Can children normally read by the time they start school?

Question

My daughter will be starting in august and she'l be five in October. She can only recognise a few letters, wheras me and my three sisters could all read quite fluently by the time we started school.

Answer 1

Children will learn to read when they are developmentally ready. This varies from child to child. Some children are not ready until about 7-8 years old. It is not common for very young children to read. I am a Master Reading teacher with a masters degree in early childhood/elementary education.

Please continue to encourage your child to "Play" with language and reading. Reading street signs, cereal boxes, helping to read directions, etc. There are many games you can play with her and I am sure you already know many of them. Also read to her and encourage her to talk about what you have read. Allow her to "read" her favorite books to you , I am sure she knows some of the by heart.

Please do not push her or hector her to read beyond what she feels comfortable with. You will do more harm than good and may cause her to dislike reading altogether.

Whe will be "pushed" enough once she starts school because the teachers are under great pressure to have all their kindergarten children reading by years in.

Believe me, this quest is futile and is doing more harm than good. Jean Piaget had it right years ago when he said that every child will learn what they are ready to learn.

My daddy was right when he said, "You can flog a dead horse, but he ain't gonna get up and go."

Good luck to you and your daughter. Enjoy her babyhood - she will grow up all too fast.

Answer 2

What age were you when you started school? I could read by the time I started school but I was 5 (just) and my mum was a trained primary school teacher!!! My daughter starts in September and she has just turned 4. She recognises all the letters and recognises a few words - mainly her name, on, off, mummy, daddy, tesco, sainsburys etc. Recognising that a particular set of letters is a known word is not the same as being able to apply the rules of spelling/reading to work out what a string of letters says so it also depends on your definition of reading.

All children learn at different rates and many teachers prefer to teach reading etc by their own method so like to start with a clean slate. It's certainly not something to worry about but if you do want to help her I would concentrate on helping her to recognise the different letters. Don't overdo it - just 5 minutes once a day when you have the spare time to turn it into a bit of a game. Keep the atmosphere light and don't show frustration when she struggles. Most of all, don't worry!!!

Answer 3

No its not normal to be able to read before starting school. We when young were almost forced to from an early age but this is no longer the norm. They don't really expect them to be reading fluently until primary three or so. They also have much different methods of teaching word recognition now that our teachings would be wrong. So let your daughter enjoy the summer and her play until she gets to school. If she is looking like she is not mature enough for starting then you can always defer her a year but doesn't sound like she will have any problems. Both mine started in the August and they were not five untill the end of November and December. They are now 7 and 10 and doing very well and niether of them read a word before starting school. So stop worrying man.

Answer 4

Very few children can actually read by the time they get into Kindergarten. Some parents swear up and down that their children can read, but reading means fluently reading on your own with no help. That is great she is learning her letters. That is a good start. Most children will learn how to read fluently on their own by the age of 9, but ocassionally you will have some later readers and it has nothing to do with intelligence. Some really bright children read later on. Don't let anyone worry you. This is what Kindy is all about is learning these things. You can help at home by teaching her ABC's and some of the sounds they make. She will learn soon enough. No rush to make her learn something that she isn't ready to.

Answer 5

Children will learn when they want to. Children who start before they go to school (either self taught or taught by a parent) can take the initial stages much more slowly. Children who learn at school are automatically put in a pressured situation no matter how hard the school tries to avoid this (and schools do). The good news is that most kids manage.

The parents 'teaching the wrong way' problem is a bit of a fiction and I haven't seen any real research on it However I am sure parents can damage their children's attitude to reading (eg making it too important, creating feelings of failure . . . ). Learning to read should be a fun and relaxed activity both at school and at home.

So to answer your question; children can read quite normally by the time they get to school, but no, it is does not normally happen. I only taught my children to read preschool because I had been taught to read and loved it. Reading was one of my childhood joys.

Any questions contact me through Yahoo.

I am a Primary School teacher.

Answer 6

Children are not expected to be able to read when they start school. If they can recognise the phonic of each letter of the alphabet (the sound the letter makes rather than the name), then that is excellent, but any knowledge of letter sounds is a bonus. The foundation stage (that includes reception, 4-5 year olds) does not focus particularly on being able to read, but to consilodate the knowledge of phonics and being able to put the letter sounds together to form words. Some children can 'read' before they enter school, but it will not give them any advantage, it is not how the curriculum is structured. I am a teacher in a First school. Don't worry, your daughter will be absolutely fine. She'll flourish at school & learn lots of skills to enable her to read properly & with meaning.

Answer 7

no if your child could read by the time she started school that would be a bonus. A child of your daughters age should be having letters introduced to them ( mainly the sounds such as a for apple) its easy for children 2 remember word but then when it comes to a word they dont no thats when they struggle. work on sounds and then build simple cvcs such as c-a-t everytime your child reads something or writes something go through the letters. before a child reads ty should know that print conveys meaning and have an idea about authors titles etc. Theres plenty of time. rush your child and they would go the other way

Answer 8

My daughter is in her first year at school and she will be 5 in July, she has been reading quite well for only a few months (only small words but in sentences) whereas my son could read very well when he was 3. All children are different, you will find when she goes to school she will learn really quickly, thats what teachers are for!!.DONT WORRY!!

Answer 9

All children will learn to read at slightly different rates so don't worry yourself unnecessarily. I don't know what country you're in and I expect things vary between countries as well but in the UK, most infant schools put children in little groups according to their ability, so she will more than likely be placed with other children who are a similar level.

If you'd like to help her more, you could try making little cards with common small words on (e.g. and, the cat, dog) that she can learn to recognise, or find out which reading scheme the school uses and buy one or two of the earlier books.
Read to her lots, following the words with your fingers so she gets the idea that reading goes from left to right, point out words in signs etc that are the same as in your cards, before you know it she will be doing the same and will be away.

Make up silly fun games with letters, remember to make the letter sounds rather than their names, for example a as in apple rather than A (ay), b as in bat rather than B (bee), c as in cat rather than C (see).

Good luck

Answer 10

The Early Learning Goals most nurseries work on doesnt put to much emphashis on reading it focuses on letter sounds, feeling positive towards stories, understanding what text is, structure of books etc. The reception year and KS1 year is when your daughter will be working towards readingand literacy goals.

You can always help her on her way but doing activities at home such as reading stoies with repeated phrases so she can being to recognise words, look at words beginning with the sam letter as her name! etc