Reading: Why is Reading Outside of School, so Important to Our Children?

With everyone's busy schedule why it seems sometimes are teacher's sending home the busy work of having my child read out loud, to themselves or have the parent read to their child for fifteen to thirty minutes a day. Does this time really make a difference in a child's education? The answer is a resounding yes, these minutes are precious and once lost we can not get them back. As shown in the following quote children who read outside of school read a phenomenal number of words each year. Students who do not read outside of school have no way of catching up. They need to read as much as possible, to be exposed to as many words as possible.

The following statistic struck me as so profound that I have to share this quote with you the reader.

Reading Level Reading Time Outside of School Words Read Outside of School

90^th percentile 21 minutes/day 1,823,000 words/year

10^th percentile 0.1 minutes/day 8,000 words/year

Anderson, R, O, C,. & Wilson Fielding, L. G.(1998).

The numbers are so dramatic in the difference it makes to a students fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. If children do not read at home they can not make up for the loss of words per year. For this reason many teachers are now assigning reading homework nightly to ensure that their students are reading at home and not just at school. Understand that reading can take place in the car while waiting for practice to start. A child can read to you while you are cooking dinner. When reading is made a priority, there are many clever ways to make reading part of your daily schedule.

In the world today where people are bombarded by words and reading is required for nearly every job, students can not afford to not learn to read. Teachers today are utilizing the many different teaching techniques available to reach out to all the students in their classroom.

Reference

Anderson, R. O. C., Wilson Fielding, L. G., (1998). Growth In Reading And How Children Spend Their Time Outside Of School. Reading research quarterly. 23, 285-303.