SKL Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 At what age was your child reading comfortably at the "Primer" level? Please also state whether your child is a boy or girl. I have a daughter working to overcome learning barriers, and I want to get a feel for where she falls within the range of beginning readers. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 My daughter was a young 5 starting K (late summer birthday) and didn't know all her letter sounds at that time. She was reading on a primer level by the end of K but it was not "fluent" in that she really worked to sound out words. My DS turned 4 this month and is already reading on Primer level and he pretty much self taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 None of my kids were reading on a comfortable primer level until the end of K/beginning of first grade. All of them are now reading "above grade level." It might be helpful to define what you mean by primer level. I am defining it based on the primers I taught with as a first grade teacher--basic words like cat, play, the, cvc words. As a teacher some kids (without problems) did not pass this level until mid first grade and were strong readers at the end of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 DD was not quite 4 - she went in one day from just doing phonics sounds to reading green eggs and ham. It took her a hour to finish with my help, but she read the entire book with minimal help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 What do you mean by primer level? I didn't really use a reading program so I'm not sure what you mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Oldest was 4.5 and started out at that level (self-taught, took off quickly, never did the CVC sounding out stage at all). My middle one was 5 in November and is still sounding out everything (and has been since he was a young 4!). I think it will be a while before he can read a Primer (I assume you mean something like the Treadwell Primer?). I'm thinking those are more 1st grade reading level usually, so I wouldn't expect every K'er to read those, especially at this time of year. I remember in my son's K class, about this time of year, a mom of another child posted on FB that her son had just read his first book (very easy reader, Bob book type book). In first grade, he was in the "advanced reading" group. Sometimes you just have to wait for that click. Of course, if there are any vision issues or anything going on, that's different. Not reading mid-year of K isn't a red flag by itself, but if she has other red flags that would suggest a vision problem, it doesn't hurt to get that checked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay3fer Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I've had 4 kids, all quite bright, with a range of starting ages. Son 1 - age 3 Daughter 1 - age 7 Daughter 2 - age 6 Son 2 - age 4 As any unschooler will tell you, "normal" extends even to age 8, and beyond... though I would likely panic well before that. The one who took the longest, by the way, caught up fast and is now an EXCELLENT reader. She remembers being in the "dummy" reading group in school, too. Not her best memories, and a good reminder not to label kids based only on their current abilities in one area. :-) Good luck with your dd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 At what age was your child reading comfortably at the "Primer" level? Please also state whether your child is a boy or girl. I have a daughter working to overcome learning barriers, and I want to get a feel for where she falls within the range of beginning readers. Thanks! In October my daughter knew almost none of her letters. She is now reading the McGuffey Primer, I think lesson XXIII. Don't know if that's "primer level" or not. She reads 25-50 wpm on the early pages of the Victory Drill Book. I don't think that reading has 'clicked' for her yet, if that's what you mean, where she reads fluently without having to sound out the words. That exempts of course the words she's seen millions of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think of "primer" in the Dick-and-Jane sense. My dd is picking up sight words faster than phonics at this point (I know that's not true for all kids). If you have any familiar with the beginning reader storybooks by Margaret Hillert - she's pretty comfortable reading those - though I have to help with maybe 5%+/- of the words. She doesn't read quickly, but at a sufficient pace to keep track of the meaning. I've been pleased with her recent progress, but wanted a sanity check. My dd's diagnosed problem is visual, but she might have other "stuff" going on. She's had vision therapy, which made her eyes work correctly, per the doc. She still has trouble with visual memory. She has to see a word (or symbol) many times before she remembers it. But this seems to be improving. Her phonetic decoding skills are not great, but her class hasn't started blending words, so I'm not worrying about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgialee Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think it will vary greatly as well based on the type of instruction - for example, we don't do any sight words, we follow the spalding method. Ds turned 6 in October and he is able to work his way through a level 1 book with minimal help (but still with some frustration). I'm expecting by the end of the school year he will be ready relatively 'fluently'. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think of "primer" in the Dick-and-Jane sense. My dd is picking up sight words faster than phonics at this point (I know that's not true for all kids). If you have any familiar with the beginning reader storybooks by Margaret Hillert - she's pretty comfortable reading those - though I have to help with maybe 5%+/- of the words. She doesn't read quickly, but at a sufficient pace to keep track of the meaning. I've been pleased with her recent progress, but wanted a sanity check. My dd's diagnosed problem is visual, but she might have other "stuff" going on. She's had vision therapy, which made her eyes work correctly, per the doc. She still has trouble with visual memory. She has to see a word (or symbol) many times before she remembers it. But this seems to be improving. Her phonetic decoding skills are not great, but her class hasn't started blending words, so I'm not worrying about that. Seeing words a number of times before remembering can be a developmental stage in learning to read. It wouldn't be considered a problem until 7/8. (If I remember correctly she is closer to 4?) This is true even of gifted children. (Reading early is a soft indicator of giftedness.) As the two hemispheres of the brain strengthen their connection all the parts of learning to read "click." After that happens learning to read can happen very quickly. I would just work on the vision therapy and keep reading to her. Working on reading early before her brain is ready could lead to needless frustration (and, some believe lead to LDs.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Reading development is like any other developmental skill. There's going to be a bell curve, with outliers at either end. My 15 yo was a self-taught reader, and by the time she was 4, she could read fluently. By 5, she could read pretty much anything, even if she didn't understand it. She was (and still is) my outlier. :) My 13 yo started K at 5 as a non-reader. Her skills fell totally in line with our K12 phonics program, and she took off reading the summer after K. She has a June birthday, so I'd say she was a solid reader by 6. My 10yo started K at 5 (August birthday) as a non-reader, went through two years of intensive phonics, but didn't really "click" with reading until last year. I don't think he was reading "comfortably" at the primer level until he was probably 8, maybe even 9. Now he reads right about on grade level. My kindergartner just turned 6 in January. He sounds out CVC words, and knows a handful of sight words. He's still at the stage where he'll repeatedly sound things out, even words he's already sounded out in the same sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Seeing words a number of times before remembering can be a developmental stage in learning to read. ... (If I remember correctly she is closer to 4?) ... Working on reading early before her brain is ready could lead to needless frustration (and, some believe lead to LDs.) This dd turned 5 in October and is in a charter KG. I would not have pushed the sight words, except that her class started having to learn 10 words per week in November. I was a bit worried, but she works hard and holds her own. Lately on the Friday word tests, she's been getting 10/10 right. But initially it was quite a challenge for her, and it still doesn't come easily. I'm relieved to hear that even good readers start out not recalling words they've recently seen. My other dd is the opposite, so I was not sure what would be "average." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 DS7 started K at 5 (Aug birthday) and this year, as a second grader, something has finally started to click - he's reading much better and gaining fluency and speed in his reading aloud and his reading comprehension is great. He's reading at grade level, but it's still a slow process IMO and he doesn't want to read for pleasure yet, but will read when he needs to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) DS who was self taught reader, reads Dr Seuss when he was 2. (almost 3) DD who was taught by me, reads frog and toads, little bears at 3 (almost 4) Edited January 31, 2012 by jennynd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) My older two were comfortably reading beyond the primer level between ages 4-5. My youngest has a couple of visual processing problems that her doctors assured me she would outgrow by the end of age 7 so we worked dutifully and slowly on phonics and skipped actual reading practice until she turned 7 because it frustrated and embarrassed her (it is hard being the only non-reader in a house full of bibliophiles). Now she is almost comfortable reading Level 2 readers even though she tires easily from it. We're working on that. This is the book she read last week for her reading practice. She is also almost finished with ETC4. She turned 7 in October and most of her visual processing problems have abated, but it is still obvious that they aren't completely gone. Edited January 31, 2012 by Karen in CO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arghmatey Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 4YO female Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 My oldest was 7 and in the second half of first grade before something clicked well enough for her to start reading CVC words. She was definitely below grade level when we started second grade. She needed help with 10-20 words per selection in her second grade readers when we started. She is now doing really well and is solidly at least a third grade reading level half-way through second grade. My 5 year old came up to me and showed me she could read most 4 letter words while she was still 4. She is a little beyond that now, but hasn't taken off reading chapter books or anything like that. The 3 year old knows her letters, including lowercase, and most of the sounds, but I haven't observed her doing any reading yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 DS taught himself at 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I'm not sure what Primer level means but both of my reading kids started sounding out cvc words at 4, could read simple stories at 5(i.e. Bob Books etc.) and started reading easy readers(i.e. level 1-2or so) at age 6. I'm talking about 1 boy and 1 girl.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 DD is 5 with a September birthday. I am doing 100 EL with her. She finally picked up blending words recently and is pretty decent at cvc words. She has to sound out most words except for a few sight words and does not remember words even that come up frequently when she comes to them again. Now that we are farther in the book she mixing up rules more especially long and short vowels and digraphs. I think it was too many rule too in too little time for her with no real sequence. She had a hard time with learning letters but not sounds so I wonder if she has issues with keeping the visual picture in her head or if it is because she is still young. If she were in school she would be doing fine for a kindergartner but I want to make sure I keep working with her in case she does have an issue that will make it harder for her. I also know that sometimes things just click all of a sudden like blending did for her. She could do a bob book but made some mistakes and had to sound out everything and paused a lot so I stopped those for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I won't list the ages for my children, because I believe you said my oldest was outside the norm. I would say that if she is making consistent gains, I wouldn't be worried. It sounds like she is doing that from your description. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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