…is a question I am asked semi-frequently.
And the answer?
Um, I’m not.
At least not in the formal sense that people seem to be referring to.
And that’s because in my almost 12 years of teaching, I have found that the most important factor in building a strong, life-long reader is a solid foundation, not the fact that a child learned how to read before Kindergarten.
I’m not citing any research (though I know it’s out there), but I firmly believe this from my own experience as a Kindergarten, first grade and Reading Recovery teacher, and I know the experiences of my colleagues point to the same conclusion.
So, what do I mean by this?
Let me start by saying that I feel like as parents, we feel pressure from lots of different places to have our children reading before they begin Kindergarten. I know young children are like sponges and have an incredible capacity to learn new things quickly. That’s why programs like My Baby Can Read exist — because very young children can learn to read high-frequency words and decode new words they encounter.
But.
And this is a big but (and apologies for that; I’m totally giggling right now…) — knowing how to read words is not everything. In fact, many teachers, myself included, would argue that it’s not reading. It’s just decoding words.
I touched on this in an earlier post, but reading instruction has evolved over the past two decades and we have learned that the most important thing for early readers to grasp is that reading must make sense. Comprehension has become just as important as reading accuracy and fluency on early reading assessments and on many standardized tests, the reading component is all or nearly all comprehension based. And yet, I have found that when children learn to decode words at an early age and begin reading books that are well above their age level, they come in with comprehension skills that are not at the same level as their decoding ability.
What happens is that very young children learn to quickly decode words which looks and sounds like the child is reading. Because once you know how to decode words, you really can decode almost anything. However, it can be argued that the child is not truly comprehending the text he is reading because he has only learned to quickly decode the words, rather than digging deeper and using comprehension strategies to fully understand the text.
For example, it’s safe to say that I know how to read. I’ve been doing it for about 28 years. But, put a graduate level physics text book in front of me, and while I’ll be able to read all the words, I sure as heck won’t be able to comprehend it without really (really, really) studying the text further, taking notes, referencing other texts and, let’s face it, having someone really dumb it down for me.
In other words, just being able to decode the words doesn’t really help me read the text.
And that’s similar to what we often see with children that come to school knowing how to decode words. Their parents will tell us that they can read the encyclopedia or the Wall Street Journal, and they probably can decode the words in those texts. But can they understand them? Probably not. In fact, what my colleagues and I usually find is that a child who is “reading” will be able to accurately decode texts that are well above grade-level, but they often struggle with the comprehension piece at that same text level. It is not unusual for us to have to go down several levels for a student to be able accurately read a text and appropriately comprehend it. Because of this, we have to help these children fill these gaps between their decoding ability and comprehension skills which we are, of course, happy to do, but it comes with breaking some old habits and having to slow down and back track a bit. (I do want to recognize that there are truly gifted children who can read and comprehend far above grade-level and it is amazing to talk with them about the books they are reading. In my experience, though, such truly gifted children are hard to come by and identify, especially in Kindergarten.)
It is because of this that I am very consciously choosing not to do any phonics books or early reading workbooks with Lil’ CB. Those little phonics sets you can buy are often cute and darling, but are not what we consider to be quality teaching materials. In fact, I’m going to be so bold as to implore you to please, please just say no to their pretty packaging and walk away from them!
So, what do we do then?
Well, the most important thing you can do is to READ to your child. Daily. Anywhere and everywhere. Read books about all different topics and read a variety of genres. Even read those books that you think are ridiculous, but your child enjoys! Read lots of different titles and read old favorites repeatedly. Keep books in different places all over the house and even in your bag and car. Make it fun for you and your child and interact with them as you read, as outlined in this previous post.
And as you read, talk about what you are reading. Talk about your favorite parts and characters. Talk about the pictures and size and placement of the words. Talk about any connections you have with the story. Talk about what you think might happen next. Talk about what you didn’t like! Because when you talk, you are not only building vocabulary and oral language skills, you are also building your child’s comprehension skills and forming that solid foundation for early independent reading.
Now, this doesn’t mean that I think you shouldn’t tell a child how to spell a word or what a word is if they are trying to read it. By all means, if your child is asking about words and sounds, go with it! It is quite common for children to pick up easily spelled words and be able to sound them out independently. That is still a valuable skill for children to have and learn and it is wonderful when they can do so at an early age! However, I recommend that it should not be the only or main focus of what you are working on with your child. Talk about those words and sounds, but do so in genuine ways, embedded within real reading and writing tasks (see this post for more on that). By building on their interests in words and sounds while focusing on comprehension, you will only strengthen your child’s literacy foundation and help them to see the reading and writing process as a whole, rather than isolated parts.
What is most exciting about this is that while we have seen what happens when there are certain gaps between decoding ability and comprehension skills, we have also seen what happens when children come in with that solid foundation. And what we have found is that when those children come in with a solid foundation, they are ready to quickly build on that foundation and inevitably, they take off on their reading skills. It is amazing to see! Such children will enter Kindergarten on grade-level in terms of their actual reading ability and more often than not, they will make much more than a year’s worth of growth in their reading because they were ready to learn and build on their foundation. It’s one of my favorite parts about teaching!
We are striving to continue to build that foundation for Lil’ CB during this final year before Kindergarten. And to see the way he loves listening to stories and looking at books on his own warms my heart and makes me confident in knowing we are slowly but surely filling in that foundation…
honeydew / 7488 posts
So true.. more important than reading is knowing what they are reading.. we are working on the reading since my DD is in Kindergarten, but we read to her more than asking her to read, and everything she does read on her own, we ask lots of questions to make sure she is understanding. Lil CB is so cute
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
Great post!!! This is a lot of valuable information. I have to admit lately I’ve been reading begrudgingly… to help me fix my attitude problem I did buy J about 20 used books from the thrift store – and it helps to have new material… he has this book he asks for over and over that DH and I just despise haha!! But we read it anyway… I need to be better about rotating new material from the library for him. He’s still at that age where he will only sit through a book with less than 10 words on a page though. He isn’t interested in actual stories yet, but objects, things, giving names to new stimuli, etc. One of his favorites is a word book and he just loves pointing to each picture and asking what each thing is.
blogger / kiwi / 675 posts
Thanks for this post! My daughter who will be three in a few days loves to pretend to read and to sing and for me to read to her.. But I was beginning to wonder how I should teach her to read….seems a bit daunting to me. Your post assures me that we may be doing just that
pomelo / 5628 posts
As a teacher, I always love your posts! They are filled with such great information. I teach HS, so I’m less connected with learning to read, but my mom taught elementary school for 30+ years. I mentioned one day that I thought Brown Bear was a stupid book and she told me that the repetitive lines are what really helps LO to start to understand reading. And he LoVES that book!
I come across so many students that hate reading because their parents forced then to read the dictionary or the Bible every day after school. The ones who still love reading in high school are the ones who have the richest reading history with the most choice and positive experiences.
honeydew / 7444 posts
What a great post. We have books everywhere in the house, and probably read 10+ books a day. I bring two books with me on the train, and we read one on the way there and back. I love that LO loves books, and any new type of understanding makes me so happy!
@Mrs. Pen: I find that around this age, they like books with different pictures they can point to or ones that are more interactive. At least that’s the case with my LO! I hate those books because it’s more of a, “Where’s the duck?” “What is this?” “What does the cow say?” etc. but i think they are actually better for their development.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Great post as always!!! Lil CB is probably a genius already with an awesome teacher mom like you! Wish you could be Noelle’s kindergarten teacher…
coffee bean / 29 posts
My dad taught me to read very very young (before pre school). I “skipped” several grades of reading because of it…and I actually missed out on A TON OF FUNDAMENTALS because of it! Like what’s a verb? I mean I can google it. But um….yeah. Dirty lil secret of mine. I feel like if I took it slowly at the pace of what was considered “normal” I would not have missed out on a lot of these things. Anyway all this to say, from a child that was taught to read reallllly early…you’re doin’ it right
kiwi / 549 posts
I have so loved your posts on this. I think I’d be taking a very different approach (and still have to reign myself in when I start with that different approach) with X because of it. See, I was taught to read and write when I was 3, and I loved it. (If I had to do any remedial comprehension stuff, I don’t recall.) My reading ability was a huge source of confidence for me growing up. So, I feel a strong pull to help X learn to read early, and in the same way I was taught. BUT, just because it worked well for me DOES NOT make it the best way to learn. Your approach seems more likely to create kids who love to read..
Question though– X (2yo) seems eager to write. He asks us to write specific letters by name (“Draw F.” “Draw H”, etc.) and tries hard to do so himself, so I’m going with it. But is there a problem with learning to write the letters if he has no idea that letters mean anything more than “A” “B” or “C”– he doesn’t know they combine to make words? Just curious if there’s any problem with learning to write before learning to read.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
I love this post so much. Thank you thank you thank you!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
I love this post! You know that we struggled for a really long time here with books, the acceptance of books, by Mini. We never really pushed him to read, although I was sad that he didn’t want to be read *to* either… so we just talked and told stories… and left the books behind. Luckily, he seems to be finding his pace now that he’s in Kindergarten, and he seems to be building on whatever foundation we gave him. (We won’t discuss what books he’s been reading though, ok?!)
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
Great post. My little cousin was one of those EARLY readers (age 4) with comprehension… to this day she reads stuff that is above my head and she is like 7ish years younger than me.
But I know that it is very important to understand that I do not need to “try” to get my kid(s) to be like her. I need to let my son continue to love his books and not pressure him. Thanks for the reminder.
pomegranate / 3791 posts
My mom is an elementary school and feels the same exact way. I didn’t learn to read earlier than other kids, but once I did learn I read voraciously and ended up way ahead simply because of the sheer volume of books I read.
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@Mrs. Palette: @Mrs. Bee: @Mrs. High Heels: @Freckles: thank you so much for your kind words! i was so nervous about writing this because i didn’t want to offend anyone…the pressures to teach our children to read before kindergarten sometimes feel outrageous!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@pastemoo: this exactly!
and your profile picture is adorable!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@Mrs. Paintbrush: bahahahaha! that text today was so fitting!
again, whatever gets him excited and hooked in to reading works for me!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@CathleyaS: thanks for sharing your story!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
@Mrs. Cowgirl: I almost put “Oh, the irony!” at the top of my post! And I agree… the pressures to teach your kiddo to read are cray-cray! Seriously. The looks I would get… Insane.
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@red_seattle: nope! no problem at all, especially at his age. i would show him his name, though, and show him how the letters come together to make his name. other than that, it’s so exciting that he’s so interested in letters! Alphabet books would be perfect for him now!
papaya / 10560 posts
Love it! I will say this…I worked in a middle school for 8 years and I have learned more about teaching early literacy and reading just working in an elementary school this year than I have in the past 8! Everything you have said is spot on. Exposing children to literature early on is so key…whenever I talk to my older students (3rd/4th/5th) and they have little siblings, I always ask if they are reading to their siblings.
I feel like it’s so hard being a primary grade teachers because the district I work in is so driven by guided reading levels, teachers lose sleep. A kid comes into kinder not reading at all and they have to have them on an E or whatever by the end of the year and there is a constant pressure for them.
Anyhow, I could go on and on…great post!!
pear / 1787 posts
Thanks for another great post about reading and early education!
blogger / pomelo / 5361 posts
Great, great, great post!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
This is interesting to me, what is your opinion of programs (such as Montessori) that promote writing before reading?
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
As an upper elementary teacher i just want to scream a big loud YES!! That foundation is so so important…even more so when the kids get to third grade and lose picture cues. Those comprehension strategies have to be there, or understanding has no chance! Hence the HUGE achievement gap when kids start 3rd grade. More to come about this in a future post…but i think it is so important for parents to hear! It is so counter-intuitive to NOT teach your child….but in reality, by focusing on the big picture instead you are indeed
thanks for this post!
grapefruit / 4819 posts
What a fabulous post!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Thank you for this post!! I really enjoyed the information you provided and how you discussed decoding vs comprehension.
One of the things we do daily with our daughter is read to her. She currently loves to bring us books (at 16 months) and I love seeing her looking at books on her own.
I asked my mom once if she did anything different with my brother who is pretty darn smart and was reading when he hit Kindergarten. She said no, she just read to him. I have kept that in my head and remind myself that all the time. Reading is not only good for the child but it’s fun for us, as parents, too. I love reading to my daughter and my happiest moments are when I see her pick up a book and start looking at it.
I can’t wait for the day when she’s on one couch and I’m on the other and we’re both reading books.
honeydew / 7504 posts
What a great post. Unfortunately, D so far has ZERO interest in books, which breaks my reading-loving heart. He will NOT sit still, and has far more interest in trying to grab the book at eat it than being read to. I keep trying, but I often end up frustrated by the battle and just give up. Any tips?
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@matador84: yep, it’s definitely challenging to have our kiddos have to make so much growth, but my goodness, they can do it and it is amazing to see how hard they work! i am excited to see what longitudinal studies will look like in 10-12 years when these kids are in high school…i think and hope they will maintain their momentum and hopefully we’ll all see the results!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@DigAPony: @Ree723: @Mrs. Blue: thank you, thank you for your kind words!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@Mrs. Lion: yes, exactly! i also think that’s why by the end of second grade, there’s kind of an evening out of children who were thought to be super high in K and 1st (whose parents might have thought they were gifted because they taught them to read before school) — many of them, I find, end up right at about average because the rest of the kids, who were taught to read in K and 1st make expected progress and the early readers remain rather stagnant…it’s so interesting to see. one of my colleagues mentioned a long-term study where they followed students from preschool to middle or high school and early reading had little to no impact on students outperforming other students.
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@looch: at early literacy levels, writing often does come more quickly because students are able to use their own approximated spelling and their own drawings to get their message across, where as in reading, they are following someone else’s message. I don’t know enough about the Montessori writing curriculum, but I think that again, as long as it is done in an integrated way and not just in isolation, it’s helpful to a child’s understanding of the reading and writing process.
Young children can memorize and learn item knowledge very, very quickly, but it’s teaching them how the parts come together in a whole and meaningful way that is most important…does that make sense?
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
@littlebug: how old is he? If he’s under 12m, i wouldn’t stress too much right now…just keep books where he can easily access them (in his crib, in low level bins, etc) and let him discover them on his own, even if it means he just chews on them
if he doesn’t want to sit still for a story, just read a book aloud while you’re in the same room as him so he is exposed to the language and if he comes over to look at a page and then leaves and then comes back again, great!
if he’s over 1, try to find some books that might be of high interest to him. when lil’ CB was 1, he looooved books that had photographs of real animals. he would gravitate towards those the most, so we found more like those. if your son is into trains or cars or dinosaurs or penguins, or whatever, find books about those things to hook him in!
and if he still doesn’t want to sit and listen to story, don’t panic…just fill your everyday with lots and lots of rich oral language. narrate your day; retell favorite events together; tell fairy tales out loud; share stories about things that happen to you as a child, etc. in other words, if he doesn’t want to sit and read stories, use language that sounds like stories without actually reading stories. i hope that helps!
honeydew / 7504 posts
@Mrs. Cowgirl: He’s 9 months, and that was SUPER helpful! Thank you!
nectarine / 2667 posts
@Mrs. Cowgirl: everything you said was so perfect. I taught pre-k & kinder for many years and those students with concepts of print and rich oral skills were consistently the ones who “caught on” quickly.
I teach 2nd now and it’s true that by the end of year things even out. Our school expects a year and 3 months worth of growth for most children (3 months for that summer slide). Thankfully they recognize that’s not appropriate for those high readers – their growth slows while they work on deepening their comprehension skills.
My son is 13 months and just started loving listening to picture books. My husband has been reading him old fairy tales and myths from chapter books before bed & he likes those too
pomelo / 5866 posts
I really appreciate this timely reminder to keep encouraging the comprehension. I have this urge to push the decoding because LO is right at the edge. But you are right, comprehension is everything when it comes down to it. @CathleyaS: thanks for chiming in. Your insight from experience was a boost as well.
pomegranate / 3053 posts
I love this post. My oldest loves to read and only recently has he been asking a lot of questions about each story. I can tell he is trying to understand it as I read it. I love that he wants to know. Before I would just read it and he would just look at the pictures. Sometimes stopping me to look at it some more. Once we get his books organized from the move I hope to read to him more. Thanks for this post!
pear / 1548 posts
@matador84: yes!!! I teach 2nd grade in a district that uses guided reading levels and we have so much pressure to get them on grade level! It’s how we identify our tier students and we have a lot of tier students!
I didn’t realize you had moved down to elementary! Are you some sort of instructional facilitator or coach?
@Mrs. Cowgirl: I always appreciate your posts, and while I don’t have kids and I am a teacher as well, I teach kids who already know how to read. I need to remember this for when I have kids so I know what to do!
I also 100% agree with everything you said about comprehension. I have lots of parents tell me “well when I read with him he reads the book and it’s so easy for him!” And I have to go through the whole comprehension talk and offer questions for them to ask. Thanks for spreading the knowledge!
papaya / 10560 posts
@Boopers: yes! I got promoted to a curriculum coordinator at an elementary school. I love it! We are moving away from our GRL chart that assigns grades to a particular level to ensuring wherever kids are, we can at least make one year of growth with them.
People often forget how many other components to reading there are besides just reading…text fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, etc. just because a child does well in one area doesn’t mean they do well in all of them.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Again, Great post about education and reading!
I love the point about talking about the books. When I turn a book into a story she is so much more engaged. Sometimes we read but they are still trying to grasp a concept. without pausing to talk about it you never know. I love when she now elated what I’m reading to the pictures and is making conclusions. I know she’s actually comprehending what I’m reading not just listening.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
Love this post!! DD is just starting to read basic books and it’s really cool, but scary at the same time. I don’t think we’ve been pushing her, though. She’s genuinely interested and has the comprehension as well. I do think that we could discuss the books we’re reading a bit more so I’m trying to work on that!