Reading Bands at Swalecliffe School
The following is a guide to our reading bands and how you might support your child at each ‘level’. The bands are split into smaller chunks but we have given an overview below.
The questions can be used alongside these ideas.
| Pink a |
| Pink b |
The number of words in this band increases slightly as your child progresses through this level. Many of these books encourage early phonics and the use of pictures.
How to Support
Your child is beginning to learn to read. As they read, please help them to:
| Red a |
| Red b |
Red level books have a slightly increased number of words or pages with slightly more complex storylines.
This growing complexity is reinforced through the development of inference and prediction using visual literacy.
How to Support
As they read, please help them to:
| Yellow |
New learning in Yellow includes a slightly increased number of words and a move away from familiar experiences. Non-fiction builds on children’s interests and encourage discussion around the photograph.
Yellow books require some inferencing skills (e.g. for humour) and have more variation in sentence structure.
How to Support
As they read aloud, you can help them by:
| Blue |
These book have a slightly increased number of words and some variation in sentence beginnings. They may use more varied punctuation. Story lines are more complex, including more than one event, and the stories may be less dependent on picture clues.
How to Support
Your child is developing into a more confident reader. Encourage them to select books at the library or in book shops as well as these from school. As they read, encourage them to:
| Green |
Again, the number of words increases. Stories have a wider variety of characters and events which develop over a number of pages.
Sentences may include lists of actions, and adverbs are used to begin sentences.
The growing complexity in story lines is reinforced through the development of inference and prediction.
How to Support
| Orange |
Page and word count increases in this band to challenge and encourage reading stamina. There is an increased use of dialogue to encourage expression.
These books introduce some complex sentences and include italics to show emphasis. Slightly more literacy language is used. Children are increasingly encouraged to infer meaning in order to gain full enjoyment from the story.
How to Support
Your child is beginning to read with more independence. You can help them by:
| Turquoise |
These books use an increasing range of adjectives and more descriptive verbs. There is an increased proportion of space allocated to print rather than pictures.
Words have been chosen for appropriateness and impact rather than decodeability. Paragraphs begin to develop.
How to Support
You can help by:
| Purple |
These books include an increased proportion of longer sentences with more challenging vocabulary. Some have short chapters.
Purple books include longer and more complex sentences. Story features such as plot, character and setting are developed in more detail, and text in non-fiction books.
How to Support
| Gold |
Gold books include more sophisticated and challenging vocabulary, including word play and the introduction of figurative language (like simile). Some books have longer chapters for more sustained reading.
Children on this band are confident, independent readers who can tackle increasingly complex language, story structures and text layout.
How to Support
Your child is now reading longer books with fewer illustrations, so they continue to need help to ensure they are getting the full meaning and enjoyment from the text. They may prefer to read one chapter or a section at a time, rather than the whole book in one session. You can support by:
| White |
In these books, there is a more sophisticated use of narrative voice. Commas are used in longer sentences to encourage intonation. Some books have longer chapters.
Stories at this level encourage children to empathise with characters, consider why they behave as they do. Children can also think about how characters change during the course of the story. Non-fiction books are divided into sections and there is increased layout of the information.
How to Support
| Lime |
with spots | Lime (with Spots) |
Lime books include a widening range of writing styles and an increased variation in sentence structure.
Children are able to interpret more sophisticated word plays and puns. The narrator’s voice in a story may be distinguished from the characters’ voice. The story is often told through dialogue and action to ‘show’ instead of ‘tell’ as the plot develops therefore requiring more inference.
How to Support
Although your child is now taking off as a reader, it is still important that you read with them and talk about their reading. You can still help by:
NB: Lime with Spots is a ‘special’ band for the most confident readers in Year 2 whilst still being age appropriate.
| Brown |
At this level, children should be able to:
How to Support
Your child may enjoy silent reading more. This is fine as long as your child continues to read actively. You can help by:
| Grey |
Children will be able to interpret more sophisticated word-play and puns. They should be able to:
How to Support
Your child may enjoy silent reading more. This is fine as long as your child continues to read actively. You can help by:
| Dark Blue |
Children will be able to gather information from more than one place in the text and use inference based on what is ‘shown’ rather than being told. This allows for greater complexity in building character and setting.
How to Support
| Dark Red |
Children will be able to synthesise information from different places in a text. They are beginning to recognise how layers of meaning allow for the build-up of humour or tension and are able to discuss how the author achieves the effects.
How to Support
| Black |
These books are particularly challenging. Many are KS3 secondary school texts or ‘classics’. Themes and language will be much more complex.
How to Support
Essentially, children reading the ‘Grey and Above’ bands are ‘free readers’ but at our school, we still colour band our free readers according to age appropriateness and comprehension skills.