500L is more like a typical 3rd grade reader, but a 2nd grade text level. At the K/1 level, Berenstain Bears are generally read-alouds. He is well beyond that level, just based on the snippets you've described. K/1 is largely cvc, cvce, some of the more common dipthongs, and about 100 of the 220 Dolch sight words, with most of those categories weighted toward first grade. Though of course, some districts run behind or ahead.
Thanks aeh, that's informative. Being a woman who likes a plan, I'll continue to read aloud books at interest level, but should I give him some quick, informal reading instruction at a higher than K/1 level as a confidence booster? If so, what would that entail? Lately, he has been asking me to read everything in our environment to him, including fine print on menus, traffic signs, food packaging. He especially wants ato read anything that looks like a warning sign! I've been operating on the assumption that just doing that alone will probably give him a good repository of sight words, and the fun challenge of being able to determine general phonetic rules from examples. It might be ineffective for supporting fluency, though. Lazy parenting, I suppose!
