Reading in First Grade

[mjkacmom]

Some first graders can read simple books (a couple of sentences on each page). Others can read chapter books (ds's friend was reading the Harry Potter series in second). It's not until 3rd when they all seem to be on a similar level.

 

[mommytoone]

Each child is different. When my DD was in K, she did not know whoe to read, they learned in Oct. She just started reading and now going into 2nd grade is reading at a 7th grade level. Her friend who was in K with her is reading Level 4 readers. So each child is different, but if the teacher expected them to read before hand, she is crazy. Not every can read when they go into K. Now going into 1st, that is a another story they should be able to read and know sight words and sounds, and be able to read basic sentences, some more so.

 

[dreamer17555]

Each child is different. When my DD was in K, she did not know whoe to read, they learned in Oct. She just started reading and now going into 2nd grade is reading at a 7th grade level. Her friend who was in K with her is reading Level 4 readers. So each child is different, but if the teacher expected them to read before hand, she is crazy. Not every can read when they go into K. Now going into 1st, that is a another story they should be able to read and know sight words and sounds, and be able to read basic sentences, some more so.

I think the op is talking about going into 1st grade.

Reading is easier for any child to catch on to if they are read to a lot and practice reading to their family. I would just get some more Easy Reader books and reader for at least 30 mins every night.

Actually I would do 20 mins of her reading to you and then pick up a children's classic book- like Little Princess, Treasure Island, Ect and reader her a chapter or two a night. My DD loves to read but still loves being read to.

-Becca-

ETA: In NC To pass K children must be reading at a level 3-4, and have 30 specific sight words. By the end of 1st grade they must be reading at a level 15-16. My DD who reads up a storm and is currently working on the American Girl books is only testing at a level 9. I think she will do great since she is just starting but she needs to go up another 7 levels or so during the year... I feel for the parents whose children need to go up 11-12 levels in a year.

 

[Fabinva]

I'm in VA and in our school I was told that kids entering first grade must be able to read. My daughter will be a two months away from her 6th birthday when school starts and she is reading Level 1 and 2 books on her own. My DS8 and I helped her all summer with her reading and praised her each time she sounded out a word on her own. Seems like I'm working harder on her reading than I did on son but she is also entering first grade a year earlier than he did.
The school they attend is very big on reading, the kids are required to read each day at least 20min and they even get time out (starting 2nd grade) if they do not fill out the daily reading log.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I teach first grade. In our district, some children come to me reading fluently and some don't even know all their letters. I will tell you that reading is a developmental process. Some read at 4, some not until 8. I tell my parents that it is like toilet training your child or teaching them to walk, they cannot do it until they are ready. It sounds as if your daughter is well on her way. Be sure to communicate with the teacher frequently about her progress and to read with her at home.

This is exactly what I was going to say. My DD's kindergarten teacher said, "I will give them every tool I know to get them reading, but developmentally children will read when they are ready." She was an awesome teacher, and I think she did get most people reading.

This year there must be a few kids in her first grade not reading yet because at Back to School Night the teacher told the parents to not let their kids get upset if they were not reading yet.

For reading to improve the best thing you can do is make sure your DD is reading a "just right" book. If it is too easy, she will not improve. If it is too hard, she won't get anything out of it. Your teacher should be able to help you pick out some good books, but basically your DD should need to figure out some words, but not all of them.

Just a FYI, every state has different standards. You can probably just google "states" reading standards to see where your DD should be. I would take with a grain of salt what everyone is telling you because in Indiana kindergarten isn't even mandatory while in other states it is. I do think our reading/language arts standards are good, but last year I looked up our math standards because I didn't think my DS was doing enough. It turned out the teacher was right on target. I supplemented at home but that certainly gets harder when they get into lots of activities!

 

[maedelken]

Well most should be able to read about 50-100 sight words and three and four letter words with blends.

That being said my DD's kindergarten classes finished with over half of the kids reading The Wizard of Oz. Yes, the nice thick chapter book. My DD loved it as did many others (it was a gift to every student from the teacher).

Honestly I loved the Hooked on Phonics system. I did it with my DD who is starting 1st grade today and she loved it. She finished the program through 2nd grade and is begging for the Master Reader set. I would look into them, amazon has decent pricing.

-Becca-

Which one Hooked on phonics or the Master reader set?

 

[oldbay]

OP-
hi. We are in MD too, so I thought I would reply. My son started 1st grade today and seems to be at the same level as your child and I think that is above-average for the area. A family friend that tought 4/5th grade here read with him recently and commented that he needed to keep practising his blends as well. But, she also said how well he was doing overall and he is more than ready for 1st grade.

If you want to do more at home, the best advice I would have to give is to keep reading any books your child is interested in with them reading as much of it as possible. Taking just 15 min. every night is enough and will make a big difference. That is what we did over the summer and I have found he is not reading words all over - signs, labels, etc... To me this is a good sign that they are able to read, when they read words incidentally as they go thru their day. (just my personal opinion(

Good luck, I think your child is doing just fine!

 

[dreamer17555]

Which one Hooked on phonics or the Master reader set?

I sent you a PM

-Becca-

 

[deedeetoo]

My ds will be going into second this year. Last year when he was entering first he couldn't read at all but he knew all his sounds and could put some together.

He was put sent to a reading lab every day along with many other kids. It seems like every one of his friends were also going to the reading lab. By the end of first grade the teacher said he was still below targets but he knew all the required sight words and did well on his spelling tests. He doesn't have a lot of confidence in his reading ability so he reads very slowly and is prone to saying "I don't know" rather than trying to sound something out. Usually when I make him sound it out he gets it right or is at least close. He is not reading chapter books yet. On the other hand he is very bright and can already do multiplication so we aren't too worried.

 

[crisi]

As people are saying, there is a lot of variation.

Around here, when you go into your first conferences, your teacher will have done some testing and be able to tell you about where your kid is relative to first grade expectations. But as others have said, reading is developmental - some kids read very young, others struggle for several years before catching on. Sometimes good early readers aren't great readers by middle school while late readers read like crazy (a girlfriend of mine had a late reader that needed some intervention around 3rd grade - in middle school he's a college level reader. My own daughter was able to sound out books at four (Hop on Pop is a great book for phonics) - but isn't a recreational reader, so while she's 'good' at it, its meaningless because she doesn't do it unless its required).