Age to read

Reading Milestones (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth

Reviewed by: Cynthia M. Zettler-Greeley, PhD

Nemours BrightStart!

en español Hitos en la lectura

This is a general outline of the milestones on the road to reading success. Keep in mind that kids develop at different paces and spend varying amounts of time at each stage. If you have concerns, talk to your child's doctor, teacher, or the reading specialist at school. Getting help early is key for helping kids who struggle to read.

Parents and teachers can find resources for children as early as pre-kindergarten. Quality childcare centers, pre-kindergarten programs, and homes full of language and book reading can build an environment for reading milestones to happen.

Infancy (Up to Age 1)

Kids usually begin to:

• learn that gestures and sounds communicate meaning
• respond when spoken to
• direct their attention to a person or object
• understand 50 words or more
• reach for books and turn the pages with help
• respond to stories and pictures by vocalizing and patting the pictures

Toddlers (Ages 1–3)

Kids usually begin to:

• answer questions about and identify objects in books — such as "Where's the cow?" or "What does the cow say?"
• name familiar pictures
• use pointing to identify named objects
• pretend to read books
• finish sentences in books they know well
• scribble on paper
• know names of books and identify them by the picture on the cover
• turn pages of board books
• have a favorite book and request it to be read often

Early Preschool (Age 3)

Kids usually begin to:

• explore books independently
• listen to longer books that are read aloud
• retell a familiar story
• sing the alphabet song with prompting and cues
• make symbols that resemble writing
• recognize the first letter in their name
• learn that writing is different from drawing a picture
• imitate the action of reading a book aloud

Late Preschool (Age 4)

Kids usually begin to:

• recognize familiar signs and labels, especially on signs and containers
• recognize words that rhyme
• name some of the letters of the alphabet (a good goal to strive for is 15–18 uppercase letters)
• recognize the letters in their names
• write their names
• name beginning letters or sounds of words
• match some letters to their sounds
• develop awareness of syllables
• use familiar letters to try writing words
• understand that print is read from left to right, top to bottom
• retell stories that have been read to them

Kindergarten (Age 5)

Kids usually begin to:

• produce words that rhyme
• match some spoken and written words
• write some letters, numbers, and words
• recognize some familiar words in print
• predict what will happen next in a story
• identify initial, final, and medial (middle) sounds in short words
• identify and manipulate increasingly smaller sounds in speech
• understand concrete definitions of some words
• read simple words in isolation (the word with definition) and in context (using the word in a sentence)
• retell the main idea, identify details (who, what, when, where, why, how), and arrange story events in sequence

First and Second Grade (Ages 6–7)

Kids usually begin to:

• read familiar stories
• "sound out" or decode unfamiliar words
• use pictures and context to figure out unfamiliar words
• use some common punctuation and capitalization in writing
• self-correct when they make a mistake while reading aloud
• show comprehension of a story through drawings
• write by organizing details into a logical sequence with a beginning, middle, and end

Second and Third Grade (Ages 7–8)

Kids usually begin to:

• read longer books independently
• read aloud with proper emphasis and expression
• use context and pictures to help identify unfamiliar words
• understand the concept of paragraphs and begin to apply it in writing
• correctly use punctuation
• correctly spell many words
• write notes, like phone messages and email
• understand humor in text
• use new words, phrases, or figures of speech that they've heard
• revise their own writing to create and illustrate stories

Fourth Through Eighth Grade (Ages 9–13)

Kids usually begin to:

• explore and understand different kinds of texts, like biographies, poetry, and fiction
• understand and explore expository, narrative, and persuasive text
• read to extract specific information, such as from a science book
• understand relations between objects
• identify parts of speech and devices like similes and metaphors
• correctly identify major elements of stories, like time, place, plot, problem, and resolution
• read and write on a specific topic for fun, and understand what style is needed
• analyze texts for meaning

Reviewed by: Cynthia M. Zettler-Greeley, PhD

Date reviewed: May 2022

Learning to read: What age is the "right" age?

Photo: Tony Lanz

“I remember I was wearing an Earth Day T-shirt with a picture of a globe on it,” recalls her mom, Stephanie. “And she said to me, ‘Why does your shirt say, “Love your mother?”’ I was pretty surprised. We hadn’t ever tried to teach her to read.”

Jenna’s younger sister, Sadie, has taken a decidedly different route toward literacy. Well into second grade, the seven-year-old “is just starting to be able to read a simple book out loud to me,” says Levinson, who lives in Winnipeg. “She’s progressing, but she still guesses a lot, struggles with vowel sounds, mixes up her Ds and Bs—things like that.”

Levinson says she’s read constantly to both kids since babyhood. “Jenna would listen to as many books as you wanted to read to her, and Sadie would grab the book and throw it across the room. ” Watching her daughters’ radically different approaches to literacy has left her, like many parents, wondering if there’s something innate that helps some kids pick up the ability to read easily and if there’s a “right” age to learn how to read.

Experts say no. “The brain isn’t naturally hard-wired to read in the way that it’s wired to speak or listen,” explains Bev Brenna, an education professor at the University of Saskatchewan who specializes in literacy education. There simply isn’t one age where kids can or should be reading—despite the deeply ingrained North American ideal that children learn to read in first grade, around age six. 

“There’s actually no evidence to support that belief,” says Carol Leroy, director of the Reading and Language Centre at the University of Alberta. Attaining literacy is, rather, a very gradual process. It begins with infants playing with or even chewing on board books and being read to by parents or caregivers, and continues through to independent reading. While some kids, like Jenna, seem to pick it up on their own, most need to be taught how to make sense of those squiggles on the page. And some kids take longer than others to do so.

Home-schooler Sue Holloway, for example, tried to teach her older son, Walker, when he was seven. “I got a ‘learning to read’ book, and he hated it. We fought about it a lot, and I finally just let it go,” says Holloway, who lives in South Gillies, Ont. Two years later, Walker began reading independently. “I have no idea how he figured it out, but he did, and now he really loves to read and does so every night.” Holloway’s younger son, Rowan, is still trying to get the hang of reading at the age of eight. But home-schooling gives them the luxury of being able to learn at their own pace. And Holloway says she often hears of home-schooled kids learning to read at about age nine—and going on to complete high school and attend university without any negative effects. 

For kids who attend school, the stakes are different. Even if there’s no biologically correct age to read, students who aren’t reading according to a school’s timetable can fall behind and experience distress as a result. If the gap between slower readers and their peers isn’t identified and dealt with early on, it can widen over time and lead to other issues.

“Kids who aren’t reading can’t participate, because they don’t understand the basic mechanics and, therefore, can’t understand what the other children are doing,” says Leroy. And if you don’t understand the basics, you can’t point out the last word of the sentence when asked or circle all the words that start with S. In gym class, a slow reader may struggle to figure out which sign to line up behind if he wants to play soccer or skip. “Around grade two or three, they start to become really conscious of their reading—they can lose their confidence, stop taking risks, become afraid of being teased,” says Leroy. “That’s where we start to get behaviour issues; some kids will withdraw or stir up trouble to avoid reading, because it’s so painful for them. ”

The effects can last well beyond grade school, says Chicago literacy expert Timothy Shanahan, author of the blog Shanahan on Literacy. A British study released in 2013, for example, showed that children’s literacy and math levels at age seven were predictive of their overall earnings at the age of 42. 

Fortunately, says Brenna, today’s teachers are trained to recognize and accommodate the needs of kids at all levels, so everyone can learn. They might use strategies like choral reading—where all the kids in the class read out loud together—or reading back stories they’ve dictated to the teacher. 

Any classroom will typically contain students with a wide range of reading levels, says Leroy. The rule of thumb, she says, is to double the grade to get the range. “So in third grade, there could be six years’ difference between the lowest and the highest level of readers in the class. Similarly, in a first-grade classroom, there’s bound to be at least one kid without any reading skills and at least one kid who’s reading independently. ”

So what’s a parent of a late reader to do? Be vigilant, but don’t panic, say all three experts. If you think your child is struggling with reading or isn’t getting the help he or she needs, says Shanahan, the first step is to talk to the teacher—don’t hesitate to bring up the subject and brainstorm strategies for supporting reading. If you’re still concerned after meeting with the teacher, says Brenna, ask for a referral to another member of the school’s or the board’s team, such as a special education teacher or speech-language pathologist. “A team approach is often very helpful in developing an action plan for literacy, and most students respond well to additional supports at the school level,” says Brenna. Your child’s doctor, as well as speech-language pathologists and educational psychologists, can also help to create a support plan.

Above all, say the experts, don’t push, because it will turn reading into a power struggle. “The biggest priority has to be how the child feels about reading,” says Leroy. “So entice kids by making it fun.” And be reassured by the fact that many kids who are slow to pick it up become lifelong book lovers.

If your child isn’t reading at grade level by the end of grade three, Leroy says you should investigate whether she is struggling with other subjects, create a plan with the teacher and discuss having a thorough assessment. In some cases, the delay may be caused by an underlying condition. 

“I kept hearing, ‘She’s going at her own pace,’ or ‘She’s behind, but I’m not worried yet,’” recalls Toronto mom Jessica Miller* about her daughter Sabrina’s lagging reading skills in first and second grade. When Sabrina’s school didn’t take action by the end of grade two, Miller and her husband paid to have Sabrina tested privately—and found out that she is dyslexic. Miller’s first grader, Gavin, isn’t showing any signs of delayed reading, but she’s adamant that she will have him tested at the first sign of any trouble: “I’m not falling for, ‘He’s in the range. ’”

Levinson, meanwhile, is doing whatever she can to make reading enjoyable for Sadie. “She loves making up stories and dictating them to me, and will happily read those out loud,” she says. “We get library books on whatever she’s interested in—mummies, wizards, jewellery making. We’ve done treasure hunts at the grocery store and word searches. I have literally done reading time with her sitting on my shoulders.”

That’s the right approach, says Leroy. “If a kid wants to stand on his head while he reads—if he wants you to stand on your head while he reads—do it. With children this age, we forget how much they’re in control of their own learning already.” 

Online resources:

ABRACADABRA is a free language and reading program developed at Concordia University in Montreal. Kids can use the “light” version, which contains activities for teaching  comprehension and fluency. abralite.concordia.ca

Sask­atchewan Reads, created by Saskatchewan’s provincial reading team, is a user-friendly site with strategies and resources for teaching primary students to read.  saskatchewanreads.wordpress.com

This article was originally published on May 07, 2016

When to start reading books to your child

August 27, 2020

So when, when should you start reading books to your child? With all due respect to psychologists, it is hardly worth attacking a newborn baby with a book. That does not negate the need and benefit of communication. Talk to the child so that the child will speak to you as soon as possible, tell poems and fairy tales, sing songs. But let's be honest, how many of them do you remember? Poems and fairy tales?

If you are a storehouse of folk wisdom, then, of course, you can do without a book for now. Otherwise, books will be a great help to you. Fairy tales, poems, fables, stories, counting rhymes, nursery rhymes - there is everything in the books. Children are very receptive to rhyme, poetry will appeal to almost any kid. But you can even read novels to him, children not only like to hear the voice of loved ones, loving people, they need it.

Intending to make a child friends with a book seriously, you should take into account both the general stages of development of children and the individual characteristics of your baby. To help you figure out at what age to start reading books, we offer a small cheat sheet by age.

Age 3 - 6 months

The baby begins to crawl, study objects, babble. Read to him or tell him, that is the question? Tell me! At this stage, the best book for him is you. Tell what you remember by heart, fairy tales familiar from childhood, favorite poems. Learn new ones: nursery rhymes, songs, boring tales (a hit for all time is a fairy tale about a white bull, but there are actually a lot of them).

Children love repetition (you will have time to make sure of this). And, for the future, if the baby asks, do not refuse to read the tale of the chicken Ryaba for the five hundredth time, do not be angry with him. Repetitions help children learn not only new words, but also speech turns, phrase construction.

You can read a book before going to bed, and during the day tell: while you are going for a walk, play with your little one, dress or bathe him. He will respond, answer you (even if for now only boo-boo and ha-ha), and you address him by name. It is a good idea to insert the name of your baby, on occasion, into rhymes (for example, the gate creaks and creaks, and our Petya / Olya sleeps and sleeps).

As for the interaction with the book, then, let's be honest: at this age, children most of all like to nibble on them. Therefore, it is better to buy a rattle or a teether for a baby, but for yourself - a good collection of baby rhymes, it will come in handy for you.

Age 6 – 9 months

The kid takes the first steps, plays with other children, actively interacts with objects, repeats syllables and simple words after adults. It's time to introduce him to the book! But we must understand that at first the book will be more of a toy. There is no need to be afraid of this, it is useful and correct.

You will still have time to introduce your child to the masterpieces of world literature, and now you are starting to teach him to use a book as you teach him to use a spoon or other everyday item. While playing, children learn the simplest actions - turn pages, understand where to look, where the beginning and where the end of the book is.

• ⚫ soft sensory books,
• ⚫ bathing books,
• ⚫ transformers with moving valves,
• ⚫ folding pictures.

Looking at illustrations, repeating words after you, touching textured inserts, your baby develops fine motor skills, coordination, sensory abilities and communication skills. And, of course, learns to love the book, because it brings so much joy!

Age 9 – 12 months

This age can be described in two words - all by yourself! The kid tries to walk without support, sit, eat on his own, pronounce the first words, initiate communication with his parents, listen with pleasure as his mother (or father) reads to him, examines the pictures. It is with looking at the pictures that the meaningful interaction of the child with the book begins. The book is not just an object, but a source of information about the real world and the world of imagination, and he learns to discover these worlds for himself.

Sit with your baby in an embrace so that it is convenient for you to hold and read a book, and for him to watch. Pictures are better to choose bright, but as simple as possible, with the image of one or two characters or objects. Colorfully designed fairy tales, illustrated dictionaries of the first words will do. Parents will also have to try: memorized rhymes are no longer enough, it's time to improvise. Choose a book with illustrations, according to which you yourself can tell a story, for a start it’s quite simple - who is shown in the picture? What are you wearing? What is he doing? What does he say?

Be ready to read expressively, in faces, depicting characters, croak and meow, squeak and growl - this will help the baby to distinguish and better remember the characters, and, of course, he will like it! Try it, you will like it too. Sometimes it is also useful for serious, adult people to fool around. But, of course, for reading before bed, it is better to choose something rhythmic, read or hum in a calm manner.

Age from one to two

By the age of one and a half, a kid usually already utters short phrases, dances, sings along, begins to draw (goodbye, wallpaper!), Recognizes images in pictures, understands a short story or a fairy tale. Pictures are still very important, they help very young children build a plot sequence for themselves, but this is the beginning of real, real reading. Sit your child on your lap (so it will be easier for him to concentrate), and start reading!

When rereading your favorite fairy tale, pause so that the baby can finish the phrase, insert a familiar word, but if it doesn’t work out yet, it doesn’t matter - tell me, offer to repeat after you. The same with pictures. Ask who is pictured, what they are doing, or ask them to show you where a certain character is drawn.

This is an important stage of development, your little listener slowly becomes an interlocutor. But, if it is difficult for him to sit still, do not force him. At this age, children have a lot to do: they learn new movements, learn to jump, like to sculpt, assemble a designer (by the way, the development of fine motor skills is directly related to the development of speech).

From the age of one, children begin to form their own taste. Perhaps your child just doesn't like a certain book. In this case, give him the opportunity to choose for himself (for this, a shelf with children's books should be in a place accessible to the child).

Two to three years of age

The child independently performs the main actions, actively communicates with adults, with other children, he develops self-esteem (most often he evaluates himself as “good” - and you can’t argue!), He not only listens with pleasure to poems, fairy tales, stories, but already and tells himself.

Teremok, Gingerbread Man, Chicken Ryaba - a great choice for this age. You can also start reading children's encyclopedias, stories about animals, long poems. Showing the baby pictures, ask them to tell what is drawn there, this contributes to the development of speech and imagination. Discuss the heroes of the fairy tale, their actions (for example, where did the Bear go, is he good or bad). And, if you are not reading a fairy tale for the first time, offer to continue it from some point to train memory and attention.

But these are all pretty general guidelines. We hope that they will be useful, but you should not take them as an unconditional guide to action. You need to focus solely on the abilities and needs of your child. It happens that even at three months, a baby listens to fairy tales with bated breath, but if your one-year-old is still trying to nibble on a book and likes to play patties more, do not force him to sit and listen. Everything has its turn. There is no need to turn reading together into a heavy duty, either for yourself or for the child. Your little one has a long road of knowledge ahead, let him walk it with joy. Even the stern samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo, in his treatise Hidden in the Leaves, strongly recommended not to punish children under four years old - so that the baby, not knowing fear, would grow up inquisitive and courageous.

Where to start reading?

Little white fish.

A series of books by Belgian author Guido Van Genechten about the adventures of a small white fish and its friends: red crab, blue whale, green turtle and many others. The illustrations are bright, colorful characters are easier to recognize and remember. The paper is thick enough not to tear or wrinkle, so the books are suitable for younger children as well. Simple but captivating stories are sure to please both your baby and you.

Bunny Styopa and a pot.

An excellent series of educational help books from Andrian Hayman. The illustrations are large and colorful, the book is in a convenient format, on thick cardboard. The text will help to explain to the child in a fun and intelligible way how to dress, use the potty, go to the doctor. The books in the series will also be useful for older children, and kids who are still too early to potty will surely love pictures with the cutest bunny Styopa.

Crocodile, I have to go - I'm leaving in the morning!

A funny book in verse by Sally Hopgood about a sluggish baby turtle who decides to leave the zoo, but first to say goodbye to all his friends. Wonderful illustrations that will introduce your baby to animals: there is a crocodile, and an antelope, and a snail, and a cat. The lyrics are simple, funny and easy to memorize. The cover is soft, the paper is coated. The book will be interesting even for the smallest, but, unfortunately, the pages are easy to tear.

What books and at what age should children read?

AstraCult recommends

As a "cultured mother", I dare to say that it is worth having children if only for the sake of re-reading old and good books! Well, and selflessly play toys, of course, and not look strange at the same time 🙂

In our section, we have already told you at what age it is desirable to watch a particular performance in Astrakhan. Let's talk about books today.

Here is our subjective reading list that will appeal to children of all ages.

But first, let us remind you that there is a wonderful regional children's library in Astrakhan, opposite the square. Here, reading turns into real magic, and library projects go far beyond the book into the world of theater, interactive games and good mood.

When to start reading books is a subjective matter. Someone reads books to the baby even before the moment when he was born (while he is in his mother’s stomach), someone begins to acquaint the baby with literature at the age of one, someone after two, when the child listens more consciously and can already memorize verses. Each of these options has the right to life.

Authors of the edition “My first book. Favorite” already in the subheading indicated the recommended age - “From 6 months to 3 years”. At six months, the child, of course, will have little interest in this encyclopedia, but the very fact of communicating with adults will benefit him, and understandable pictures with names will help him master speech and quietly create and expand vocabulary.

What is this book? Enumeration of the main phenomena and objects of our life: family, my day, seasons, time of day, colors, shapes, transport, clothes, toys, animals and much more. And, let's say from our own experience, even after three years, already knowing this book by heart, kids really continue to love it.

We won’t even talk about “Gingerbread Man”, “Turnip”, “Ryaba Hen” and other folk tales, we just advise - this is a classic that trains memory and is understandable to all children.

A bright plot, musicality, catchy images and good humor - these are the ingredients that create books that will become children's favorites. Here, of course, are “Tales” by Korney Chukovsky, “All Tales for Kids” by Samuil Marshak, “Fairy Tales in Pictures” by the writer, illustrator and cartoonist Vladimir Suteev, “The Best Poems” by Agnia Barto - in a word, books for all time, on which more than one generation grew up. Here, without reference to age, we will mention the book by Eduard Uspensky "Gena the Crocodile and His Friends" and the amazing Andrey Usachev - for example, his poems or the collection "Smart Dog Sonya and All-All-All".

Contemporary foreign authors also deserve attention. For example, real bestsellers among kids: books by the English writer Julia Donaldson, created in collaboration with illustrator Axel Scheffler - poetic stories about the terrible and kind monster "Gruffalo" and the sequel - "The Gruffalo's Daughter", the charming and resourceful dragon "Zog" and a story about good and mutual assistance "Snail and Whale".

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a book for all times and all ages. It seems to us that it is possible to acquaint children with it from the earliest years, but you can find something new in this fairy tale story all your life.

This is not a fiction book, but it must be on the shelves of all children - "What to do if ..." Famous psychologist Lyudmila Petranovskaya will tell you in a fascinating way and in simple words how to deal with difficult situations that everyone faces: what to do if the doorbell rings and you are alone at home; how to react if you are teased or if no one is friends with you; what to do if you are afraid of the dark, etc.

Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences have published their list of recommended literature for schoolchildren. In it - "Robinson Crusoe", "Alice Through the Looking Glass", "White Bim, Black Ear", Strugatsky and Jules Verne. The indication of age is at the discretion of the parents, of course. The full list can be found here.

Depending on the child's age, you can choose educational books and manuals from Olga Zemtsova's "Smart Books" series, "School of the Seven Dwarfs", "Kumon" workbooks or simply reusable stickers that develop perseverance and motor skills.

Finally, good old books for children of all ages and nostalgic adults

And for the sweetest thing — Rech publishing house publishes the best Soviet books in the series “Mom’s Favorite Book”: Russian folk tales, Pushkin’s fairy tales, “Letter” You” by Leonid Panteleev, “The Whale and the Cat” by Boris Zakhoder, “An Evening Tale” by Irina Tokmakova and much, much more.

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