Precocious Readers: 
Characteristics and Commonalities

• Exhibit advanced pre-reading skills 
• Use phrases and entire sentences at a very early age  
• Use extensive vocabulary easily and accurately 
• Read pre-primer level books by age 4 or 5 
• Have long attention spans 
• Have keen observation skills and retain information 
• Read longer and read a greater variety of books  
• Require less drill 
• Have extraordinary discrimination and generalizing abilities
• Employ different reading strategies than average readers 
• Excel in the ability to use context and picture clues to aid fluent word identification and comprehension 
• Have above average IQ 
• Have highly involved parents

Common Terms