My daughter was always bright with math and very good with grammar but never really had an interest in reading until K which is this year. She could write her name and several sight words at 2 and 1/2 without even being asked, but didnt want to try and sound out words. She J. turned 5 in september and seems to have issues sounding out words still. She will sound them out fine but can;t seem to heear the answer when she sounds it ouit...for instance...she can sound out the word THAT but when she puts the sounds together she doesnt get the right anwser, it will be close but not the word, or she'll say something completely off the wall without trying. I'm J. wondering when its going to come togeher. Her teacher emailed M. and said shes doing wonderfully in all other subjects but when it comes to reading three and four letter words she seems intimidated. Shes getting a standardized test this week and an assessment with the rest of the K class and I'm nerveous for her.
I'm J. wondering when shes going to start reading
Last night she had homework to read
I like the bat
I like to pat
I like the hat
i sat on the mat
i like my mat
and so on about 7 sentences and she had no problem at all and breezed through it, but when it came to words like scat, flat, brat...which she already knows the last part of the word she freezes gets intimidated and doesnt want to even try with the extra letter in front. (ex. she can read rat, but if you ask what brat is she'll J. say idk is it drink...without even trying)ve told her i'm so proud of her, she doesnt know im worried at all, and I encourage her to try and don't correct her but resound it out with her.
i'm wondering when its all going to click and she'll be able to actually read. I
thanks
My oldest started reading in preschool at age 4 (actually reading and comprehending an entire book) and by K and age 5 was reading chapter books. My youngest had a difficult time learning to read and wasn't actually reading until 2nd grade at age 6/7. Each child learns at a different rate.
Our oldest, who is now 8, started reading when she was 4. She was reading chapter books at age 5. Our middle child, who turned 5 in March, started reading this summer and is starting Chapter books right now.
When I was teaching we went by a general rule.....Kindergarten - 2nd graders are learning to read, 3rd graders are reading to learn. I saw many beginning 2nd graders that were still not reading fluently, but by the middle of the year they are more fluent. Completely typical and normal.
4 years ago, I heard my son's K teacher saying "if these kids aren't reading by Christmas...we're in trouble." They were!
Different kids (and adults) have different brain strengths and weaknesses. Plenty of kids are J. slower on connecting those abstract shapes (letters) with sounds, and many of the children who end up being home-schooled are those who are late picking up reading. That doesn't mean they won't pick it up, J. that the supporting brain development may lag in that area. The same child may be far ahead in other areas and aptitudes.
But studies show that most children are reading at third-grade level by the time they reach third grade. Unfortunately, some children become discouraged in the interim, and learn to think of themselves as dumb, or failures. That's one of the major flaws I see with teaching a whole classroom full of kids the same reading, the same math, the same everything. They are not all functioning at that level, some struggling to keep up, and some bored and ready to leap ahead.
One of the best things you can do for your daughter is to keep reading to her for pleasure. Choose some good chapter books on topics she finds interesting. Choose some picture books with easy words illustrated. Choose some early reader books. She may "memorize" the words in those books, which is not the same thing as phonics, but it's a start and will help her build confidence.
And you might also post a letter combination of the week on your refrigerator and other accessible spots. TH is a good one because it's so common. Keep it casual, but point it out once or twice a day, write it in different short words (the, this, thin, three) to give her both a visual familiarity and a chance to hear you say the words.
Be aware, too, that there are different learning styles: some kids do best with visual cues, some with sound or music, some need movement while they're learning, etc. These differences are described in different ways by different educators, and they are controversial, but some evidence exists for incorporating them into lessons to help particular kids access and remember information better. Google learning styles for many links that will help you identify your daughter's primary learning style(s) and how to make the most of them.
I"d avoid telling her you're proud of her for getting a wrong answer, but it's terrific to praise her for trying. Continued effort in the face of repeated failure is really very brave, and I hope her kindergarten experience does not convince her she can't do it. Some kids are J. late bloomers in learning any new skill. That doesn't mean they will never get it. I think helping her resound mistaken words will help her eventually. Right now, she may be too anxious about failing, and that will get in the way of being open to learning.
There are some fun websites out there that she might enjoy practicing on. Starfall.com is one her teacher may be able to suggest others. Maybe J. in another format woudl be enough to spark her interest.
Also my kids love the books on Cd and will listen to them over and over and over. That's a good supplement to the reading you do together. The library has great easy reader books when she is ready.
J. to clarify, are you saying she knows all the letter sounds, but is having trouble blending them??? Or does she not know all the letter sounds.
She probably has not had the 'sc', 'fl', or 'br' sound yet. They should be taught at the right time depending on the material the school uses for reading. I think phonics is the best way to read but some teach it better than others too. Be patient and she'll be reading soon after first semester if not sooner. She J. needs to know the 'blends'.
You J. answered your own question. She is already reading! She has some sight recognition. She J. doesn't have a lot of sight recognition.
The longer words look different, so she isn't realizing that she already knows them. Try putting your finger over the extra letters so that she can see that she already knows the words.
My son is also in Kindergarten (turned 5 August 21st) and he is reading easier reader level A books quickly by himself. Kindergarten is the norm these days.
I am finding that most of my friends kids start basic reading in Kindergarten and almost all are fluently reading in 1st grade. There was one friend who's DD was reading well in pre-K.
My hubby didn't read until the Summer between 1st and 2nd grade. He went to SLC and spent the Summer at his grandmothers and she read from the B. O. M. each day, he has a very very very high IQ too, so it wasn't that he couldn't read, he J. wasn't interested yet.
Kids learn to read at a variety of ages. There are kids in my son's K class who came to school without even knowing their letter sounds. The reading evalulation will help a lot, because then the teacher can put her into a group with other kids at her same level, so she won't be bored by being with the kids who are still learning letters, and she won't be frustrated by being with kids who are reading longer words.
I know as a mom that it is in our genes to worry. But it sounds to M. like your daughter is on track, and if you keep reading time fun (and keep reading books she enjoys to her so she gets the pleasure of a book without the frustration), she'll be ok.
my daughter was around 4 or 5 years old when she started to read. She is 6 now and her teacher told us yesterday that she is only allowed to test up to level 10 in first grade, but she is on level 16, but J. can't officially test her, but she is the top reader in her class. Math is a different story though, lol! I wouldn't worry about it. Every kid learns at a different pace. She will catch up when she is ready. My son is 4 and is J. learning how to read 3 and 4 letter words.
First of all, I agree with all the previous posts that each child develops on a different schedule. Second of all, it is completely normal for a child to focus so hard on correctly sounding out a word that he or she doesn't listen to what's coming out. Often, one of our twins will be struggling to sound out a word when the other will yell it out from the other side of the room - without seeing the book, J. listening to what his brother is saying :)
In the case of both of our boys, it really was a "click" when things came together for them. One week they were frustrated by trying to sound out simple words, the next week they were reading what I consider to be pretty challenging words. I truly believe that what made the difference was reading fun books that interested them. By reading things like Dr. Seuss, Star Wars, Toy Story, they put things in context much better than with the rhyming homework that you mention. I suggest that you continue to provide your daughter with a variety of books that have engaging stories and fun pictures and soon enough she'll be amazing you...
She didn't have problems with "I Like"... because she has that memorized.
My kindergartner has those same books,
Carlos and the teacher play.
Carlos and the teacher paint.
Carlos and the teacher write.
Carlos and the teacher clean.
Carlos and the teacher have a fun filled day.
He gets "Carlos and the teacher" every time because he knows the story, recognizes the words and doesn't have to sound them out. He can sound out most of the other words, but once the sentence becomes bigger than the additional added one word, he gets frustrated and stops because it's not part of the original story structure he is accustomed to.
Also, remember a lot of the words they can 'read' are actually memorized sight words.
Basic reading and sounding out is usually done by the end of kinder, but grasping it fully usually around 1st and 2nd grade.
I personally didn't read well until about 2nd 1st grade, but I was a top reader and always scored the highest scores in English/Reading/Righting. Math, I'm a complete failure. So it depends on the child.
I struggled with it at first but it really took off for M. the 2nd half of 2nd grade.
My son was the same way.
We're both major book-aholics.
Some read a little earlier, but 2nd grade (about 7 years old) is when many kids really get the reading going well.
