Can kids read when they enter kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son could fluently read before entering kindergarten and his teacher did not do reading groups for him. She only worked with the kids who couldn't yet read. He got ignored and did worksheets way below his level. I think a lot of schools don't give kids any accelerated work if they can read because it is so much easier to do nothing with the kids that can read until the other kids catch up at the end of first grade or second grade. He is in first grade and I am still waiting for him to get any work on his level. At the beginning of the year there weren't any chapter books available to read in his class because the teacher told me that wouldn't be fair for the kids who couldn't read them. She only had books at or below a first grade level.

Sounds like you have a very special snowflake indeed. He probably will never be fully and properly served by his current school, and you should probably pull him out and put him in a private for extremely extremely gifted kids, maybe even one where he is the only one in his class so he gets extra special attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reading before I was 3 and didn't understand why some of my classmates couldn't read at 5 or 6. Luckily it was a small enough class (8 students, IIRC), that the teacher had time to work with kids individually at their various levels. I have no idea how it works with bigger classes.

You were not reading at 3 and nobody has memories from age 3. Your mother remembers it this way, but it is doubtful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading before I was 3 and didn't understand why some of my classmates couldn't read at 5 or 6. Luckily it was a small enough class (8 students, IIRC), that the teacher had time to work with kids individually at their various levels. I have no idea how it works with bigger classes.

You were not reading at 3 and nobody has memories from age 3. Your mother remembers it this way, but it is doubtful.

I'm not pp, but you don't know what you're talking about regarding memories.

[Anonymous]

NO. Or maybe a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading before I was 3 and didn't understand why some of my classmates couldn't read at 5 or 6. Luckily it was a small enough class (8 students, IIRC), that the teacher had time to work with kids individually at their various levels. I have no idea how it works with bigger classes.

You were not reading at 3 and nobody has memories from age 3. Your mother remembers it this way, but it is doubtful.

Not PP and I didn't learn to read until I was 4, but I have VERY clear memories from before I turned 2. They are of thoughts and emotions at times and events that no-one told me about but that were easy to work out where they were and when they happened. I was 18 months at the age of my first memory.

[Anonymous]

Very glad to hear that it's a mixed bag and some kids are reading by K. My oldest started reading at 3. By the time he started PK he tested at 3rd grade level for reading and comprehension. Some of the other kids in his PK class are beginning to sound out words now, but his reading is now very fluent and considerably ahead of where he was last September, so probably at least 4th grade level now. He's almost 4.5. He's also doing a lot of writing and spelling, punctuation etc all of which is very different from the rest of his classmates. I will be thrilled if by the time he goes to K some of the other kids have caught up so that he's on a similar level with (at least some of) his peers.

[Anonymous]

My daughter couldn't read at all starting K. By the end of K she was easily the best reader in the grade. It comes at different times for different kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading before I was 3 and didn't understand why some of my classmates couldn't read at 5 or 6. Luckily it was a small enough class (8 students, IIRC), that the teacher had time to work with kids individually at their various levels. I have no idea how it works with bigger classes.

You were not reading at 3 and nobody has memories from age 3. Your mother remembers it this way, but it is doubtful.

This is why I filmed my son reading starting from when he was four. Otherwise, when he grew up people would say i was exaggerating my memories...why not believe the PP? There are certainly children who read at 3.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I read at 3. My mom has video of me at 2 crying that I didn't know how to read. I was very upset about it and felt very strongly that I should know.

We didn't have many books in the house and my into to words was Sesame Street. That's when it clicked and I got frustrated feeling that I was somehow behind.

According to my mom, I would read the free newspaper (since that's pretty much all the reading material we had).

My mom did not push reading (or read much to me) but I learned how at an early age.

Sure, it means nothing much and other kids caught up later. But it's worth noting how driven I was to read. I believe this happens to kids at different ages.

There were plenty of other things that I was far behind in and caught up to other kids (primarily sports).

But this is all to say... kids will lead in this if you let them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son could fluently read before entering kindergarten and his teacher did not do reading groups for him. She only worked with the kids who couldn't yet read. He got ignored and did worksheets way below his level. I think a lot of schools don't give kids any accelerated work if they can read because it is so much easier to do nothing with the kids that can read until the other kids catch up at the end of first grade or second grade. He is in first grade and I am still waiting for him to get any work on his level. At the beginning of the year there weren't any chapter books available to read in his class because the teacher told me that wouldn't be fair for the kids who couldn't read them. She only had books at or below a first grade level.

Sounds like you have a very special snowflake indeed. He probably will never be fully and properly served by his current school, and you should probably pull him out and put him in a private for extremely extremely gifted kids, maybe even one where he is the only one in his class so he gets extra special attention.

Wow, not sure why you are so angry some kids can read before kinder. I was just warning other parents that if your child is a fluent reader, don't be surprised if the teacher gives the same work to everyone, such as learning the sounds of the letters in kindergarten. All I asked the first grade teacher was if she would let him read a book at his level in first grade instead of having him sit and listen how to sound out the word "cat".

[Anonymous]

Some can, some can't.

DD's kindergarten class does all sorts of activities during "centers" time. None require the kids to be able to read, but the kids who can read sometimes get add-on pieces (extensions) to build additional skills (writing/spelling) while the others work on foundational pieces.

DD and one other girl in her class were fluent readers at the start of kindergarten. They've not been the least bit bored. DD has learned a ton already this year (writing/spelling/math), though I don't think she has a clue. She's been too busy having fun with all the art projects and holiday discussions (New Years rolls into MLK Day then Groundhog Day then Presidents' Day and Valentines Day and then 100th Day of School. Always something to celebrate in kindergarten!)

If your child is reading early, that's great. One less thing for you to think about in kindergarten. But if he/she is not, I wouldn't push it over the summer at all. Just read books together and talk about letter sounds, but I wouldn't do any formal instruction. They get it when they're ready.

[Anonymous]

It is a mixed bag of readers and non-readers. There are some kids that are really advanced and they are bored. And there are kids just learning their letters.

FYI for those of you whose kids are in preschool and you think your kids are reading at 4th grade level... Most schools have a reading "cap" so in K you won't get past end of first grade level (they stop testing). The thinking is that reading and writing go together and to "read" at 4th grade level you have to write at that level - so probably a 3 page essay on a topic for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son could fluently read before entering kindergarten and his teacher did not do reading groups for him. She only worked with the kids who couldn't yet read. He got ignored and did worksheets way below his level. I think a lot of schools don't give kids any accelerated work if they can read because it is so much easier to do nothing with the kids that can read until the other kids catch up at the end of first grade or second grade. He is in first grade and I am still waiting for him to get any work on his level. At the beginning of the year there weren't any chapter books available to read in his class because the teacher told me that wouldn't be fair for the kids who couldn't read them. She only had books at or below a first grade level.

I agree. I'd be annoyed if DD's teacher didn't offer her project extensions or books at her reading level. Why not suggest something?

For example, each week they do a build-a-sight-word worksheet during one of the "centers" in DD's class. The kids have 15 minutes or so to cut out the given letters and paste them in the right boxes under the word models. DD and one of her classmates can finish these worksheets with tons of time to spare, so they now flip the sheets over afterwards and use the extra time to write sentences using the sight words until it's time to switch to the next center.

Often writing/spelling extensions like this are easy ways to engage the kids who are at the next level. They do the same work as the other kids, plus a bit more, and independent writing/spelling doesn't require teacher assistance after the initial set up. (DD and her classmate do this type of stuff for other worksheets, too. Many are picture-based -- kids have to cut out and match various pictures with the first letter of the word. Put the elephant picture next to the E. DD does that part quickly, then goes back and tries writing out the whole words alongside the pictures. Over time, she's taught herself a lot of spelling this way.

[Anonymous]

I used the book Teach Your CHild to Read in 100 Easy Lessons the summer before K. We TRIED to worked on one lesson a day. Each lesson took about 10 minutes. In some weeks I was more successful in remembering to sit down with DC and teach than others but I think we got in 50 or so before K started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a mixed bag of readers and non-readers. There are some kids that are really advanced and they are bored. And there are kids just learning their letters.

FYI for those of you whose kids are in preschool and you think your kids are reading at 4th grade level... Most schools have a reading "cap" so in K you won't get past end of first grade level (they stop testing). The thinking is that reading and writing go together and to "read" at 4th grade level you have to write at that level - so probably a 3 page essay on a topic for example.

This has been our experience. We've learned that while DD can "read" out loud at a 3rd grade level, her comprehension is closer to 2nd grade and her writing skills are a bit behind that. So she has plenty left to learn in kindergarten, even if she's technically a very strong "reader".

As for being bored, I'm quite sure she's not. I volunteer in the classroom pretty regularly, in part to see how well the kids are engaged.

That said, if you find that your advanced reader is bored, I would talk with your child about it. Tap into his/her sense of curiosity and internal motivation. What would he or she like to learn more about? It's not possible that he or she already knows everything about everything going on in the classroom. Kindergarten is about so much more than technical reading skills, and I think it's up to us as parents to help our kids develop a positive and proactive mindset about learning, even if their teacher doesn't have the time (or the talent) to engage them personally all the time.