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Parents have grown increasingly aware of the importance of having their children acquire good reading skills at an early age. This can often mean the difference between a child excelling or having difficulty at every phase of learning that follows. Not surprisingly, Kumon Reading is the fastest growing program in Kumon. North America.

The Kumon Reading Program consists of 22 levels Level 7a through to Level L. It is a balanced program representing the best documented practices in reading instruction. It covers skills from understanding the sounds that make up words to the summary and critique of complex reading passages.

Good writing and speaking skills are fostered as a natural outgrowth of the Kumon Reading curriculum. Kumon students at every level read daily. That alone confers enormous benefits.

The reading program is grouped together into blocks, with each block dealing with a certain aspect of reading instruction. There are five blocks; 

1. Word Building (7A to 2A)
2. Sentence Building (AI to CII)
3. Paragraph Building (DI to F)
4. Summary (G to I), and Critique
5. Literacy Analysis (J to L)

The main goal of the Kumon Reading Program is to develop reading comprehension to its fullest extent. The Program begins with whole language and word recognition, simple letter recognition, phonics and vocabulary development. It then moves into a study of grammar and sentence structure. This is followed by exercises in organizing information, paragraph structure, passage analysis and ultimately summary writing and critical analysis.

By establishing self-learning and early, rock solid foundation in core mathematics skills and English reading, Kumon helps children avoid frustration and failure later on.

Level	Aim	Sample
7A	• Repeat basic words and short sentences • Learn 306 basic words • Begin to associate spoken words with their written forms
6A	• Recite basic words, phrases and short sentences • Reinforce vocabulary learned in Level 7A, and learn 210 new words
5A	• Read sentences of up to six words • Reinforce vocabulary learned in Levels 7A and 6A, and learn 113 new words • Trace words in lower case • Learn the sounds of initial consonants, short vowels, and consonant-short vowel combinations
4A	• Read sentences of up to ten words • Reinforce vocabulary learned in Levels 7A – 5A, and learn 225 new words • Trace sentences of up to ten words • Learn double consonants, consonant clusters and phonograms
3A	• Read aloud sentences with polysyllabic words • Reinforce vocabulary learned in Levels 7A – 4A, and learn 181 new words • Copy words • Learn simple vowels before ‘r’, vowel digraphs, diphthongs and long vowels
2A	• Understand the function of nouns, verbs and adjectives in sentences • Read and spell Level 2A vocabulary • Read passages of up to 50 words within one minute • Consolidate their understanding of sound parts within words
AI	• Learn the structures of simple sentences • Use basic expressions • Develop their skills in completing simple sentences • Read passages of 50 – 60 words within one minute • Read and spell Level AI vocabulary
AII	• Understand the meaning of short passages by utilising their knowledge of the structures of simple sentences • Read passages of up to 70 words within one minute • Read and spell Level AII vocabulary
BI	• Identify the subject and predicate in a variety of simple sentences • Expand their knowledge of expressions specifying past events • Learn the functions and correct usage of adjectives and adverbs • Improve their skills in making sentences including modifiers • Read passages of up to 75 words within one minute • Read and spell Level BI vocabulary
BII	• Learn how to figure out the meaning of words through contextual clues. • Analyse a passage by identifying and comparing /contrasting pieces of information within it • Read passages of up to 85 words within one minute • Read and spell Level BII vocabulary
CI	• Master the structures of simple sentences • Further expand their knowledge of expressions to comprehend the meaning of each sentence accurately • Make sentences using the correct verb forms • Read passages of up to 95 words within one minute • Read and spell Level CI vocabulary
CII	• Grasp the elements related to 5W’s and 1H in each sentence • Analyse a passage by organising and synthesising information within it • Write complete answers with proper information, responding to 5W-1H questions • Read passages of up to 110 words within one minute • Read and spell Level CII vocabulary
DI	• Analyse complex sentences to enable them to comprehend the meaning of each sentence accurately • Read paragraphs precisely in order to complete statements using key words or phrases from the paragraphs • Study Level DI focus words and their related words to expand their vocabulary
DII	• Grasp the topic and main idea of a paragraph • Follow the flow of a story by identifying the topics and/or main ideas • Study Level DII focus words and their related words to expand their vocabulary
E	• Convert a compound or complex sentence into simple sentences and vice versa • Understand the logical flow of passages, focusing on reasons, results and explanations
F	• Reinforce their knowledge of sentence structures through exercises that involve analysing sentences • Develop their ability to paraphrase and condense short paragraphs by identifying pronoun references , and by inferring the meaning of key words
G	• Extract the points, themes and story elements of passages • Further improve their reading ability through acquiring basic summarisation skills
H	• Enhance their reading skills by being able to; distinguish between facts and opinions, follow the flow of the passages, and understand descriptive language • Complete a summary focusing on a particular aspect of the passage
I	• Read various types of passages precisely, including passages with persuasive and descriptive writing • Further improve their reading comprehension ability by completing précis (short summaries)
J	• Writing comments on aspects of passages • Understanding how ideas are organised in a passage • Analysing literary characters
K	• Further understanding the elements of literature, such as plot, setting, atmosphere, irony and comedy • Writing comments about extracts from novels, textbooks, poetry, and plays
L	• Understanding the elements of figurative language, such as metaphors, similes and symbols • Substantiating given interpretations of passages • Writing comments on passages