As caregivers, it can be very challenging to ascertain exactly what goals your child needs to meet at any given age or grade. To help, we’ve compiled a list of the most common reading developmental milestones for elementary, middle, and high school learners to serve as a reference as you work your way through each phase of your learner’s academic journey.
Orthographic Processing
Orthographic processing is the brain’s ability to recognize and retrieve sight words and spelling patterns with automaticity. Instantly recalling sight words and spelling patterns does not always come easy for learners, especially those with weak working memory skills or in the emerging stages of reading development. Typically, learners are required to acquire at least 100 sight words per school year; we have attached the two more common word lists (Dolche and Frys) to reference below. Spelling expectations vary by school and district, but there are some resources that you can reference in our guide as well.
To learn more on the sight words and spelling patterns your learner is expected to master, please contact us!
Sight Word Lists
Dolche
Frys
Spelling Resources
Contextual Reading
Here is a list of the most common reading developmental milestones for you to reference as your child grows. Please note that language processing, expressive language (oral and written), critical thinking, and executive functioning skills that impact reading go beyond what is listed here, and will be covered in an upcoming blog.
Reading Developmental Milestones
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-6 | Kinder | Pair sounds to the symbol(s) they represent | |||
| Identify the beginning (initial), middle (medial), and ending (final) sounds in spoken words like cat or hip | |||||
| Say new words by changing the beginning sound, like changing rat to sat | |||||
| Start matching words they hear to words and images they see on the page | |||||
| Sound out simple words (2-3 sounds like sit and pal) | |||||
| Start to recognize a few words by sight instantly without having to sound them out (see our sight word lists above) | |||||
| Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about a narrative | |||||
| Retell a story in order, using words or pictures | |||||
| Predict what happens next in a story | |||||
| Start reading or asking to be read books for information and for fun | |||||
| Make connections from stories to imaginative play | |||||
| 6-7 | 1st-2nd | Start to learn basic spelling rules (see our spelling resources above) | |||
| Increase the number of words they recognize by sight | |||||
| Start to read with more fluidity, even if still choppy | |||||
| Use context clues to sound out and understand unfamiliar words | |||||
| Go back and re-read a word or sentence that doesn’t makes sense (self-monitoring) | |||||
| Connect what they’re reading to personal experiences, other books they’ve read, and world events | |||||
| 8-10 | 3rd-5th | In third grade, start to move from learning to read to reading to learn | |||
| Accurately read words with two or more syllables | |||||
| Continue to increase the number of words they recognize by sight | |||||
| Learn about affixes (prefixes and suffixes) and root words like those in kindness, unkind. | |||||
| Read for different purposes (for fun, to learn, to problem solve, etc.) | |||||
| Explore different genres (fiction, nonfiction, mystery, humor, drama, etc.) | |||||
| Describe the setting, characters, problem/solution, and plot of a story | |||||
| Identify and summarize the sequence of events in a story | |||||
| Identify the main idea and supporting details independently | |||||
| Determine the main theme of a story and some minor themes | |||||
| Make inferences by using context clues and by activating prior knowledge | |||||
| Compare and contrast information from different texts | |||||
| Refer to evidence when answering questions about it | |||||
| Understand similes, metaphors, and other descriptive devices | |||||
| 11-17 | 6th-HS | Keep expanding vocabulary and reading more complex texts | |||
| Analyze how characters develop, interact with each other, and advance the plot | |||||
| Determine themes and analyze how they develop over the course of the text | |||||
| Use evidence from the text to support analysis of the text | |||||
| Identify imagery and symbolism in the text | |||||
| Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas from the text | |||||
| Understand satire, sarcasm, irony, and understatement |
Dolche
Pre-Kindergarten
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | and | away | |||
| big | blue | can | |||
| come | down | find | |||
| for | funny | go | |||
| help | here | I | |||
| in | is | it | |||
| jump | little | look | |||
| make | me | my | |||
| not | one | play | |||
| red | run | said | |||
| see | the | three | |||
| to | two | up | |||
| we | where | yellow | |||
| you | |||||
Kindergarten
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|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| all | am | are | |||
| at | ate | be | |||
| black | brown | but | |||
| came | did | do | |||
| eat | four | get | |||
| good | have | he | |||
| into | like | must | |||
| new | no | now | |||
| on | our | out | |||
| please | pretty | ran | |||
| ride | saw | say | |||
| she | so | soon | |||
| that | there | they | |||
| this | too | under | |||
| want | was | well | |||
| went | what | white | |||
| who | will | with | |||
| yes | |||||
1st Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| after | again | an | |||
| any | as | ask | |||
| by | could | every | |||
| fly | from | give | |||
| going | had | has | |||
| her | him | his | |||
| how | just | know | |||
| let | live | may | |||
| of | old | once | |||
| open | over | put | |||
| round | some | stop | |||
| take | thank | them | |||
| then | think | walk | |||
| were | when | ||||
2nd Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| always | around | because | |||
| been | before | best | |||
| both | buy | call | |||
| cold | does | don’t | |||
| fast | first | five | |||
| found | gave | goes | |||
| green | its | made | |||
| many | off | or | |||
| pull | read | right | |||
| sing | sit | sleep | |||
| tell | their | these | |||
| those | upon | us | |||
| use | very | wash | |||
| which | why | wish | |||
| work | would | write | |||
| your | |||||
3rd Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| about | better | bring | |||
| carry | clean | cut | |||
| done | draw | drink | |||
| eight | fall | far | |||
| full | got | grow | |||
| hold | hot | hurt | |||
| if | keep | kind | |||
| laugh | light | long | |||
| much | myself | never | |||
| only | own | pick | |||
| seven | shall | show | |||
| six | small | start | |||
| ten | today | together | |||
| try | warm | ||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| apple | baby | back | |||
| ball | bear | bed | |||
| bell | bird | birthday | |||
| boat | box | boy | |||
| bread | brother | cake | |||
| car | cat | chair | |||
| chicken | children | Christmas | |||
| coat | corn | cow | |||
| day | dog | doll | |||
| door | duck | egg | |||
| eye | farm | farmer | |||
| father | feet | fire | |||
| fish | floor | flower | |||
| game | garden | girl | |||
| goodbye | grass | ground | |||
| hand | head | hill | |||
| home | horse | house | |||
| kitty | leg | letter | |||
| man | men | milk | |||
| money | morning | mother | |||
| name | nest | night | |||
| paper | party | picture | |||
| pig | rabbit | rain | |||
| ring | robin | Santa Claus | |||
| school | seed | sheep | |||
| shoe | sister | snow | |||
| song | squirrel | stick | |||
| street | sun | table | |||
| thing | time | top | |||
| toy | tree | watch | |||
| water | way | wind | |||
| window | wood | ||||
Frys
Kindergarten
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | about | all | |||
| an | and | are | |||
| as | at | be | |||
| been | but | by | |||
| called | can | come | |||
| could | day | did | |||
| do | down | each | |||
| find | first | for | |||
| from | get | go | |||
| had | has | have | |||
| he | her | him | |||
| his | how | I | |||
| if | in | into | |||
| is | it | like | |||
| long | look | made | |||
| make | many | may | |||
| more | my | no | |||
| not | now | number | |||
| of | oil | on | |||
| one | or | other | |||
| out | part | people | |||
| said | see | she | |||
| sit | so | some | |||
| than | that | the | |||
| their | them | then | |||
| there | these | they | |||
| this | time | to | |||
| two | up | use | |||
| was | water | way | |||
| we | were | what | |||
| when | which | who | |||
| will | with | words | |||
| would | write | you | |||
| your | |||||
1st Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| after | again | air | |||
| also | America | animal | |||
| another | answer | any | |||
| around | ask | away | |||
| back | because | before | |||
| big | boy | came | |||
| change | different | does | |||
| end | even | follow | |||
| form | found | give | |||
| good | great | hand | |||
| help | here | home | |||
| house | just | kind | |||
| know | land | large | |||
| learn | letter | line | |||
| little | live | man | |||
| me | means | men | |||
| most | mother | move | |||
| much | must | name | |||
| need | new | off | |||
| old | only | our | |||
| over | page | picture | |||
| place | play | point | |||
| put | read | right | |||
| same | say | sentence | |||
| set | should | show | |||
| small | sound | spell | |||
| still | study | such | |||
| take | tell | things | |||
| think | three | through | |||
| too | try | turn | |||
| us | very | want | |||
| well | went | where | |||
| why | work | world | |||
| years | |||||
2nd Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| above | add | almost | |||
| along | always | began | |||
| begin | being | below | |||
| between | book | both | |||
| car | carry | children | |||
| city | close | country | |||
| cut | don’t | earth | |||
| eat | enough | every | |||
| example | eyes | face | |||
| family | far | father | |||
| feet | few | food | |||
| four | girl | got | |||
| group | grow | hard | |||
| head | hear | high | |||
| idea | important | Indian | |||
| it’s | keep | last | |||
| late | leave | left | |||
| let | life | light | |||
| list | might | mile | |||
| miss | mountains | near | |||
| never | next | night | |||
| often | once | open | |||
| own | paper | plant | |||
| real | river | run | |||
| saw | school | sea | |||
| second | seem | side | |||
| something | sometimes | song | |||
| soon | start | state | |||
| stop | story | talk | |||
| those | thought | together | |||
| took | tree | under | |||
| until | walk | watch | |||
| while | white | without | |||
| young | |||||
3rd Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| across | against | area | |||
| become | best | better | |||
| birds | black | body | |||
| certain | cold | color | |||
| complete | covered | cried | |||
| didn’t | dog | door | |||
| draw | during | early | |||
| easy | ever | fall | |||
| farm | fast | field | |||
| figure | fire | fish | |||
| five | friends | ground | |||
| happened | heard | himself | |||
| hold | horse | hours | |||
| however | hundred | I’ll | |||
| king | knew | listen | |||
| low | map | mark | |||
| measure | money | morning | |||
| music | north | notice | |||
| numeral | order | passed | |||
| pattern | piece | plan | |||
| problem | products | pulled | |||
| questions | reached | red | |||
| remember | rock | room | |||
| seen | several | ship | |||
| short | since | sing | |||
| slowly | south | space | |||
| stand | step | sun | |||
| sure | table | today | |||
| told | top | toward | |||
| town | travel | true | |||
| unit | upon | usually | |||
| voice | vowel | war | |||
| waves | whole | wind | |||
| wood | |||||
4th Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| able | ago | am | |||
| among | ball | base | |||
| became | behind | boat | |||
| box | bring | brought | |||
| building | built | cannot | |||
| carefully | check | circle | |||
| class | clear | common | |||
| contain | correct | course | |||
| dark | decided | deep | |||
| done | dry | English | |||
| equation | explain | fact | |||
| feel | filled | finally | |||
| fine | fly | force | |||
| front | full | game | |||
| gave | government | green | |||
| half | heat | heavy | |||
| hot | inches | include | |||
| inside | island | known | |||
| language | less | machine | |||
| material | minutes | note | |||
| nothing | noun | object | |||
| ocean | oh | pair | |||
| person | plane | power | |||
| produce | quickly | ran | |||
| rest | road | round | |||
| rule | scientists | shape | |||
| shown | six | size | |||
| special | stars | stay | |||
| stood | street | strong | |||
| surface | system | ten | |||
| though | thousands | understand | |||
| verb | wait | warm | |||
| week | wheels | yes | |||
| yet | |||||
5th Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| anything | arms | beautiful | |||
| believe | beside | bill | |||
| blue | brother | can’t | |||
| cause | cells | center | |||
| clothes | dance | describe | |||
| developed | difference | direction | |||
| discovered | distance | divided | |||
| drive | drop | edge | |||
| eggs | energy | Europe | |||
| exercise | farmers | felt | |||
| finished | flowers | forest | |||
| general | gone | grass | |||
| happy | heart | held | |||
| instruments | interest | job | |||
| kept | lay | legs | |||
| length | love | main | |||
| matter | meet | members | |||
| million | mind | months | |||
| moon | paint | paragraph | |||
| past | perhaps | picked | |||
| present | probably | race | |||
| rain | raised | ready | |||
| reason | record | region | |||
| represent | return | root | |||
| sat | shall | sign | |||
| simple | site | sky | |||
| soft | square | store | |||
| subject | suddenly | sum | |||
| summer | syllables | teacher | |||
| test | third | train | |||
| wall | weather | west | |||
| whether | wide | wild | |||
| window | winter | wish | |||
| written | |||||
8th Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| act | Africa | age | |||
| already | although | amount | |||
| angle | appear | baby | |||
| bear | beat | bed | |||
| bottom | bright | broken | |||
| build | buy | care | |||
| case | cat | century | |||
| consonant | copy | couldn’t | |||
| count | cross | dictionary | |||
| died | dress | either | |||
| everyone | everything | exactly | |||
| factors | fight | fingers | |||
| floor | fraction | free | |||
| French | gold | hair | |||
| hill | hole | hope | |||
| ice | instead | iron | |||
| jumped | killed | lake | |||
| laughed | lead | let’s | |||
| lot | melody | metal | |||
| method | middle | milk | |||
| moment | nation | natural | |||
| outside | per | phrase | |||
| poor | possible | pounds | |||
| pushed | quiet | quite | |||
| remain | result | ride | |||
| rolled | sail | scale | |||
| section | sleep | smiled | |||
| snow | soil | solve | |||
| someone | son | speak | |||
| speed | spring | stone | |||
| surprise | tall | temperature | |||
| themselves | tiny | trip | |||
| type | village | within | |||
| wonder | |||||
9th Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alone | art | bad | |||
| bank | bit | break | |||
| brown | burning | business | |||
| captain | catch | caught | |||
| cents | child | choose | |||
| clean | climbed | cloud | |||
| coast | continued | control | |||
| cool | cost | decimal | |||
| desert | design | direct | |||
| drawing | ears | east | |||
| else | engine | England | |||
| equal | experiment | express | |||
| feeling | fell | flow | |||
| foot | garden | gas | |||
| glass | God | grew | |||
| history | human | hunting | |||
| increase | information | itself | |||
| joined | key | lady | |||
| law | least | lost | |||
| maybe | mouth | party | |||
| pay | period | plains | |||
| please | practice | president | |||
| received | report | ring | |||
| rise | row | save | |||
| seeds | sent | separate | |||
| serve | shouted | single | |||
| skin | statement | stick | |||
| straight | strange | students | |||
| suppose | symbols | team | |||
| touch | trouble | uncle | |||
| valley | visit | wear | |||
| whose | wire | woman | |||
| wrote | yard | you’re | |||
| yourself | |||||
10th Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| addition | army | bell | |||
| belong | block | blood | |||
| blow | board | bones | |||
| branches | cattle | chief | |||
| compare | compound | consider | |||
| cook | corner | crops | |||
| crowd | current | doctor | |||
| dollars | eight | electric | |||
| elements | enjoy | entered | |||
| except | exciting | expect | |||
| famous | fit | flat | |||
| fruit | fun | guess | |||
| hat | hit | indicate | |||
| industry | insects | interesting | |||
| Japanese | lie | lifted | |||
| loud | major | mall | |||
| meat | mine | modern | |||
| movement | necessary | observe | |||
| park | particular | planets | |||
| poem | pole | position | |||
| process | property | provide | |||
| rather | rhythm | rich | |||
| safe | sand | science | |||
| sell | send | sense | |||
| seven | sharp | shoulder | |||
| sight | silent | soldiers | |||
| spot | spread | stream | |||
| string | suggested | supply | |||
| swim | terms | thick | |||
| thin | thus | tied | |||
| tone | trade | tube | |||
| value | wash | wasn’t | |||
| weight | wife | wings | |||
| won’t | |||||
11th Grade
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| action | actually | adjective | |||
| afraid | agreed | ahead | |||
| allow | apple | arrived | |||
| born | bought | British | |||
| capital | chance | chart | |||
| church | column | company | |||
| conditions | corn | cotton | |||
| cows | create | dead | |||
| deal | death | details | |||
| determine | difficult | division | |||
| doesn’t | effect | entire | |||
| especially | evening | experience | |||
| factories | fair | fear | |||
| fig | forward | France | |||
| fresh | Greek | gun | |||
| hoe | huge | isn’t | |||
| led | level | located | |||
| march | match | molecules | |||
| northern | nose | office | |||
| opposite | oxygen | plural | |||
| prepared | pretty | printed | |||
| radio | repeated | rope | |||
| rose | score | seat | |||
| settled | shoes | shop | |||
| similar | sir | sister | |||
| smell | solution | southern | |||
| steel | stretched | substances | |||
| suffix | sugar | tools | |||
| total | track | triangle | |||
| truck | underline | various | |||
| view | Washington | we’ll | |||
| western | win | women | |||
| workers | wouldn’t | wrong | |||
| yellow | |||||
