Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What counts as reading?

Simple question, but I couldn't find the answer on Google (or most likely I wasn't searching the right terms).

When you say a child learned to read at X years old, does that mean reading single words, or sentences, or whole books, etc.?

That is a good question. I would say that it means the child has learned the basics of phonetic decoding ("cracked the code", as reading teachers like to say), which includes blending letter sounds to form words. So a beginning reader typically can read simple structures like CVC (consonant-short vowel-consonant) words, using the first (most common) sound of the letters, and may have a store of under 100 high-frequency words by sight. Most readers reach this stage somewhere between late in kindergarten and mid-way through first grade.

Progressing from single words to sentences usually doesn't take that long, as long as the words in the sentences are fully decodable or in their high-frequency sight vocabulary. The distance from sentences to whole books depends largely on the text density of the book, since many early readers only have a single sentence on each page, accompanied by many visual cues and illustrations. If you're talking about what we consider fluent/mastery readers, that usually takes until the end of third grade, for NT readers, at which point most readers can handle somewhat more substantial chapter books, and need primarily to practice, and build up vocabulary, rather than learn mechanical reading skills.

I often wondered this. I ended up going with the age DS was able to actually sit down and read something, so when he was reading a novel level 1 reader without any help and was able to enjoy and talk about what he had read. Up until that point I considered him to be learning to read.

I often wondered the same with crawling, I considered DS to be crawling when he was on hands and knees and able to purposefully move across the room to get something, but later I noticed many people saying their kids were crawling when they were just dragging themselves along or when they got up on all fours and wiggled out a little progress. There doesn't seem to be a set definition for any of this stuff which makes it hard to understand what is being asked for precisely when we are asked for milestones. I tend to always go with the most stringent definition of everything, I don't need to say DS talked at 1 month because he made a word like sound, crawled at 3 months because he traveled across his crib, walked at 7 months because he let go once while cruising, read at 1 because he knew the words stop and exit (from signs), etc. DS read at 3, late 3 even. Until that time he was not able to put it all together and actually read something in a way that I consider to be reading.

Don't get me started on all of the videos friends post on facebook of their kids "reading" memorized books or, my favorite, those readers they give out in K that repeat the same 2 words and add one novel word in, say a color, written in the color the word represents (I like Green. I like Yellow. I like Blue. etc.) Sorry, not reading. This would probably not bother me so much if I could also have posted early reading videos of my son. But of course I couldn't. That would be bragging and showing off, something you can't do once your kid is too far outside of the realm of average.

But yeah, that is what I went with and I feel confident and truthful saying that is when DS read. But I also keep in mind that my definition is certainly not the one everyone uses, especially on social media.

Thanks aeh! Good to know

SaturnFan, I feel like you. I don't feel I can say DD4 is reading yet because she can only decode simple phonetic words (which she's been able to do since late 2/early 3) but hasn't progressed much beyond that point. Having said that, I haven't made any effort to help her. I get a bit confused between scaffolding and hot housing. But this week I borrowed some flash cards from a friend and after a few days DD4 is pretty close to what I would call reading. She gets a lot further in books by herself now that she's got those sight words plus the basic decoding skills she had before. But still not reading solo. I'm a bit conflicted about whether I should keep going with more flash cards/sight words or let her figure things out by herself. Anyhow. At least if I ever feel the urge, I can say she 'cracked the code' and started 'reading' at 2

With the flashcards stick them with her books and do them if she asks.

My DS started sounding out words around 2 as well, but to me that didn't mean much as he didn't have the other cognitive skills to actually properly read at that point. I wouldn't say that I taught him, as in I didn't use flash cards or workbooks or anything, but I did tell him the sounds the letters make and point out words/print in his environment and I figured he would pick up what he would pick up. I might not have done even that had DS not been super interested in letters/the idea of reading. I would say if your DD is asking to learn to read or showing strong interest when you talk about reading then go ahead and teach as long as you keep it fun and child led. One thing I did once DS started reading was to read together and take turns per page, that way he got practice, had a great time reading with mom, and wasn't overwhelmed by too much work all at once. I also bought a lot of books to make sure there was always something interesting to read that tapped into his interests at the time.

I don't consider teaching kids a problem if it is child led. You wouldn't say that you taught your child to eat just because you prepared some mashed up food and placed it in front of the kid and offered a little guidance for getting it into their mouth. If you squeeze the kid's cheeks open and shove the food in, well that's totally different. If you make feeding time super fun with sound effects and games, well, maybe you will feed your kid more than they naturally would have eaten, but I think it's up to each individual family if they consider that to be acceptable or not. I did not feel pressured not to teach DS anything just to keep up the appearance that I wasn't pushing him. I knew I was just following his lead and that others would judge no matter what. I never helped him eat either, but it doesn't bother me if other people use airplane sounds to get food in a kid as that is well within the realm of normal parenting.

I think the vast majority of parents tell young children colors and numbers and practice counting, etc. and this is fine. I think most kids master this stuff when they are ready. As long as your child is eager to do the learning activities you are presenting and isn't getting frustrated and it is something you feel fits with your parenting style, I say go for it. Either you teach her or they will teach her at school, what's the difference really?

I would agree that as long as it is child-led and enjoyable for the child, "teach" as much as she wants. Given that you're worrying about hot housing, you won't be pushing her too much. It's the parents who are unaware they are pressuring their children who are in danger of hot housing. In any case, I believe it is generally the role of parents to teach their children to develop the skills necessary for independent adulthood.

I did teach mine, to varying degrees, and mainly by request. One has dyslexic qualities, and needed a bit more explicit instruction. Others learned mainly in the process of shared read-alouds, or from older siblings, with embedded phonics instruction and scaffolded reading by the child. Very little reading was taught in isolation (except for the child who received more OG-style instruction). One knew all the letter (primary) sounds for over a year before suddenly blending them into words, at which point it was a few short months to fluent independent reading. Others progressed on a smoother trajectory.

I suspect that when most people state that their child read at a particular age, and that age is early, they are talking about decoding CVC type words. But I agree with you, there are different degrees of "reading" which is why I always qualify my statements by saying things like:

He could decode CVC words at age two.

He could read fluently on a first grade level at age three.

He could read anything you put in front of him, not necessarily with full understanding, at age 6.

I count reading as being able to read multiple word sentences and comprehend what it's saying. Until then it is just reading single words.