What did the school think of the reading books?

One of the teaching assistants particularly liked the way the text was organised and the fact that there was not too much text on a page.

She also liked the Before Reading page, ‘the Before Reading page worked well with the pupils, [it was] like a reference for them’. The Quiz page had also worked well. Both the teaching assistants found that the pupils could remember bits of the story better when they used the Quiz, ‘the pupils are good at it and they enjoy it’. They also enjoyed the Word Detective where pupils had to go back through the text to find certain words. After reading the books and completing the Quiz some of the pupils then wrote about what they had liked or disliked about the book. One of the boys had said he liked the Quiz but did not like the spelling, even though he spelt the words correctly.

One teaching assistant had also used the worksheets from the teaching guide and had found these really useful as a way of reflecting on and supplementing the information in the books. She enjoyed using the teaching guide and found it easy to understand. The pupils also enjoyed using the worksheets.

What did the school like most about the reading books?

‘The Tricky Words section was felt to be a good idea, the pupils remember them in the book’.

One teaching assistant said, ‘one of the children couldn’t read the teacher’s name in the first book but when he saw it in the next book he recognised it as the same teacher and could link all the stories. They want to know what is going to happen in the next story, I think that’s what keeps them motivated’.

When asked what made these books different from other reading books, one of the teaching assistants thought - ‘the titles were really catchy – if the story is not good you are not going to keep them on task’.

‘The books seem more up to date with the children of today’.

‘The pictures are bright and colourful’.

‘Size is manageable and just the right length’.

‘It’s fantastic the way it is set out’.

‘The Before Reading page gives them confidence and they don’t feel as apprehensive when reading, [they] feel more calm’.

‘I think they would interest all children’.

‘Having fiction and non-fiction is good, it keeps them interested’.

What do the pupils think?

All 3 pupils gave the books a ‘thumbs up’. The pupils had enjoyed using the books.

‘I liked the writing in the boxes’.

‘I liked the size of them’.

‘I liked the stories’.

Some of the pupils had been apprehensive initially when introduced to the new reading material but they soon enjoyed using them. They continued to talk about the information they had learnt whilst reading the books when they were in class. The pupils liked the use of repetition in the books and felt that they were progressing with their reading. One of the pupils had previously not wanted to read but the teaching assistant who was reading the Rapid books with him said, ‘he wants to read this and he wants to read it to the end’.

One teaching assistant had mentioned that the pupils had felt confident using the books especially because they found finishing a book a manageable task.

One of the pupils had read the book on rats and had extended her knowledge in this area. She then shared what she has learnt with some of her classmates. Another pupil had enjoyed reading the books about the Yeti and liked talking about what he had learnt. Reading the books had often led to further discussion, ‘the pupils must have been discussing the books with each other which is really good because these children find it hard’.

Pupils were motivated to read the books, ‘one child would not read and guess words but wants to read these’.

It was felt that the books could also be used more generally by other pupils in the school.

Overall

The teaching assistants and pupils enjoyed using the books. One teaching assistant said she would like to see the books being used in school. The Quiz and Before Reading pages were felt to be particularly helpful and the way the books were presented was also liked. Many of the pupils had continued to talk about the reading books outside their reading sessions. The books were felt to be a ‘really nice way of doing reading’.