thing we don't do is a wide range of reference books but DD seems to prefer the fiction books. Although we do the reading the side of the cereal packet type thing.

 

Unfortunately the nursery teacher is an ex Headteacher and Ofsted Inspector so there's only one way Her Way! The school has just been bought by another school so things are changing and so I don't really have anywhere to go and to be honest if I took it up with anyone else then I'd hate the wrath of Mrs P

 

Thanks for the advice

[theherd123]

I trained as a primary teacher but moved on to secondary special needs some years ago however a few things dont change!

 

As a teacher you need to do the best thing by each student in your class, treat them as an individual and not hold them back just because you, as a teacher, want them to 'fit in with the system' and be 'average' so as not to cause extra work.

 

Stick by your guns and if she is capable of reading books that stretch her then keep on at the teacher. It is the teachers responsibility to cater for all the young people in their class irrespective of ability.

[riane]

That is sad that the teacher is not taking on board what you are saying. She should know better given her back ground. Try to work with the books she is getting and may be use them to develop writing skills, sentence construction, spelling. Then develop her love of reading with library, fiction , non fiction books. There is more to books than ort. good luck

[Janepie33]

Hi

I have been working as a nursery nurse in a reception class for the last 13 years and have come across children with a wide range of reading abilities. Some children just seem to get the hang of reading really early on and I agree with the other comments about speaking to the teacher and treating each child as an individual. ORT is a great scheme, but there are so many other brilliant books out there.

Why not chat to your local libririan and see which books are available? If your daughter likes animals, then the Lucy Daniels books might interest her - ther are hundreds of those. Or take your daughter to Borders, WH Smith or Waterstone and see what takes her fancy? Children often surprise us by their choice of reading material.

Your daughter needs to continue to see reading a pleasurable activity and if she picks up any anxiety from you or her teacher, it might put her off.

In my experience, children love to feel successful, so if she brings home books that are too easy for her for a while, it won't do her any harm, she won't forget what she has learnt.

Maybe you will ahve a more enlightened teacher in year 1.

 

Good luck

 

Jane

[Shirl]

I'll have a look for Lucy D books because DD loves animals.

 

We're always in the library but even the main library doesn't have a great choice of suitable books for her to read. I am conscious of not getting books that are too difficult as I want her to have a love of books more than anything. We have literally hundreds of books for her at home and she does read them with us so books for us to read to her aren't a problem. I guess the ORT approach is like a crutch for me because I can see the progress easier. I did wonder about not buying any more and just going onto normal books maybe I could try it for a while and see how we go.

 

Thanks

[fionne]

Hi, I'm a primary school teacher with nursery school experience. It really depresses me to hear what has happened to you and your daughter. Unfortunately it's all too common!! All children need to be taught as individuals, some will struggle with reading whilst others seem to take to it easily. I agree that it's terribly important that children understand what they are reading but there again they will only learn by experience. It's good to find challenging words and quite often a child will discover the meaning in the context of the story without adult help. Libraries are brilliant but so is ebay!! I have found many of my childhood favourites - lovely stories and full of variety. Many are nearly new in excellent condition and I think that you will find an enormous selection to look at. Good luck and let her enjoy her reading, don't hold her back, she's doing very well. By the way there are many poor Ofsted inspectors, she's not God!!!!!

[lizinsa]

I'm not a teacher but my Mum is a Nursery teacher and Foundation stage co-ordinator, so have some insight!

 

I cannot believe what has been said and that they have not recognised the level your daughter is working at. If the Nursery is attached to the primary school she will be attending, my advice is to leave the ORT and explore other books, or else there is every chance your daughter will just have to repeat all the books again which will definitely bore her! If she's starting a new school, perhaps you could get in touch with the new reception teacher and see what she recommends, she may even have books or story sacks to lend you over the summer.

[Guest]

You have had a lot of support here and I don't have anything to add really.

I just wanted to say that I have taught all 4 of my children to read when they were 3. I felt led by them and found books to suit them at whatever stage they were at. My eldest had school books inflicted on her (ORT) and we read through them but it didn't stop us 'doing our own thing' at home. The others were in a brilliant school and had no problems at all, but we still read at home whatever we wanted to. My message therefore is not to worry about what reading books/scheme your school provides. Your child is way ahead and will cope, but don't let any of it stop what she wants to read at home. Try not to worry!

[Louise]

I am not a teacher and don't have children but I have to chip in

 

Don't ever discourage or hold back your childs reading

 

I was in a fab school until I was 8 I learned to read before I started primary school and have always loved it

 

Then my parents moved and I ended up in an awful school and the books I was told to read were way below my ability and I stopped trying because I was bored with them

 

I still read at home but the school stuff was just dire as it was about 5 years too young for my ability

[Snowy]

I'm in no way qualified to comment, but I've always found mine don't like the books they are asked to read at school and I really struggle to get them to do reading homework. But they do have hundreds of books at home that they happily read, both fiction and reference, and we read every night at bedtime. I hate parent's evenings - I've always felt like the naughty child for not being more assertive and getting them to read the set work

[The Dogmother]

Shirl, well done!

 

I had the same with Rosie and used to borrow books from the library. Her nursery eventually got the message.

 

Good luck

[Shirl]

As DD loves the ORT books I do like her reading them. I find it so much easier to get appropriate level books.

 

I am being to let the nursey's stance get to me. Today when I picked her up they said she's got a harder book today. Er no it was a ORT stage 1 book I made a slightly negative comment and left it at that but I can feel myself spoiling for a fight when I know I should just leave well alone.

 

Off to take a chill pill (if only )

[The Dogmother]

Shirl, have you tried talking to the nursery manager?

[lizinsa]

I would definitely speak to her next school, they are likely to be more geared to helping parents read with their children and have a greater range of harder books.

[Shirl]

The nursery manager is the nursery teacher she was brought in by the school to set the nursery up a few years ago. I hope the school will be better but I have to confess my faith is waining.

[Lapinou]

have you thought about home educating her? Then you can continue to go at her pace the whole time without worrying about her getting bored in school and then getting put off reading completely. It's really easy to dismiss HE if you don't research it properly, so if you enjoy her company and she enjoys learning alongside you, then why not look into it and see if it's an option for you?

 

My DD1 is also well ahead in her reading, and her general knowledge and her maths (she's 5) and I'm so glad we've learnt enough about HE to want to do it because I'd really fear for her losing her love of learning if she went to school and got bored.

[Snowy]

Home ed is a much more viable option these days. There is a wealth of good material available, and there are some brilliant groups across the country. PM me if you want any details of the organisations Shirl.