Reading Milestones

This is a general outline of the milestones on the road to reading and the ages at which most kids reach them.

Keep in mind that kids develop at different paces and spend varying amounts of time at each stage. If you have concerns, talk to your child's doctor, teacher, or the reading specialist at school. Early intervention is key in helping kids who are struggling to read.

Infancy (Up to Age 1)

Children usually begin to:

• imitate sounds they hear in language
• respond when spoken to
• look at pictures
• reach for books and turn the pages with help
• respond to stories and pictures by vocalizing and patting the pictures

Toddlers (Ages 1–3)

Children usually begin to:

• answer questions about and identify objects in books — such as "Where's the cow?" or "What does the cow say?"
• name familiar pictures
• use pointing to identify named objects
• pretend to read books
• finish sentences in books they know well
• scribble on paper
• know names of books and identify them by the picture on the cover
• turn pages of board books
• have a favorite book and request it to be read often

Early Preschool (Age 3)

Children usually begin to:

• explore books independently
• listen to longer books that are read aloud
• retell a familiar story
• recite the alphabet
• begin to sing the alphabet with prompting and cues
• make continuous symbols that resemble writing
• imitate the action of reading a book aloud

Late Preschool (Age 4)

Children usually begin to:

• recognize familiar signs and labels, especially on signs and containers
• make up rhymes or silly phrases
• recognize and write some of the letters of the alphabet
• read and write their names
• name letters or sounds that begin words
• match some letters to their sounds
• use familiar letters to try writing words

Kindergarten (Age 5)

Children usually begin to:

• understand rhyming and play rhyming games
• match some spoken and written words
• understand that print is read from left to right, top to bottom
• write some letters and numbers
• recognize some familiar words
• predict what will happen next in a story
• retell stories that have been read to them

First and Second Grade (Ages 6–7)

Children usually begin to:

• read familiar stories
• sound out or decode unfamiliar words
• use pictures and context to figure out unfamiliar words
• use some common punctuation and capitalization in writing
• self-correct when they make a mistake while reading aloud
• show comprehension of a story through drawings

Second and Third Grade (Ages 7–8)

Children usually begin to: