When Should Your Child be a Proficient Reader?
So funny story, I had been teaching First grade for two years. I was then moved to Third grade (where I went kicking and screaming btw)! Having taught in the earlier primary grades for a few years, teaching phonics was my jam! Here in Florida, Third grade is where state testing begins, so teaching Reading is serious business!! My class that year was particularly low-academically. 60% of my class was below grade level by 1-2 grades. They needed phonics work in particular. To me, that was no big deal (the art of teaching phonics). Once I started meeting with my team (seasoned 3rd grade teachers), they were not used to having to teach phonics because their students historically came with a strong foundation in phonemic awareness. As I mentioned, third grade is the first grade of state testing in my state. The rule here is, if a student does not pass, they are automatically retained. It was through these conversations that reality set in and I thought, “man this is different!” I was in the “big leagues,” as I would joke! This posed the question though, WHY? Why is third grade so important? Why is the retention mandatory? Keep reading.
Third grade is so pivotal because it is the last grade where children are “learning to read.” Often times, the switch happens before third grade even ends. Reading instruction begins to shift to “reading to learn.” Research tells us that if students are not proficient readers by the end of third grade, half of the curriculum taught in fourth grade will be incomprehensible. Research also tells us that students who are not proficiently reading by the end of third grade are four times likely to drop out of high school. To take it a step further, 88% of students who did not complete high school struggled to read in third grade.
WOW! What does this tell us? Proficiently reading by the end of third grade starts well before third grade. How do I do this? Below, I’ve listed some strategies to begin implementing NOW. I’ve also included a FREEBIE! 🎊🎉
Strategies to Build Proficient Readers
Read every day with your child for at least 10-15 minutes. For emerging readers, they learn how to hold a book and that we read from left to right.
Read different types of books-both fiction and informational, magazines, comics, etc.
Talk about the book with your child DURING and after reading. Ask questions. “Who are the characters? What was your favorite part?”
Let your child see you read. This shows that reading goes beyond school and that it is enjoyable.
FREEBIE
It is important to have reference questions to ask your child as they are reading and afterwards. It is a good practice as well to have your child write their answers sometimes too. I have included a list of comprehension-building questions for both fiction and non-fiction texts! Happy Reading!
