reading level

[cnerber]

Hi - I recently spent time with my neice and discovered that she can barely read. She is in 1st grade and struggles with pronouncing 3-letter words. she still hasn't discovered vowel sounds either (ie. u - "uh" or "you" sound).
I sat and read a Dr. Suess book - and she read about 1 word per sentence.
What is a typical reading level for a 1st grader? NOTE: she began kindergarten at age 4 - just turned 6 October 23rd. She has also switched schools 2x's since kindergarten, and her parents recently went through a divorce. Currently, the children are shuffled between 2 households.
I thought this would give a little background.
thanks for your time,
Carolyn

[Tdol]

I don't teach children and don't know the American system, but from what I could see on the internet, it would appear that these areas are the ones she should be learning at this stage:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_1st.htm#lang
From this guide, it doesn't sound to me as if she is that far behind.
I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, and I hope a primary teacher can add to this.