At Dallas Road a child's reading journey initially follows books that are banded by colour. There are general guidelines about which book bands should be covered in each year group. In year 2, children working at age related expectations should be reading books in gold, white or lime bands. However, please remember that children learn in different ways and make progress at different times. The table at the bottom of the page gives the approximate book bands for each stage in school.

As a rough guide, children are expected to reach lime level at around seven years old. In Key Stage Two, children continue reading banded books from a range of different schemes. We use Oxford Reading Tree, Project X, Pandora Books and Badger Learning. Children will read a variety of texts and genres as they move throughout the school. When children enter years 5 and 6, we also have a range of classic fiction books for them to read and explore. 

The books will vary in a number of ways, including size, layout, vocabulary and length, to give the children a variety of different types of literature. The difference between each colour band is meant to be gradual, so that children do not experience great difficulty when moving up through the scheme but are suitably challenged at all times.

This guidance can only give a rough idea of the right reading level for your child. There will be a wide range of reading abilities in any school year. As a guide, children should be able to read at least 90% of the words on the page without any problem. If the book is too easy, they may become bored. If it's too difficult, they can become frustrated, and may have to concentrate so hard on reading the words that they lose the enjoyment of understanding the text.

WARNING!

A child will not benefit from being rushed through books. It is not a race, it is a journey! Children learn to read at different rates just as they learn to do other things at different rates. If children are rushed through the books they will not achieve the enjoyment and understanding necessary.  

REMEMBER!

Hear your child read every day.

Little and often is more beneficial than a long session once a week.

Think about how long you are reading for - the amount of reading time should not go beyond your child's span of attention.

Pick your timing carefully - its best not to embark on a reading session when your child is tired.

Enjoy reading with your child and help them become lifelong readers.

Reading Overview - Phonics Phases - Book Bands – Year Group Expectations