Grade 1 Reading: goals and how we get there
A grade 1 reading student at Learn To Be does three things:
- Makes reading feel easy.
- Works through the Early Reading Program, and reads real books and passages about real things.
- Reads a little every day (at home!).
The goals
By the end of grade 1, a student:
- Reads 104 words per minute out loud.
- Still names all 52 letters instantly, and still knows the 25 common words from kindergarten on sight.
- Knows the 100 most common written words on sight. This is new this year.
When a child knows the most common words on sight, they can spend their effort on the new words.
We are building flashcard decks for letters, common words, and vocabulary. Until then, practice them by reading out loud.
Reading speed
Reading speed is how many words a student reads correctly in 1 minute, out loud.
To check it: pick a book at your student's level. Time them reading out loud for 1 minute. Count the words they read correctly. Check at the start of the year, and again every few weeks.
| Grade | Words per minute, out loud, by the end of the year |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 67 |
| Grade 1 | 104 |
| Grade 2 | 114 |
| Grade 3 | 133 |
| Grade 4 | 146 |
| Grade 5 | 150 |
| Grade 6 | 150 or better |
| Grades 7 and 8 | 150 or better, for long stretches |
The grade 1 target is 104. If your student is far below the target for their grade, find the grade they are ready for in this table and use that page.
The courses
Learning to read: the Early Reading Program
The Early Reading Program has 1,745 lessons. It teaches phonics: how to sound out words. It starts with single letter sounds like "a" and "m". Then it blends sounds into words like "am" and "ma". It also teaches "heart words" like "the", which kids learn by heart.
- There is no placement test. To find where to start, skim forward through the lessons until your student stumbles. Start there.
- Do not skip lessons after that. A student moves on only after they master a lesson.
- Open the Tutor Toolkit. It is a card on the course page. It has guidance for tutors on how to run the lessons.
Reading to learn: 1st Grade Reading
1st Grade Reading has 38 lessons. Each lesson is a short science or history passage to read and talk about together.
If the passages are too hard, use Kindergarten Reading first.
Writing. At this age, writing is part of reading. For extra writing practice, use Writing Foundations Grade 1.
The reading list
True topics
Read books and articles about these topics, and talk about them together. This is also your student's science and history.
- Fables and Stories
- The Human Body
- Different Lands, Similar Stories
- Early World Civilizations
- Early American Civilizations
- Astronomy
- The History of the Earth
- Animals and Habitats
- Fairy Tales
- A New Nation: American Independence
- Frontier Explorers
Stories to read aloud
The tutor mostly reads these to the student. They are classic picture books and first chapter books. They help a child get used to the sound of good language.
- Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
- Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik
- Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
- Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
- Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
- Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
- Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
- My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
- Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
- Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
- The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- Stuart Little by E. B. White
A typical session
- Warm-up read-aloud, about 10 minutes. The student re-reads something familiar out loud. This builds speed and confidence.
- Course lessons. This is the main part of the session. Do one or two Early Reading Program lessons together. Do not move on until the student masters the lesson.
- Real reading together. Read a 1st Grade Reading passage or a book from the reading list. Read it together and talk about it.
Between sessions (at home)
Daily practice happens at home, not in your session. A little every day works better than a lot once a week.
Tell the parent:
"Every day, have your child sign in at learntobe.org and do their reading lessons. Then have them read out loud to you for 10 minutes from a book they can read easily. This is the one thing that helps most."
Show the parent and the student how to sign in and find the course during your first session.
Other resources
- IXL. If your student has an IXL account through our pilot, its diagnostic shows the grade level your student works at in English language arts. Use it as an extra check, not instead of the course. See How should tutors use IXL?