Can your 1st grader read?

[Anonymous]

My DS was reading by age 3. DD was reading at a much slower pace.
Ages 13 and 18 now. Guess who always has her head in a book?
I remember distinctly being moved down a level in first grade because I had trouble reading out loud. I read books all the time now.
Everyone goes at their own pace.

[Anonymous]

Trumpet of the Swan. Reads for fun on many days but not every day.

[Anonymous]

My 1st grader likes Dog Man and Cat Kid (?)

[Anonymous]

My first grader reader second book of Harry Potter with some occasional vocabulary assistance from his older brothers.

[Anonymous]

Mine likes Roald Dahl, Ivy and Bean, the babysitters little sisters graphic novels.

[Anonymous]

She sounds on track to me. There is a big difference for my DD in what she is capable of reading and what she picks up and enjoys. Based on the range of things in your OP, I wonder if that is the case for your DD too. I was really pushing her to the more difficult stuff and she was getting frustrated so over the last couple of months I tried to adopt a “any reading is good” philosophy (what I should have been doing all along.. I am a huge reader & was definitely pushing too hard) and she has significantly improved her fluency and has picked up more difficult books on her own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She sounds on track to me. There is a big difference for my DD in what she is capable of reading and what she picks up and enjoys. Based on the range of things in your OP, I wonder if that is the case for your DD too. I was really pushing her to the more difficult stuff and she was getting frustrated so over the last couple of months I tried to adopt a “any reading is good” philosophy (what I should have been doing all along.. I am a huge reader & was definitely pushing too hard) and she has significantly improved her fluency and has picked up more difficult books on her own.

Agree with the bolded -- for their solo reading, it needs to be something they are excited by. My DD will push herself to read a tougher book if she's really enthusiastic about the subject or story, and if it's something she's not as into, it needs to be well within her ability or it starts to feel like a chore.

What is your kid into right now? In first, mine was obsessed with unicorns and fairies, so we found some books about those or stories that featured them, and that was a huge incentive.

Also, for chapter books that might still be a slow read, we would take turns reading chapter. Or sometimes, she'd read as much as she could in a chapter before getting tired, and I'd finish it out. This allows them to get excited by the story without being limited by their reading level. I never pushed her to read if she said she was too tired -- reading at this stage, when you have ability but low stamina because you don't have much practice under your belt yet, can be incredibly mentally taxing. If your kid is saying a book is too hard or too long, listen.

[Anonymous]

Bottom line is this: you want your kid to comprehend what they are reading not to simply be able to read words. I knew kids reading Harry Potter in kindergarten whose parents would show it off. Turns out the kid was reading words with absolutely no comprehension of the material.

[Anonymous]

Mine is reading shorter books like Bernstein Bear early readers, Mercy Watson, Magic Tree house, Ivy and Bean. But with the Magic Tree house type books it is a very slow pace, one page at a time here and there. She seems to get discouraged when there are too many words on one page. I think she is fine, and tests above grade level. Your child sounds similar and on track OP

[Anonymous]

6yo first grader took quite a while to get going, but now she's reading Boxcar Children, Uncle Wiggily, Nancy Drew, and probably could take on anything that isn't too sesquipedalian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bottom line is this: you want your kid to comprehend what they are reading not to simply be able to read words. I knew kids reading Harry Potter in kindergarten whose parents would show it off. Turns out the kid was reading words with absolutely no comprehension of the material.

A child who can't read the words to Harry Potter, or struggles severely with doing that, is going to comprehend it even less.

[Anonymous]

My 1st grader only reads graphic novels. She’s a slow reader but I’m just glad that she’s finally reading without bribes!

I read more complex stuff to her, which she loves. But if she’s reading on her own, it’s wings of fire, cat kid, dog boy, etc. Her teacher says she’s in the middle of the pack in testing, so I’m not worried. I think she’ll start to love reading when she can go a little faster.