What should my child be able to read by the end of Year 2? By the end of Year 6? Nowadays understanding the types of books that your child should be reading might be more than a bit confusing.
Books for readers are ‘levelled’ in a variety of ways to show what books would be best for your children at any given point as their reading ability grows. This is important because research shows that children should not be reading books that are too difficult. If children are to become fluent readers, they need repeated exposure to books they are able to read independently. If the text is more difficult, children will focus so much on word recognition that they will not have an opportunity to develop fluency. Also, when children struggle to decode books, their focus is upon the decoding and they often fail to comprehend the text that they are reading.
Teachers should send home books for your children that are at your child’s reading level. This is important for your child’s reading development. However, these books should not take the place of you reading aloud to your child. If you have children who are early readers, there is quite a difference between the books that they can read to you, and the books that you can read to them. Look at the example of a typical Year 2 text versus a Year 4 text.
Children can listen and comprehend books that are two to three year levels above what they can independently read. The story Rapunzel not only introduces children to new vocabulary words, (how often do we use dearly, desperate and alarmed in everyday conversation?), but the sentence structure is more complex as well.
When your children are reading a book to you, it is important for the book to be at their independent reading level. Oftentimes the classroom teacher can help inform you of your child’s independent reading level. However, you should also read aloud to your children. This gives them access to high quality books that will further develop their vocabulary and love of reading.
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