Book Banding is a popular way of organising children’s reading books. It’s a system that allows schools to choose books from a range of reading programmes and know that they are of the same level of difficulty.

A popular reading scheme in schools for a long time we know, but we are big fans of the Collins Big Cat range. For breadth of range, scheme design, and the look and feel of the books in your hands, we think it is hard to beat them. The range is exciting, features top authors, different text types and a wide variety of subjects and styles. We offer a variety of Big Cat schemes. Big Cat books for Key Stage 1& Key Stage 2 Step 2: Let them decide if it’s at the appropriate level using the five finger test. The Five Finger Test The system ensures teachers and parents can be confident that children are reading books matched to their current reading ability. Furthermore, the system means that children can develop independent reading habits by choosing suitable books based on their interests and preferences, which helps to foster enjoyment and a love of reading.

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A challenging read, may need some help from a parent or a dictionary. Will probably require a second read through to fully understand it. Collins Big Cat Phonics - Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised | Big Cat for Little Wandle Fluency Sets The most important aspect of learning how to read is enjoyment. Read wide and read every day. Continue to select books based on interest level, fill your bookshelves with the classics and encourage children to read absolutely everything. We always have a few book banded books on the shelf, but mainly we fill the shelves with a variety of classic fiction, poetry, a wide range of factual books and educational magazines. The best rule of thumb for selecting appropriate books at home is much better than the book band system. The book band system is invaluable for schools, but it’s not a system optimized for reading at home or 1-to-1 tuition situations like homeschooling. It’s a system made for teachers and classrooms. As a parent, don’t get caught up in book bands outside of a supervisory capacity. It’s great to be able to understand the system and keep an eye out for slow or too rapid progress, or as is often the case, your child’s reading book not matching their reading level, but that’s pretty much the most use you’re going to get out of it. Brown (Year 3–5): Readers now mainly read silently and afterwards discuss what they’ve read afterwards. During discussion, they are able to find references by skimming the text to support their opinion. You may now read your book whilst they read theirs.

Children reading books from bands 1 – 7 (Pink to Turquoise) are early readers who are still developing their understanding of phonics. To reflect this, many books in these bands are written to complement phonics teaching. This means that children can apply their growing phonics knowledge when reading independently or with a teacher or parent. In preschool and much of reception, children are only able to read part of the phonetic alphabet which instantly disqualifies them from reading books outside the phonics schemes. For a year or two, life revolves around them reading their book band book daily whilst their main source of entertainment will continue to rest squarely in the act of being read to. Once they reach Lime Level, it’s a whole new ball game where book bands have much less of an impact.

Most Primary Schools in England use book bands in conjunction with synthetic phonic schemes to teach children how to read. Each book band matches their reading level as well as their level of understanding, allowing them to gain confidence and independence without ever feeling that reading is ‘too hard’. The Book Band Colour Coded System Developed in collaboration with two English Hubs, Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School and validated by the DfE. It comprises classroom resources to support the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised SSP and a range of phonic readers that together provide a consistent and highly effective approach to teaching phonics. Big Cat Progress The Reading Lions series contains 6 clear levels from First Reading to Independent Reading, allowing you to select the right books for your child Learning how to read is a hideously complicated endeavour for both children and their parents. In UK schools, reading is taught using synthetic phonics and it takes about 3–5 years (or more) to create fluent, confident readers able to enjoy books like The BFG, The Secret Seven or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. During this time, their reading books are graded by difficulty levels known as book bands. Sometimes you may find a book that has two book bands marked on the cover. These are called dual-banded books, and they have been written for children whose chronological age is higher than their ‘reading age’. These books tend to be about topics and experiences that are relevant and interesting to children in Key Stage 2, but with words and sentences that best support their current reading level. So, for example, if you found a book with a Pearl (18) and Green (5) label, it would be written for a Year 6 child reading at book band level 5.