Many parents ask me what is the most important thing they can do to help their struggling reader. The simple answer is read. The difficult reality is that many children who struggle to read are also very good at avoiding reading. The problem is the "Matthew Effect." This is a reference to the bible verse about the rich get richer. While, good readers become better readers because of the amount they read. Poor readers fall even further behind because they are not reading nearly as much at their peers. Furthermore, the struggling reader begins to give up as the reading material becomes more and more difficult. But, reading everyday for approximately 20 minutes can make a huge impact on a child's success.Students who scored 90% better than their peers on reading tests, read for more than 20 minutes a day – exposing them to 1.8 million words a year.
Students who scored at fifty percentile, read on average only 4.6 minutes a day – exposing them to 282,000 words per year.
Students in the ten percentile for reading, read less than 1 minute per day – exposing them to 8,000 words per year. (It would take them one year to read as many words as what a good reader would read in two days.)
(Retrieved from: http://phoenixacademyomaha.org/read-for-20-minutes-each-day/
Find time to read with your child everyday. If 20 minutes at the end of the day is just too much, try breaking it up into two 10 minute increments. It is important to keep the material simple enough that your child can read without becoming frustrated. Reading a novel or chapter book to your child is another good option. Audio books can also be an option; however, it is important to have your child read aloud for at least part of the daily reading.
Reading it does the brain good!
Students who scored at fifty percentile, read on average only 4.6 minutes a day – exposing them to 282,000 words per year.
Students in the ten percentile for reading, read less than 1 minute per day – exposing them to 8,000 words per year. (It would take them one year to read as many words as what a good reader would read in two days.)
(Retrieved from: http://phoenixacademyomaha.org/read-for-20-minutes-each-day/
Find time to read with your child everyday. If 20 minutes at the end of the day is just too much, try breaking it up into two 10 minute increments. It is important to keep the material simple enough that your child can read without becoming frustrated. Reading a novel or chapter book to your child is another good option. Audio books can also be an option; however, it is important to have your child read aloud for at least part of the daily reading.
Reading it does the brain good!