First grade readers are able to pronounce simple words and sentences.
Limited story recognition capacity is also present. Stories for this grade
level have very simple themes with very simple plots. (The bad child gets punished,
the good kid gets rewarded, etc...)
Although there are
countless reading books for first grade level readers, it is encouraged to make at least
50% of their reading selections Muslim flavored stories. Children will by now begin
to form their identities and attitudes towards their reality and we don't want another
generation of kids molded into apathetic secular people.
Most Muslim parents
living in non-Muslim countries make their first big mistake at this level by not making
any effort to mold a Muslim-oriented identity in their child. Stories form a
reference point for reality. If all your child reads about is Bob or Sue and their
little unIslamic or mundane adventures, the child will most certainly consider the world
that created Bob and Sue to be the real world. The unreal world at home filled with
a mix of traditional culture and a little Islamic flavor will be forgotten or considered
irrelevant by the teenage years.