When should child learn to read

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

Some kids just “get” how to read, while others struggle for years. When should parents worry?

Photo: Tony Lanz

Jenna Levinson* was reading fluently by the age of four.

“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.

9 best educational websites for kids (that are actually fun, too!)

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

Read more:
15 creative ways to get kids reading (that really work!)
Essential tips for teaching kids to read

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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

methods of teaching reading to the first grade

When to teach a child to read

There are early development studios where children are taught to read from the first years of life. However, pediatricians do not recommend rushing and advise starting learning to read no earlier than 4 years old, best of all - at 5–6. By this age, most children already distinguish sounds well, can correctly compose sentences and pronounce words. Therefore, most often parents think about how to teach their child to read, already on the eve of school. nine0005 Source: unsplash.com / @jonathanborba
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How to know if your child is ready to learn to read

Before you start teaching your child to read, you need to make sure that the child is ready and wants to learn. To do this, try to answer the following questions:

• Does the child know the concepts of “right-left”, “big-small”, “inside-outside”?
• Can he generalize objects according to these characteristics?
• Can he distinguish between similar and dissimilar forms?
• Is he able to remember and execute at least three instructions? nine0013
• Does he form phrases correctly?
• Does he pronounce words clearly?
• Can he retell a story he heard or experienced?
• Can he formulate his feelings and impressions?
• Can you predict the ending of a simple story?
• Does he manage to participate in the dialogue?
• Can he listen without interrupting?
• Can he rhyme words?
• Do the letters attract his attention?
• Does the child have a desire to independently look at the book? nine0013
• Does he like being read aloud to him?
  

If you answered “yes” to these questions, your child is ready and will soon learn to read correctly.

Methods for teaching reading

Most of the methods involve learning while playing, so that the child is not bored and learns knowledge better.

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Zaitsev's Cubes

For more than twenty years, these cubes have been introducing children to letters and teaching how to form words and syllables. They allow you to understand how vowels and consonants, deaf and voiced sounds differ. There are 52 cubes in total, each of which depicts warehouses (combinations of a consonant and a vowel). The cubes vary in color and size, the large ones depict hard warehouses, while the small ones are soft. During classes, parents are encouraged to pronounce or sing warehouses so that the child remembers them better. nine0005 K Zaitsev's ubiki
Source: moya-lyalyas.ru
‍

Vyacheslav Voskobovich's "towers" and "folds"

windows. You can put cubes in them to make syllables. And from several towers you can make a word.

catalog-chess. ru

Skladushki is a book with pictures, educational rhymes and songs. Parents sing them and in parallel show the warehouses in the pictures. The author of the methodology claims that a child of six years old can be taught to read in a month using "folds". nine0005 ‍ A page from V. Voskobovich's "folds"
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Doman's cards

This method of teaching a child to read is based on memorizing whole words, from simple to more complex. First, the child masters the first 15 cards, which the parent shows him for 1-2 seconds and pronounces the words on them. Then the child tries to memorize phrases. This technique helps not only to learn more words, but also develops memory well in general.

Maria Montessori's method of teaching reading

The essence of the Montessori method is that the child is first asked to feel the writing of a letter, and then pronounce it. For this, didactic materials are used - cardboard plates with pasted letters, the outline of which the child traces with his finger, naming the sound. After studying consonants and vowels, you can move on to words and phrases. The Montessori method not only helps to learn to read, but also develops fine motor skills, logic, and the ability to analyze. nine0005 ‍ Montessori cards are easy to make yourself.
Source: hendmeid.guru
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Olga Soboleva's technique

The author of this technique believes that you need to start learning not from the abstract alphabet, but immediately in practice - by analyzing simple texts. The Soboleva program allows you to teach a child to read from the age of five - at this age, children are already able to keep their attention on a line of text. Different approaches are offered depending on how it is easier for a child to perceive the world - by eye, by ear or by touch. In addition to reading skills, the technique develops interest in creativity, imagination, attention and memory. nine0005 Source: freepik.com / @gpointstudio
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How to teach a child to read by syllables

Teaching a child to read by syllables should be done in stages. First, explain to him that sounds are vowels and consonants, deaf and voiced. Say them with the child - he must understand how they differ. Letters and sounds can be learned while walking: draw your child's attention to the letters on signs and announcements, and soon he will learn to recognize them.

When the child has mastered the letters and sounds, start teaching him to read simple words - "mom", "dad". Then move on to more complex ones - “grandmother”, “dog”, “apartment”. Show your child that syllables can be sung. nine0005 ‍ Syllabary for learning to read
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Next, move on to word formation. You can cut cards with syllables and invite the child to make words out of them. When he gets comfortable, move on to reading short texts. It is better to start with two or three phrases, and a little later switch to texts of five to ten sentences.

To enroll in Foxford Online Elementary School, a child must have at least basic reading, numeracy and writing skills. To check the readiness of the child for school, we offer to pass a small test that does not require special preparation. nine0005 Source: freepik.com
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Exercises for learning to read

There are many exercises on the Internet that help children learn to read, you can print them out and start learning right away. Start with exercises that teach you to recognize letters and tell correct spellings from incorrect spellings.

When the child gets used to the letters, move on to the exercises for syllables. For example, like this:

Such exercises not only teach reading, but also develop logical thinking well:

Gradually move on to exercises where you need not only to read correctly, but also write words:

One of the most difficult and entertaining exercises is fillords: you need to find and cross out the words on the field of letters.

Games for learning to read

With the help of cubes or cards with letters and syllables, you can play different educational games with your child. Let's take a few examples.

Garages

Take a word of 3-4 syllables and place the cards in random order on the floor. Explain to the child how these syllables are read. These will be garages. Give the child different toys and offer to send them to the garage as you wish: for example, the car goes to the TA garage, the bear goes to the RA garage, the ball rolls to the KE garage, and so on. Make sure your child is positioning the toys correctly. At the end of the game, invite the child to make a word from garage syllables. Perhaps not the first time, but he will get a "ROCKET". Gradually introduce new syllables into the game. nine0005

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Store

Lay out images of various goods on the table - this is a store, and you are a seller. Give your child a stack of cards with syllables - they will function as money. The child needs to buy all the items in the store, but each item is only sold for the syllable it starts with. For example, fish can only be bought for the syllable "RY", milk - for the syllable "MO", and so on. Give your child a few extra cards to make the task more difficult. When he gets used to it, change the conditions of the game: for example, sell goods not for the first, but for the last syllables. The game is both simple and complex: it will allow the child to understand that words are not always spelled the way they are pronounced. After all, a cow cannot be bought for the syllable "KA", for example. nine0005

Lotto

Game for several people. Give the children several cards with syllables. Take out the cubes with syllables one by one from the box and announce them. Whoever has a card with such a syllable - he takes it. The first person to complete all the cards wins. During the game, children will accurately remember the syllables that they had on their hands.

Summary

Finally, a few more tips on how to teach a child to read:

• It is better to start teaching children to read by memorizing letters. It is important that the child can recognize and name them without hesitation. nine0013
• In the early stages, pronounce the consonants as they are read in words: not [em], [el], [de], but [m], [l], [d] - this way it will be easier for the child to find his bearings.
• Sculpt letters from plasticine, draw and color, buy an alphabet with voice acting - use all the channels of the child's perception.
• Gradually build letters into syllables and then into words. Play rearranging letters and syllables, let the child experiment.
• Teach your child rhymes about the letters of the alphabet, look at the primer, use cards with letters and pictures. Thanks to the illustrations, the child will be able to memorize the symbols faster. nine0013
• Distribute the load: fifteen minutes a day is better than an hour twice a week. Alternate entertaining and serious tasks.
• You can hang signs with their names on objects in the child's room - the child will quickly learn to recognize them in texts.
• Read aloud regularly to your child and gradually introduce them to independent reading. Every evening, offer to read at least a few lines from a well-known book on your own.
• Lead by example. For a child to want to learn to read, he must regularly see you with a book. nine0013

We hope that our recommendations will help you teach your preschooler to read. Even if your child is just learning to read, at Foxford Elementary School he will be able to improve his skills.

At what age should a child be able to read

04/01/2021

The ability to read is one of the basic social skills of a person. Without it, it is impossible to receive and transmit information, therefore this skill should be developed in every person. Modern parents strive to teach their child to read as early as possible, so that by the time they start learning, they already have some knowledge base. So when should a child start doing this? nine0005

Content:

• When we start
• Learning Too Early - Why It's Harmful
• What the experts say
• Is it possible to instill a love of reading
• Choosing a teaching method
• Are there any downsides to learning to read at home
• Some important details

When we start

Experts do not have a common opinion about teaching children to read early, and neither do parents. Someone thinks that a child should get basic reading skills even before entering school: this will make it easier to adapt to the educational process. Others are sure that a teacher in the 1st grade should teach a child to read, since an unnecessarily early start to school is harmful for children: let them enjoy their childhood for now. nine0005

Learning too early - why it is harmful

The development of a child's cognitive abilities follows certain patterns, certain stages, it is undesirable to change or accelerate it, and often it is completely impossible. Until the age of five, children think figuratively - in pictures, and it is difficult for them to perceive information in the form of letters, numbers or other signs. And even having understood the general principle of reading, little students read, but they cannot understand the essence of what is written.

Learning to read early can lead to health problems:

• excessive brain tension;
• unusual blood flow to the cerebral hemispheres;
• visual strain.

Intensive classes can unbalance the development of different types of thinking in a child: the emphasis will be placed on the logical, and the figurative will be “abandoned”. Yes, the child will become better at remembering, speaking, analyzing, thinking logically, but the development of the right hemisphere will be slowed down, and it is responsible for no less important dreams, emotions, understanding of music and color. The emotional development of the baby will be somewhat retarded, and at an older age this may respond with serious problems in the form of:

• lack of ability to empathize with others;
• difficulties with the correct understanding of their emotions;
• inability to identify one's strengths and weaknesses;
• difficulties with understanding one's own and social values;
• isolation and uncertainty.

It is known that many geeks are developed from early childhood, but most often, growing up, they do not have happiness and are poorly adapted to the realities of the world around them. Therefore, it is more important to raise a socially adapted person from a child than to teach him to read too early. nine0005

What the experts say

Psychologists, psychophysiologists and other experts recommend starting to teach a preschooler to read not earlier than he is 5 years old, but at the same time he must be ready to learn. They say about it:

A healthy five-year-old child usually has all of these skills. And at this age it is time to get acquainted with letters and sounds, then by the time of admission to grade 1, the child will master reading at a sufficient level.

Is it possible to instill a love for reading

It is not enough to teach a child to read - he still needs to instill a love for this occupation. View your favorite books and read them, study the illustrations, get acquainted with the adventures of the characters. It is important that older family members show the child that reading is an amazing learning opportunity, and not a hateful duty. It will be useful if the child saw people with books in his close circle, then, imitating them, he himself will want to plunge into the world of literature. nine0005

The first reading lessons should be conducted in the format of a game: in this way the material will be absorbed by the child easier and better, the child will not have time to lose concentration during the lesson, and avoid stressful experiences.

Choosing a teaching method

Today there are many methods to teach a child to read, it is important to choose the one that suits your child.

Perhaps the most popular method is classes in the classical alphabet (the alphabet itself can be developed by any author). The kid quickly remembers the letter, as it will now be associated with a certain picture. Later, you can move on to another well-known book - the primer and study reading by syllables from it. nine0005

Many techniques are based on the use of cubes or tablets. They are convenient and interesting, but are often criticized by school teachers. It is believed that such training misses a very important component - basic familiarity with the alphabet.

The most famous of these methods are:

• Zaitsev's cubes - the emphasis is on making syllables from individual letters and words from syllables, understanding vowels, unvoiced and voiced, hard and soft consonants.
nine0012 Chaplygin cubes - training not only allows you to compose syllables and words, but also develops fine motor skills, and this will have a beneficial effect on the overall development of the child;
• Glen Doman cards - learning is based on the use of visual memory: syllables and words are printed on cards, and the child remembers their spelling;
• "Skladushki" by Voskobovich - 21 cards with syllables, from which you can build houses with whole words.

The Montessori method is another well-known teaching option. Toddlers first master the letter, then move on to getting to know the letters, and then learn to read the syllables. nine0005

Are there any downsides to learning to read at home? In addition, at home, parents usually miss such an important part of the lesson as the sound analysis of the word, and the child may also have difficulty breaking down words into syllables. It is not easy to correct this mistake later, therefore it is better to immediately entrust a professional teacher to teach the child to read and write. It can be either a private tutor or a teacher of preparatory courses before the first grade - such classes are held today in literally every school. nine0005

A few important details

If you decide to teach your child to read at home, it is important to follow a few rules. All studies should be built on the principle “From simple to complex”, that is, you first need to learn letters and sounds, then you can start to compose them into syllables and only then move on to whole words.

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