At What Age Should A Kid Know How to Read?
Many of us believe the process of reading is developed gradually with time. We don’t need to do anything to motivate the kids. But this is not true. The process of reading is one of the most important as well as challenging skills. Thus it is important to know when the kids start reading and help them in this process.
Quick Takeaways
- Every child has their own ability and based on that they start reading.
- In most cases, the students start reading when they are of 4-5 years old. However, some may even take up to 6 years.
- You must remember that reading early is different from reading fluently.
However, you must read till the end so that you can get a better understanding of what is the age at which a kid should know how to read.
At what age should a kid Know how to read?
Every kid has his/her own abilities. There are kids who can start as early as when they are 4 to 5 years old and some kids may take even more than 6 years(in rare cases). However, most kids start reading at the age of 5-6 years. Generally, a kid must start reading by the age of 6. But, it is equally important for you to know that each and every student learns according to their abilities.
Thus you must not force but motivate them to start reading properly. Try to indulge them in different activities related to reading. Also, you must remember that we are discussing reading early and not fluent reading. Both concepts are different from each other. Let us understand the difference between them. You can also enroll them in inline teaching platforms that help to enhance their reading skills such as hoot reading.
How is reading early different from reading fluently?
Reading early means that your kid has started reading but may stammer while reading. Starting reading early is different from starting reading fluently. You can say that the kid is reading fluently when his brain can perform multiple tasks while reading correctly. The kid can perform all five components of reading i.e Vocabulary, comprehension, phonics, fluency, and phonemic awareness. A kid starts reading when he is of 5-6 years but if we talk about speaking fluently then it is when the kid is about 7 to 8 years.
How to develop reading skills in your kids?
Reading is a basic skill that you need to indulge in your kids and thus you must make reading more fun for your kids. Following are the ideas by which you can support and develop the reading skills of your kids-
1. Easy reading material
Always start by giving them a context that is easy to read. It can be their names or sounds which are more engaging to them. Give them to read the alphabet and help them by reading the alphabet in front of them so that they could learn it.
2. Vocabulary
You must start by giving them fewer words and sounds to read and gradually start giving them more and more words. Remember to give easy words in starting. When your kids can read those easy words then you must gradually go on to some hard and complex words.
3. Start with non-alphabetical order
You must not give them words starting with the “a” alphabet. Give them words that are not too big and too small. Try to mix the letters they have already learned to pronounce and form meaning. Suppose your kid has learned to read the alphabet a, b, and t, give them the word bat to read. Through this, they will start reading better.
4. Breaking of the words
Give them a text like what is your n-a-m-e, and let them encode it back. This will help to boost the reading skills of your kids. It will help them to combine back the words and read them with great ease.
5. Motivating them
The most important way to make them develop reading skills is by keeping them motivated. This means that you must praise them and keep them motivated. Even if they are not reading rightly, try not to demotivate them. Praise them, tell them what mistakes they are making and try to correct them.
6. Install word-reading games
Today every person from a kid to an adult is addicted to mobile phones. Kids love to play games on mobiles. Thus you can install such games that will help your kid to learn the skills of reading. There are a lot of different educational apps which will help you to study. This will help you to keep them busy and they will also enjoy reading while playing games. One such platform that you can use is DuolingoABC.
7. Read with them
This is one of the best techniques to teach your kids how to read. You should read with them regularly so that they do not lose their focus. Try to ask them about the book or the content that you have read with them. This will not only build up their reading skills but also their communication skills. It will also help to make reading a fun activity.
8. Having patience
It is what you need to have. Many people do not understand that a kid who has just started reading can’t get into fluent reading. Due to this, they lose patience and start scolding the kids. Hence, you must not lose your patience when you are helping the kids with their reading skills.
9. Regular practice
When you keep on practicing for some time, at one time you will achieve it. This is the same case when you are teaching your kids. Do not forget to give things to read even a single day, especially in their initial days. This will help them to improve their reading skills and also will help them to get a habit of reading books which will help them in the future.
Conclusion
Reading is one of the best habits any of us could have. Thus it is important that your kids start reading at a perfect age. Many people get confused between reading early and reading fluently. This article helps you to get a brief about what is the difference between reading early and reading fluently along with what is the perfect age when the kid starts reading. This article also helps you to know what are the ways you can incorporate to help the kids to read efficiently.
