Reading to Children

01/20/2015

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
Maya Angelou

"Study Finds Reading to Children of All Ages Grooms Them to Read More on Their Own," was the headline of a New York Times article reporting the results of an annual "Kids and Family Reading Report" commissioned by Scholastic. The 2014 Scholastic survey of just over 1,000 children ages 6 - 17 found that only 31 percent said they read a book for fun almost daily, down from 37 percent four years ago. Other findings:

"For younger children — ages 6 to 11 — being read aloud to regularly and having restricted online time were correlated with frequent reading.... Reading aloud through elementary school seemed to be connected to a love of reading generally.... Children in the survey frequently cited reading aloud as a special bonding time with their parents...

"Some literacy experts said that when parents or teachers read aloud to children even after they can read themselves, the children can hear more complex words or stories than they might tackle themselves.... Other literary experts say the real value of reading to children is helping to develop background knowledge in all kinds of topics as well as exposure to sophisticated language."

Scholastic, iRead, Close the Achievement Gap for our Youngest Learners.

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