How old was your child when they started reading to themself with comprehension?

[Karenciavo]

nt

[Elm in NJ]

eldest(now 13 ) was 4

middle ds( now 9) was 5

twins(now 7) were 6.

[Melissa B]

I would say both my girls were eight.

 

That is the age when they could take a book like Stuart Little or one of the Childhood of Famous Americans biographies and read it to themselves over several days, bring it back to me and give me a detailed account of what had happened in the book.

 

Before the age of eight, we would do all of our school reading aloud. They may have read the leveled readers or picture books to themselves. But, I would not assign any school reading for them to read alone.

[~Sunny~]

DD just started reading on her own before her school even taught it. She is 5.

[dcjlkplus3]

my dd7 is doing that this year.

Her comprehension is I think better than her ability to explain it yet, i expect that to improve.

She is doing at least some of her work independently this year.

[runamuk]

Our oldest (now 19) was about 8 or 9.

Our middle child (now 8) was 5. She was reading quite well in Kindergarten.

Our youngest (4) isn't reading yet, but can remember what I read very well.

[Michelle T]

Definitely not earlier.

Michelle T

[King Alfred Academy]

DS (now 7) was 5

 

DS (now 5) will be older when I think he'll "get it".

[Karen in CO]

My dd had been reading for more than two years before she picked up a book she wanted to read, and said "Wow! I can read!" Silly child.

 

She started reading silently around age 7 and that is when she took off in what I would call independent reading. She reads complex chapter books with great comprehension. I was able to assign her short reading assignments in science and history around age six.

 

I think comprehension is one of those things that means different things to different people.

[Titus.Two.Five]

Reading between 4 and 5, good comprehension between 7 and 8

[Blue Hen]

nt

 

DS began reading on his own in the beginning of first grade, and while he was still sounding out the word he was comprehending the story. Even today, as an 11th grader while reading tough classics he has unbelievable comprehension. But back as first grader it was so funny, he would be sitting there laughing his head off as he read a Frog & Toad story, sounding out the words, and laughing cause he got the storyline.

 

DS#2 began reading as a K'er, slower to move to more advanced books and now in 7th grade still has great trouble with reading comprehension. Probably though it was in second grade when he finally started getting some of the story he was reading.

 

The 'rule of thumb' I've heard to use is that if the child is working on sounding out the words, and working on saying what the word is then do not expect them to also comprehend that story. That's why it is so critical to keep doing read-alouds way, way past the point in time when they are reading fluently on their own.

 

Carole

[Kuovonne]

DD is 5 years old and reads pretty well.

However her comprehension varies greatly from book to book.

 

For example, she read Flat Stanley (a beginner chapter book)

to herself and was able to tell me what happened in the book.

However, the other day, I was reading a picture book to her

and pointed to one of the main characters in a picture, and

she had no clue who it was!!!

[Emmy]

My oldest could read books for fun independently around the time he turned 7. Stuff like Nate the Great, magic Treehouse, etc. But I wouldn't have handed him a book for science or history and told him to read on his own (he often looked at our books for history and science on his own though - particularly the Usborne ones or the picture books) Just in the last few weeks I've seen his reading come up to the point where I'm no longer asking him to read everything to me aloud. I'm right now starting to "try out" giving him a children's book on gladiators and saying - here, read for half an hour and we'll talk about it. I'm hoping we'll segue into that this school year - just in time for me to spend more time with the middle 2 kids.

[Jenny in Florida]

My daughter was five, but my son didn't really "get it" until he was about six and a half.

[5sweeties]

Oldest dd was reading at 2, and could comprehend everything she read. Her comprehension grew with her ability. By the time she was 5, she was reading novels and understanding completely. This, however, in my experience, is far from "normal."

 

10yo dd started reading, with difficulty, at age 5, and it was very, very tough. However, her comprehension has always been amazing. To listen to her read, you wouldn't think she could understand well, but this is furthest from truth. She remembers and understands everything. It is just plowing through the material that is difficult. Same when I read to her. She could re-write the entire story or text in detail, without missing anything.

 

8yo dd started reading, well, at 5, but her comprehension lagged behind. It wasn't until she was about 7.5 that I could hand her a book, and she could read it silently, and have good understanding and be able to dictate the story back to me and understand meaning.

 

7yo dd started reading last year, at age 6, and (I assume) because of her age, comprehension comes easily. She didn't have a lot of lag time between learning to read, and her maturity for understanding, catching up to her ability to decode text.

 

6yo ds started reading last year, at age 5, and I would say he is pretty normal. Does a lot of sounding out still, so it takes time, but he "gets" it. But, he is still reading pretty simple stuff. Danny and the Dinosaur, and such.

[dorothy]

My ds/5 is reading pretty well (readers level 1 and 2) except for the b and d issue. It makes me nuts. I have tried a bunch of tricks, helps, etc., and it gets him every time. I know it will pass (at least I hope so) but boy is it taking a long time. Just venting.

[Stacey in MA]

nt

[Laura Corin]

Both of them were four: Calvin early four, Hobbes late four.

 

Laura

[Mommy22alyns]

Reading on their own, or reading silently?

 

Becca started reading at 4 with excellent comprehension, but she still hasn't mastered reading silently. Of course, I wonder if she'll ever master doing anything silently... (sorry, it's been a long day!) :glare:

 

ETA: She was no-doubt reading at 4.5, that's when I felt confident enough to really call her a reader.

Edited October 15, 2008 by Mommy22alyns

[Karenciavo]

When I said "to themselves" I meant silently. Sorry for the confusion.

[Pongo]

When I said "to themselves" I meant silently. Sorry for the confusion.

 

I would say this was done by my dd and ds in the latter half of second grade. That would make my ds 8.2 and dd 7.6. My 1st grader is still reading out loud and I guess she will also be ready at the end second making her 7.8.

[laughing lioness]

between 6 & 7 for the older 4. My youngest is on her way and 5 1/2.

[LanaTron]

Dc #1 was 9 or 10

 

Dc #2 was 7

 

Dc #3 was (and is) 8

 

Dc #4 is just starting to sound out CVC words at age 6.

[Jennay]

My oldest is almost 6 and was an extremely early reader (age 2 - I'm not kidding!) So, he was reading silently to himself with good comphrehension at 4.

My second is almost 5 and just now starting to read.

[EKS]

My 12 yo didn't read independently (meaning by himself because he wanted to) until he was almost 9. My 6 yo started doing this when he was 4.

[Mama Lynx]

I've currently got an 8 year old who can't do it, and a 6 year old who likely can.

 

My oldest was probably 9 before he could. Now he's 12 and reads Homer and Locke fairly easily.

[Peela]

About 7 for one and 8 for the other.

[love2read]

They've all been different ages, but the common theme is that they were reading at about the third grade reading level. It seems at that level the books become more interesting and more are available (e.g., Boxcar Children)