What can your first grader read independently?

[Anonymous]

My daughter is reportedly the best reader in her class, but I know there are other kids in the grade that read at much higher levels. She can read Magic Treehouse and Scholastic Branches series easily, but prefers graphic novels like Dogman. The best kids in the grade are reading Harry Potter and Wings of Fire chapter books. Some kids aren't reading at all and many are reading exactly what your daughter is. It's also completely normal for them to be intimidated by the big blocks of text, so don't worry about that. It may be helpful for her to try graphic novels that have more complex words, but don't have paragraphs. The Magic Treehouse graphic novels are great for this. Not intimidating at all, and the hard words are interspersed with easier ones so she's not stuck sounding out every third word and losing comprehension. She may also make big leaps over the summer. My nephew went from not reading at all to reading fluently in a few months. Some kids just have it click all at once and some make steady progress. Both are completely fine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine has read most of the classics. He’s starting to translate them into Greek now for a hobby

Ancient Greek or Modern Greek? Mine did both and then discovered a passion for Cuneiform. The clay tablets take up so much space in the study. Ugh. #dcumproblems, amirite?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm just trying to get a sense of where my 1st grader is in terms of reading and her teacher is not very communicative. My kid can read Dear Dragon books and Elephant & Piggy pretty fluently. Anything harder than that requires bribes and she's very intimidated by long blocks of text--i.e. she refuses to read Frog & Toad, even though I think she could sound out all of the words because she says there are "too many words on each page." She can get through scholastic "F" and "G" level books, but struggles with those.

What books can your 1st grader read?

My 1st grader is at about the same place. She wants to read the Dog Man books independently, but definitely isn't there yet. We recently discovered the Fly Guy series and those are much closer to her level, though she still needs help with a word here or there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine has read most of the classics. He’s starting to translate them into Greek now for a hobby

Ancient Greek or Modern Greek? Mine did both and then discovered a passion for Cuneiform. The clay tablets take up so much space in the study. Ugh. #dcumproblems, amirite?

My first grader just embarked on Mahabharata, but only because she so enjoyed working through translating Bhagavad Gita first.

Had she not been asking me for more epics on and on after devouring all of the classics back in K, I never would've moved on to the translations. I want her to be self-motivated, of course.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is finishing up second grade now and a year ago was in a very similar spot to yours. Agreed that your daughter sounds like she is on grade level and also that there is no need to worry. When my kid was in kindergarten they actually put her in remedial reading because she wasn't "fluent" enough with her alphabet (i.e. couldn't rattle off the letters quickly enough in the standardized evaluation). I panicked and of course treated it like a "problem" because that's what the school seemed to think. Started forcing her into it more, practicing letters, etc. And about 3 months in I realized I was doing so much more harm than good because I was contributing to negative associations with reading. I changed approach and focused on making sure she loved stories first and foremost and trusted that the reading would follow when she was ready, and that's been true; in the last year she's had a few big leaps in ability though is still easily daunted by things that seem difficult, as you describe. Her teacher this year is (1) appalled she was ever in remedial and (2) first and foremost an encourager of loving literature. She tells us regularly that if you make it a chore, it will feel like one to the kid and not be something they learn to love. I would encourage your daughter to read stuff that is comfy like Elephant & Piggy and then do a bunch of reading to her, including things that you kind of wish she could read herself (eventually she will then reread them herself but be familiar with the story so less of her brain is focused on comprehension and she can get practice with the mechanics of reading). We also got a Yoto player and our kid listens to a lot of audiobooks (also from library). You can even get audiobooks as well as the print version and then she can follow along with the text. These are all good ways to develop the affection for it and the rest will fall into place.

[Anonymous]

Op here. There are some funny responses, but thanks to those who answered the question. I was asking not because I’m super worried but because her teacher is pretty vague and I can’t seem to get a sense of whether my kid could benefit from some focus on reading to build her confidence. My kid reports that she’s a “bad” reader and I want to help her develop confidence. It’s just good to get a sense from other parents as to what other 1st graders are doing. I don’t want to ask parents I know because it’ll come across as either competitive or insecure when it’s really just curiosity/information gathering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine has read most of the classics. He’s starting to translate them into Greek now for a hobby

Ancient Greek or Modern Greek? Mine did both and then discovered a passion for Cuneiform. The clay tablets take up so much space in the study. Ugh. #dcumproblems, amirite?

My first grader just embarked on Mahabharata, but only because she so enjoyed working through translating Bhagavad Gita first.

Had she not been asking me for more epics on and on after devouring all of the classics back in K, I never would've moved on to the translations. I want her to be self-motivated, of course.

Sheesh this joke is getting old. I'm sure PP learned her lesson.

[Anonymous]

My first grader is at a similar level. His classmates read Magic Treehouse, Mercy Watson, those Pokemon books. It's just bad luck on his part that he's in a class with so many stronger readers. We practice at home, and yes I bribe too. I hope to get him to practice more over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine has read most of the classics. He’s starting to translate them into Greek now for a hobby

Ancient Greek or Modern Greek? Mine did both and then discovered a passion for Cuneiform. The clay tablets take up so much space in the study. Ugh. #dcumproblems, amirite?

My first grader just embarked on Mahabharata, but only because she so enjoyed working through translating Bhagavad Gita first.

Had she not been asking me for more epics on and on after devouring all of the classics back in K, I never would've moved on to the translations. I want her to be self-motivated, of course.

Is this an Indian joke? It went over my head

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. There are some funny responses, but thanks to those who answered the question. I was asking not because I’m super worried but because her teacher is pretty vague and I can’t seem to get a sense of whether my kid could benefit from some focus on reading to build her confidence. My kid reports that she’s a “bad” reader and I want to help her develop confidence. It’s just good to get a sense from other parents as to what other 1st graders are doing. I don’t want to ask parents I know because it’ll come across as either competitive or insecure when it’s really just curiosity/information gathering.

A bad reader could mean many things. She may not be comfortable with reading aloud. She may be a slower reader (pacing wise), and that makes her feel insecure. Some of the early readers, who are quick and well spoken also struggle with comprehending what they read. They are so focused on reading that they aren't absorbing the information. Moving up reading levels takes effort on many levels. A good teacher will recognize the individual strengths and be able to provide feedback on why your daughter might feel insecure about reading.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes all it takes are the right books for a kid to click. Try isadora moon series or kitty series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. There are some funny responses, but thanks to those who answered the question. I was asking not because I’m super worried but because her teacher is pretty vague and I can’t seem to get a sense of whether my kid could benefit from some focus on reading to build her confidence. My kid reports that she’s a “bad” reader and I want to help her develop confidence. It’s just good to get a sense from other parents as to what other 1st graders are doing. I don’t want to ask parents I know because it’ll come across as either competitive or insecure when it’s really just curiosity/information gathering.

OP try getting a set of decodable books starting from where your DD can read. Decodable books are not leveled by the fuzzy/mysterious methods of DRA or Fountas & Pinnell systems, but by cumulatively and increasingly challenging phonics patterns. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/decodable-text-sources

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure of the level, but mine is currently reading Geronimo Stilton books and recently really liked the 13 Story Treehouse series. She can’t stand books with no pictures so I try to find books with some illustrations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes all it takes are the right books for a kid to click. Try isadora moon series or kitty series.

I’m the Geronimo Stilton PP and my daughter also loves these! Both are very cute.

Also OP what about graphic novels? My kid loves Dog Man and Cat Club or whatever it’s called.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine has read most of the classics. He’s starting to translate them into Greek now for a hobby

Same but mine is also working on watercolor illustrations that accompany the text.