Just 20 minutes...
JUST 20 MINUTES A DAY READING ALOUD WITH YOUNG CHILDREN STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIPS, ENCOURAGES LISTENING AND LANGUAGE SKILLS, PROMOTES ATTENTION AND CURIOSITY, AND ESTABLISHES A STRONG READING FOUNDATION. THESE SKILLS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS IN SCHOOL AND IN LIFE.
IT TAKES HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF “LAP TIME” FOR A CHILD TO ACQUIRE THE PRE-LITERACY SKILLS NECESSARY FOR LEARNING TO READ EARLY AND WELL. FROM BIRTH TO AGE FIVE, THE PLEASANT ACTIVITY OF LISTENING TO AND TALKING ABOUT STORIES TRAINS A CHILD'S BRAIN, EARS, AND EYES FOR EVENTUAL SUCCESS IN LEARNING TO READ.
“THE EARLY YEARS SET THE STAGE FOR LATER LEARNING…THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITY FOR BUILDING THE KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED FOR EVENTUAL SUCCESS IN READING IS READING ALOUD TO CHILDREN.”
ONCE A CHILD BEGINS TO READ, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO CONTINUE READING ALOUD TOGETHER. LIKE OTHER SKILLS, READING IS MASTERED OVER TIME, WITH LOTS OF PRACTICE, AND WITH THE HELP OF ANOTHER PERSON. THE ROUTINE OF SHARING BOOKS TOGETHER CREATES LIFELONG READERS.
THE MAGIC OF THIS PROCESS IS THE SIMPLICITY OF ACTION. ANY ADULT CAN DO IT, IN JUST ABOUT ANY PLACE, WITH LITTLE OR NO EXPENSE. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN. NON-READING PARENTS CAN MAKE UP STORIES TO GO WITH THE ILLUSTRATIONS. THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS ARE SCHEDULED TIME WITH BOOKS AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE!
MAKE READING TOGETHER THE MOST IMPORTANT - AND HAPPIEST - 20 MINUTES OF YOUR DAY!
Let’s figure it out – mathematically!
Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night… or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 minutes/week.
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes/week.
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year.
Student A reads 3600 minutes in a school year.
Student B reads 720 minutes in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of 10 whole school days a year.
Student B gets the equivalent of 2 school days of reading practice.
By the end of 6th grade, if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits,
- Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days.
- Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.
Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school… and in life?
Why read 30 minutes a day?
*If daily reading begins in infancy, by the time the child is five years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of brain food!
*Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week, and the child’s hungry mind loses 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories.
*A kindergarten student who has not been read aloud to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition. No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.
Therefore… 30 minutes daily = 900 hours
30 minutes weekly = 130 hours
Less than 30 minutes weekly = 60 hours
Now you can see why reading daily is so very important. Why not have family night reading? It is great to just shut off the television for 20-30 minutes and read… and share.
(Source: U.S Dept. of Education, America Reads Challenge. (1999) “Start Early, Finish Strong: How to Help Every Child Become a Reader.” Washington, D.C.)