Teaching your child to read is a wonderful gift to give...one that will last a lifetime, inshaAllah. Below, you will find age-appropriate checklists for helping your child to read.

Checklist for Parents of Preschoolers

Here are some ways you can help your child “get ready to read” during the ages of 4 and 5.

• I help my child hear and say the first sound in words (like “b” in boat), and notice when different words start with the same sound (like “boat” and “book”).
• I help my child hear words that rhyme (like moose, goose, and caboose).
• I introduce new words to my child, like “bow” and “stern,” which mean the front of a boat and the back of a boat.
• I talk with my child about the letters of the alphabet and notice them in books, like “c” for canoe.
• I point out signs and labels that have letters, like street signs and foods in the grocery store.
• I encourage my child to find the joy and fun in reading.
• Usually, I let my child choose the books we read.
• I let my child pretend to read parts of the book when we read together.
• I talk with my child about stories and make connections to things that happen in our own lives.
• I ask “what,” “where,” and “how” questions when I read with my child to help her follow along and understand the stories.
• I help my child write notes or make books (like an alphabet book), even if his writing only looks like scribbles or marks.

Checklist for Parents of Kindergarteners

These skills usually develop when a child is in kindergarten. Talk with your child’s teacher if you have questions.

• My child listens carefully to books read aloud.
• My child knows the shapes and names for the letters of the alphabet and writes many uppercase and lowercase letters on his own.
• My child knows that spoken words are made of separate sounds.
• My child recognizes and makes rhymes, can tell when words begin with the same sound, and can put together, or blend, spoken sounds.
• My child can sound out some letters.
• My child knows that the order of letters in a written word stands for the order of sounds in a spoken word.
• My child knows some common words such as a, the, I, and you, on sight.
• My child knows how to hold a book, and follows print from left to right and from top to bottom of a page when she is read to.
• My child asks and answers questions about stories and uses what she already knows to understand a story.
• My child knows the parts of a book and understands that authors write words and text and illustrators create pictures.
• My child knows that in most books the main message is in the print, not the pictures.
• My child predicts what will happen in a story and retells or acts out stories.
• My child knows the difference between “made up” fiction and “real” nonfiction books and the difference between stories and poems.
• My child uses what he knows about letters and sounds to write words.
• My child writes some letters and words as they are said to her
  and begins to spell some words correctly.
• My child writes his own first and last
  name and the first names of some
  friends and family.
• My child plays with words and uses
  new words in her own speech.
• My child knows and uses words that
  are important to school work, such
  as the names for colors, shapes,
  and numbers.
• My child knows and uses words from
  daily life, such as street names and
  the names for community workers—
  teacher, mail carrier, etc.

Checklist for Parents of First Graders

These skills usually develop during first grade.
Talk with your child’s teacher if you have questions.

• My child knows all the letters of the alphabet.
• My child knows the difference between letters and words, and knows
  there are spaces between words in print.
• My child knows that written words represent speech and can show
  how words are represented by letters arranged in a specific order.
• My child knows some punctuation marks and where sentences and
  paragraphs begin and end.
• My child is beginning to understand and explain why people read.
• My child can put together (blend) and break apart the sounds of most
  one-syllable words and can count the number of syllables in a word.
• My child can sound out words he doesn’t know, and recognize some
  irregularly spelled words, such as have, said, you, and are.
• My child reads first grade books aloud, and can tell when she cannot
  understand what she is reading.
• My child reads and understands simple written instructions.
• My child uses what he already knows to enrich what he is reading.
• My child predicts what will happen next in a story
• My child asks questions (how, why, what if?) about books she is
  reading and can describe what she has learned from a book.
• My child uses invented spelling in his writing and also understands
  that there is a correct way to spell words.
• My child uses simple punctuation marks and capital letters.
• My child writes for different purposes—stories, explanations, lists,
  letters—and reads and revises her writing.
• My child uses language with more control, speaks in complete
  sentences, and uses more formal language at school than at home
  and with friends.
• My child is curious about words and uses new words when he
  speaks and writes.
• My child is beginning to see that some words mean the same thing
  (synonyms) and some mean the opposite (antonyms).
• My child is learning that words play different roles in sentences—
  that nouns name things and verbs show action, for example.

Checklist for Parents of Second Graders

These skills usually develop during grades two and three.
Talk with your child’s teacher if you have questions.

• My child reads and understands second grade fiction and nonfiction,
  and compares and connects information from different sources.
• My child reads for specific purposes and specific questions, and
  explores topics of interest on her own.
• My child answers “how,” “why,” and “what-if” questions, and recalls
  information, main ideas, and details after reading.
• My child interprets information from diagrams, charts, and graphs.
• My child takes part in creative responses to stories, such as dramatizations
  and oral presentations.
• My child pays attention to how words are spelled and correctly spells
  words he has studied.
• My child spells a word the way it sounds if she doesn’t know its spelling.
• My child writes for many different purposes and writes different types
  of compositions (for example, stories, reports, and letters).
• My child makes thoughtful choices about what to include in his writing.
• My child takes part in writing conferences, revises and edits what she
  has written, and attends to the mechanics of writing (spelling, capitalization,
  and punctuation) in her final versions.
• My child learns new words and shares them at school and at home.
• My child uses clues from the context and his knowledge of word parts
  (roots, prefixes, suffixes) to figure out what words mean.
• My child is increasing his vocabulary with synonyms and antonyms.
• My child uses parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)
  correctly.
• My child learns new words through independent reading.