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Reading Group

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Christine Bradley	books and reading ages - help! - 2008/05/10 21:25 As a PGCE student can anyone tell me a how to work out which books are for which reading age once you get past the initial reading schemes at KS2 - is there a listing somewhereI can tap into? Chris
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Luke Slater

Re:books and reading ages - help! - 2008/05/10 22:23 Given a very little time you'll start to work it out more or less intuitively. You get a feel, not only for the books, but for the particular children in your class. Until then, this site is a pretty good guide, but there are always exceptions to an age range generalisation.

For example, I gave a copy of Skullduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire to Class 6 (that's year 6), but with a warning for the more sensitive readers. On the other hand, I've read Room 13 with some of my 7 year old readers.

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David Reedy

Re:books and reading ages - help! - 2008/05/11 12:23 This may sound like self promotion but the book Nikki Gamble, Angela Hobsbaum and I wrote ' Guiding Reading: A Handbook for Teaching Guide Reading at KS2' (2nd ed) has extensive lists of suitable books for Y3, Y4,Y5 and Y6. Although these are recommended for GR they would be really good for independent reading too.There should be a copy or two in your education library to refer to!

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Darren Coult

Re:books and reading ages - help! - 2008/05/11 13:46 I agree with David about the value of the 'Guiding Reading' book as a way into choosing books for GR.
Regarding independent reading, I think it's also important to teach the children how to choose books for themselves. Do they browse inside a book first, or just choose it based on the cover? Do they try reading a paragraph/page to see if it's too easy/hard/about right? As teachers, we can tend to lament that children don't choose books very well, but then fail to help them get better at it. Being motivated to read a book can mean that children can cope with quite challenging reads. On the other hand, if some children choose too demanding a text, it will demoralise them. We need to keep talking to children about this, rather than colour coding books for them.
Luke's right about how it comes with practice too - ending a PGCE, it's easy to feel clueless about so many things (I did!). But give it time!

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Nikki Gamble

Re:books and reading ages - help! - 2008/05/11 14:28 Posted here for Prue Goodwin as left in a separate strand:

books and reading ages - 2008/05/11 14:24
I agree with all the comments made so far but recognise that for a PGCE student it will seem daunting making decisions about books for your pupils until you a) know the children and b) gain a bit more confidence in your knowledge about children's books. The first will have to wait until you get your class, but the second you can do something about right now in the knowledge that it is an important part of a primary teacher's role. Although it sounds a bit overwhelming, for me keeping up with children's books was the second most rewarding part of teaching reading (the first was seeing readers - rather than just children who could read - walk confidently away from my class at the end of the year - wow!). Reading a children's book every week is so pleasureable and yet is also a professional obligation. However, to get you going, try to get hold of: Guiding Reading (already mentioned), The Core Booklist (from CLPE), the Ultimate Book Guide for 8 to 12 yr olds - and keep looking on this website (and asking questions). Good luck and enjoy your reading!

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Nikki Gamble

Re:books and reading ages - help! - 2008/05/11 14:37 Darren Coult wrote:
I think it's also important to teach the children how to choose books for themselves. Do they browse inside a book first, or just choose it based on the cover? Do they try reading a paragraph/page to see if it's too easy/hard/about right? As teachers, we can tend to lament that children don't choose books very well, but then fail to help them get better at it. !

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