He/She Knows How To Read?

[Spy Car]

No right or wrong answer here, but I'm wondering what other people consider the "tipping point" when you start thinking: "my child knows how to read."

 

Obviously learning to read is a skill that develops over a long time, and probably some wise folks might think: my child is in the "reading-development" phase, but for those who see the world a little more black and white...

 

What is a child doing when you deem them a "reader"? I'm curious.

 

Bill

Edited December 15, 2009 by Spy Car

[melissel]

No right or wrong answer here, but I'm wondering what other people consider the "tipping point" when you start thinking that your child "knows how to read."

 

Obviously learning to read is a skill that develops over a long time, and probably some wise folks might think: my child is in the "reading-development" phase, but for those who see the world a little more black and white...

 

What is a child doing when you deem them a "reader"? I'm curious.

 

Bill

 

When my DD7 (then 4) starting sounding out the things on signs she saw around her (like the word Rutgers). Before that, she'd sound out a word or two with me, but really hated to be led or prompted in any way, so I had no clue she was anywhere close. I think I'd consider a child who was sounding out words on their own and understanding even simple stories in this way to be a "reader."

[amy g.]

I say they can read when they know all of their letters and sounds and can fluently read unfamiliar 3 and 4 letter words.

[Ellie]

When the child recognizes any word. :-)

 

John Holt made a good point about learning how to play the piano. He asked when someones goes from *learning* how to play to *playing*? His answer was that there is no difference. Someone who is just beginning is playing; he just doesn't play as well as he will next year, as well as someone who has been playing for many years.

 

Reading, IMHO, is the same way. A child who is reading even a little is still reading, even if he is not reading as well as children who are the same age as he. We all feel better, of course, when our dc are reading as well as their age peers. :-)

[lcelmer]

When my daughter was reading out the games on the game shelf and asked what is the game "fact or Cr-p", what does cr-p mean mom?:D

 

Bye bye game.....

 

Thant and lots of other words popping out as we drove along the road... econolodge, stop, safeway, goodwill, etc

[Ali in OR]

I guess I didn't really think of my girls as readers until they were reading books on their own without any involvement from me. Then they quickly went from picture books and readers to chapter books (really reading anything they want) within a few months. Before that level, I would call them emergent readers. They definitely had decoding skills, but were still developing as readers.

[Night Elf]

I believe reading is recognizing words and how they fit together to create a meaningful sentence.

[Blueridge]

My youngest struggled so much learning to read. The day finally came when she picked up a book of her own choosing without me suggesting that she read something...then I knew she could read completely on her own.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Well, when they sound out their first word is one time when I think "They're reading!" :party:

 

But I really think they are a reader when they start reading simple chapter books.

[K&Rs Mom]

I guess I didn't really think of my girls as readers until they were reading books on their own without any involvement from me. Then they quickly went from picture books and readers to chapter books (really reading anything they want) within a few months. Before that level, I would call them emergent readers. They definitely had decoding skills, but were still developing as readers.

 

:iagree: Until they're independent and fluent, I still think of them as learning, not "really" reading.

[lionfamily1999]

The first time I "catch" them reading.

 

Luke can sound out the words, but I really can't consider him a reader, because it doesn't seem to give anything back to him. I guess he still has not found real meaning in it. Then again, the first few Bob Books don't have too much meaning to give :p

[Scuff]

I consider them able to read when they can successfully blend words together on their own. I consider them a "reader" when they start wanting to read books and are caught doing it without being told.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I agree with the pp who said that when they start sounding out words in their surroundings--stores, signs, traffic signs, etc, and making sense of them--that they are readers. For example, my 5 year old is in this phase and I consider her a reader. My 4 year old can sound out several CVC words, but she doesn't have much interest in discovering what else she can do with the written word.

[AngelaNYC]

I guess I didn't really think of my girls as readers until they were reading books on their own without any involvement from me. Then they quickly went from picture books and readers to chapter books (really reading anything they want) within a few months. Before that level, I would call them emergent readers. They definitely had decoding skills, but were still developing as readers.

 

:iagree: When kids can read a book on their own without too much help. Decoding words and knowing a few words by sight isn't really reading, imo. My dd could point out "stop" and "exit" from signs before she was 2, but I didn't consider that reading. It was when she would sit and read a children's book had more than 3 words on a page, had more than a handful of pages, and that she understood the story that I considered her a reader.

[Lovedtodeath]

When they can read a story by sounding out words. (They are not reading by sight, nor are they rhyming or relying on memory to get through a book.)

 

We realized that Emily could read when she started playing the game "identify the pictures" on Big Brain Academy. rabbit, horse, butterfly... I was flabbergasted when I realized the implications and so proud! I already knew she was reading signs, but I thought it was from memory and recognition of shapes, etc.

Edited December 15, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[lionfamily1999]

When they can read a story by sounding out words. (They are not reading by sight, nor are they rhyming or relying on memory to get through a book.)

:grouphug:

[Lovedtodeath]

 

:grouphug:

Love you too! But what was that for? :)

[Irene Lynn]

I would have felt confident saying my dd could read at around a solid 2nd grade level. She on the other hand, was not convinced she could read until she could read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

[JenneinCA]

When they can read the menu at a fast food place and tell me what they would like.

[MamaSheep]

I've been thinking about this a little recently too.

 

With ds it never came up. One day when he was 3 my son was looking at a much loved book and saying the words along with the pictures. My husband said, "I think he's reading that!" I said, "Naw, he just has a good memory and we've read it so many times he knows all the words." Dh said, "No, I don't think so, I think he's reading it." I said, "No, because look, if we give him this one he has never seen before he won't be able to do it." We gave him the one he'd never seen before. He read it perfectly. We gave him a random piece of junk mail. He read that too. He read street signs and video game text and all sorts of things. We figured he was a reader. We're not sure how long he'd been reading to himself before we caught on. We just knew he liked to play with fridge magnets and say "What sound does this one make, Mom? When I line up these magnets what does it spell?" Usually it spelled random mumbo jumbo. How was I to know?

 

Dd is a whole other story. She has never been interested in letters, words, or reading. She has a really hard time sitting still long enough to get through a whole sentence, let alone a page, and forget the whole book! She never liked me to read books to her; that required sitting still, and she'd really rather make up her own story (which she is REALLY good at) thanks just the same. Now she's 7 and I still have to force her to read to me for 15 minutes a day--and 15 minutes is really pushing her tolerance levels too. I also have to sit right with her and point at the words or she gets distracted. She still gets distracted, but at least this way ONE of us knows where she was. She needs help sounding out the words. She understands what she reads but it takes for. ever. for her to get there. I don't consider her a reader at all. I guess to me she will be a reader when I can hand her an age appropriate book and she can read it and then tell me what it was about.

[chiguirre]

I call a child a reader when they can read ambient text and use it to order from a menu or find the right aisle in a supermarket.

[Miss Marple]

My answer now is probably different than it would have been when I had young children. Now, I would say my boys were "readers" when they would pick up a book and read it on their own.

 

They were in the "reading-development" stage when I would sit with them while they decoded a book. But I'm sure I considered them reading at that time. It's interesting how my perspectives have changed over the years:D

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

For me, that time came when my boys could read Frog and Toad (or other level 2 readers) and make the sentences sound coherent. That is also about the stage when they started reading everything around them (signs, etc.).

[newlifemom]

When they read Amelia Bedelia and laugh! :D

[Spy Car]

Well, when they sound out their first word is one time when I think "They're reading!" :party:

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Tell me that's not a moment of joy :D

 

Bill

[KidsHappen]

Te first time I find them reading of their own accord.

[dragons in the flower bed]

What is a child doing when you deem them a "reader"? I'm curious.

 

 

- decoding ambient text silently in their heads without having to stare and worry

- looking for books to read independently as a source of entertainment

[muffinmom]

When the child recognizes any word. :-)

 

John Holt made a good point about learning how to play the piano. He asked when someones goes from *learning* how to play to *playing*? His answer was that there is no difference. Someone who is just beginning is playing; he just doesn't play as well as he will next year, as well as someone who has been playing for many years.

 

Reading, IMHO, is the same way. A child who is reading even a little is still reading, even if he is not reading as well as children who are the same age as he. We all feel better, of course, when our dc are reading as well as their age peers. :-)

 

I agree with this. There's learning to read, starting to read, reading fluently.

[lgm]

For me, it's when they understand letter-sound correspondence and use that knowledge to figure out words.

 

For ex. the sign "Drug Free School Zone"...when you pass that one and they ask from the backseat why drugs are free in school, you know they can read.

[Peek a Boo]

When the child recognizes any word. :-)

 

John Holt made a good point about learning how to play the piano. He asked when someones goes from *learning* how to play to *playing*? His answer was that there is no difference. Someone who is just beginning is playing; he just doesn't play as well as he will next year, as well as someone who has been playing for many years.

 

Reading, IMHO, is the same way. A child who is reading even a little is still reading, even if he is not reading as well as children who are the same age as he. We all feel better, of course, when our dc are reading as well as their age peers. :-)

 

:iagree:

 

 

I will admit my comfort level in their reading is highest when they are reading chapter books for fun, even higher when they are reading for research, and highest when they are researching for fun. :D

[Garga]

Their feet are in the door (but just barely) when they can read Frog and Toad.

 

And I'll do a little dance when they can read a chapter book on their own, for pleasure, without pictures.

[lionfamily1999]

Love you too! But what was that for? :)

According to you, Luke can read... according to me, not just yet ;) Always nice to have outside opinions on my dcs (even if it wasn't pointed directly to them) that are actually higher than my own, lol!

 

And I love you, do I need any other reason to send hugs :lol:

[FairProspects]

I agree with the pp who said that when they start sounding out words in their surroundings--stores, signs, traffic signs, etc, and making sense of them--that they are readers. For example, my 5 year old is in this phase and I consider her a reader. My 4 year old can sound out several CVC words, but she doesn't have much interest in discovering what else she can do with the written word.

 

WooHoo! Then ds is officially a reader as of this week! At the mall last Saturday, he grabbed my hand and said "Mom that sign says enter!" That's the first time he has ever done something like that!

[Trixie]

No right or wrong answer here, but I'm wondering what other people consider the "tipping point" when you start thinking: "my child knows how to read."

 

...

 

What is a child doing when you deem them a "reader"? I'm curious.

 

Bill

 

 

I think of "knowing how to read" and "being a reader" as two different things, so I agree with Scuff's post (except that I wouldn't call it being "caught" ;)):

 

I consider them able to read when they can successfully blend words together on their own. I consider them a "reader" when they start wanting to read books and are caught doing it without being told.

[Chris in VA]

I agree with the others that say the first time they decode a 3 letter word, they are reading.

After all, don't we say they can walk when they take their first step? They become more proficient, sure, but they "walked" that first step day--that's the one we remember, that's the one that counts.

[rafiki]

.

[SusanAR]

My dd could sound out words and answer comprehension questions early on, but it took her a long time (3rd grade ??) before she learned to "experience" reading- envisioning what is happening and feeling a part of it (the "movie" playing in your imagination:)). Once this occurred she loved to read. My ds began doing this at the end of 1st grade. I think it is a maturity issue.

[Lovedtodeath]

According to you, Luke can read... according to me, not just yet ;) Always nice to have outside opinions on my dcs (even if it wasn't pointed directly to them) that are actually higher than my own, lol!

Well, I would say that he is reading beyond the typical level for his age!

 

Oh, I remember another one... when my five year old started asking me things about my emails. I knew she could read books, but I figured that I typed faster than she read. :lol:

[Spy Car]

For me, that time came when my boys could read Frog and Toad (or other level 2 readers) and make the sentences sound coherent. That is also about the stage when they started reading everything around them (signs, etc.).

 

It was "Frog and Toad are Friends" that got me really thinking. A couple weeks back I asked him to read a little and out flew 3 perfectly fluent sentences.

 

I stared laughing saying "you can read", and he was protesting: "No, I can't. No, I can't. No, I can't. YES YOU CAN!!! No, I can't. No, I can't. No, I can't.

 

It was priceless.

 

The funny thing is I feel like there is something "riding on this" determination, when it's surely not the case :lol:

 

Bill (who knows he's in good company :D)

[Donna]

The funny thing is I feel like there is something "riding on this" determination, when it's surely not the case :lol:

 

Bill (who knows he's in good company :D)

 

I think the only time one's definition of what determines when a child is reading comes into play when you are telling someone your child can read. I know people who say their child was reading at 18 months or 2 or 5 or 6yo but one's definition of reading would clearly make a difference when discussing that.

 

I define reading as when my kids were able to pick up an unfamiliar book and read it (I had a couple annoying kids who memorized books easily so it had to be an unfamiliar book). Before that...knowing letter sounds and blending to form words, I considered learning to read.

[lionfamily1999]

Well, I would say that he is reading beyond the typical level for his age!

 

Oh, I remember another one... when my five year old started asking me things about my emails. I knew she could read books, but I figured that I typed faster than she read. :lol:

When dd and older ds figured out what we were spelling to each other... that was a milestone ;)

It was "Frog and Toad are Friends" that got me really thinking. A couple weeks back I asked him to read a little and out flew 3 perfectly fluent sentences.

 

I stared laughing saying "you can read", and he was protesting: "No, I can't. No, I can't. No, I can't. YES YOU CAN!!! No, I can't. No, I can't. No, I can't.

 

It was priceless.

 

The funny thing is I feel like there is something "riding on this" determination, when it's surely not the case :lol:

 

Bill (who knows he's in good company :D)

I've had that conversation three times now. Older dd decided she could read when she could pick out 'any' book and read it on her own. Ds started reading under cover, but still didn't think he could read, because he couldn't understand all the words. Now, my youngest, can sound out and 'read' a Bob Book, but insists he can't read, because (I suppose) it's still very difficult.

 

Amazing they'll argue you down on that!

[Mommy22alyns]

I considered my girls readers when they weren't sounding words out; they were reading smoothly things that they hadn't seen before (so they didn't have the story memorized).

[kalanamak]

I think, Bill, your son is a bit younger than mine, and I wondered the same thing. I have to say, it reminds me of being an adolescent and wondering what an o*ga*m was. I tell you, when your kid is a reader, you just plain KNOW it. It is that cut and dried, for me.

[J'etudie]

Actually, I think I say they can read when they can sound out a new word quickly and correctly, not saying "/k/ -- aaaaaaaaaaa -- /t/, cat." I call them fluent readers when they can read most of a "Reading On My Own" book.

[smrtmama]

No right or wrong answer here, but I'm wondering what other people consider the "tipping point" when you start thinking: "my child knows how to read."

 

Obviously learning to read is a skill that develops over a long time, and probably some wise folks might think: my child is in the "reading-development" phase, but for those who see the world a little more black and white...

 

What is a child doing when you deem them a "reader"? I'm curious.

 

Bill

 

I don't know, honestly. We never hit that. My oldest was reading SO early that we were actually surprised to discover he could distinguish between similar, unfamiliar written words at age two. He used to play a word game with my mother, where she'd write words on a Magnadoodle and he'd say what they were, then she'd draw a picture. They did really simple words, normally, so we figured he knew them by sight -- until the day (at 25 months old) he could distinguish between worm, work, and word, three words he'd never seen written on the board before. From that point on, he could sound out any word you showed him, and he was able to easily string them together into sentences shortly thereafter.

 

My 3.5 year old second son, however, still doesn't know all his letters.

[OHGrandma]

I agree with this. There's learning to read, starting to read, reading fluently.

 

And after that, there's reading to learn.

[EKS]

I describe a child as being able to read when he can sound out words. But I only relax in the reading instruction department when the child is reading on about a 5th grade level (800+ lexile) fluently and with enjoyment.

[skaterbabs]

I knew my daughter could read when she pointed to the emergency exit at Wal-Mart and said, "Mommy, that sign says 'emergency'!"

[AuntieM]

When s/he engages new words in context, can pretty well decode them AND consider a new word's meaning within the context. Did that make sense? Of course they won't always know or be able to figure out what the word means, but for me, the stage is marked by a lot of questions like, "What does (some passably-well-pronounced new word) mean?" It tells me the child is reading independently and is being responsible to investigate unfamiliar terms, though the new terms aren't so intimidating that the child just stops reading altogether.

 

It's a good question, Bill, I haven't read all the replies but I imagine a lot of variance! And I am certainly no expert, just a mom who's taught 4 to read (well, the last virtually taught herself...).

[TravelingChris]

My youngest is an extreme perfectionist. She started reading Forg and Toad books and she didn't consider herself reading. She went on to harder and longer books, Flat Stanley, etc, - nope, she wasn't reading according to her. It finally took Harry Potter for her to consider herself a reader and she was nine or ten by then. SHe was a reader much earlier, of course, but it was interesting to see how she didn't consider herself one until she could read anything she wanted.