Book Bands Complements guided reading practice in school Ensures children reading at appropriate level Recommended by the Institute of Education

How it works Universal banding scheme used by a variety of publishers Several involve Institute of Education at development stages Ensures children reading at an ‘instructional level’

Easy, Instructional, Challenging Easy – child able to read and comprehend text with 95% accuracy Instructional – child able to read and comprehend with 90% accuracy Challenging – beyond the current ability of the child

Instructional level Challenge is not so great that the child loses control Not so easy that there are few learning opportunities

Book bands Pink Foundation Stage Red Foundation Stage Yellow NC Level 1 Blue NC Level 1 Green NC Level 1 Orange NC Level 1 Turquoise Working towards NC Level 2 Purple NC Level 2C Gold NC Level 2B White NC Level 2A Working towards Level 3 Lime NC Level 3C

Pink Band Locate title Understand left page comes before right Point at words one to one Recognise a few known words Read a simple ‘cvc’ word

Red Band Read simple ‘cvc’ words Ask: “Does it make sense?” Read more rhythmically

Yellow Band Follow print, finger pointing only at areas of difficulty Use punctuation, note familiar words, use phonics knowledge to read unfamiliar words Predict what will happen next

Blue Band Self-correct more rapidly on-the-run Read longer words by separating the syllables eg ‘inside’ Discuss the text, showing understanding

Green Band Read fluently with attention to punctuation Discuss character and plot more fully Use contents page and glossary in non-fiction book

Orange Band Read longer phrases and more complex sentences Blend phonemes in unfamiliar words Infer meaning from the text

Turquoise Band Read with expression Tackle more complex words using known vocabulary, phonic knowledge and syllables Begin to use dictionaries

Purple Band Read silently at more rapid pace Solve unfamiliar words on-the-run Take notice of language used by authors

Gold Band Tackle variety of texts with confidence Comment on literary effect used by writers Locate and interpret information in non-fiction

White Band Read silently most of the time Sustain interest in longer text, returning to it easily after a break Express opinions and compare texts

Lime Band Make use of blurbs, chapter headings, glossaries and indexes Investigate and identify different styles including plays, poetry, narrative and explanatory texts