Philadelphia Children's Connection

How important is it to instill good reading skills in young children? Does it actually work?
Is reading a losing battle? I hope not. In today’s society, reading has lost it’s value. With new technologies developing at an alarming pace, and other enter entertaining distractions like television, reading as a hobby has decreased at an alarming rate. Strong interest in reading, as most skills are, are developed at a young age, creating a foundation. If taught to read at home, if parents actually take the time out to read to their young children, check homework, and encourage their kids to read on their on, the probability of having strong reading skills are far more solid than children who do not have that support. Some of the statistics you are going to read are going to shock and appall you, but after reading, hopefully the importance of reading can be re instilled, and shared with close ones.

An educator took an anonymous poll within her students to discover that 1/3 of her students were behind in their current reading, and 1/4 of the students admitted not completing at least one of the books that were read in class.
Some astonishing facts:
-46% of American adults cannot understand the label on their prescription medicine
-50% of American adults are unable to read an eighth grade level book
-out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year
-the average reader spends about 1/6 of the time they spend reading actually rereading words
-1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives
-42% of college graduates never read another book after school
-80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year
-70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years
-57% of new books are not read to completion
-the educational careers of 25-40% of American children are imperiled because they don’t read well enough, quickly enough, or easily enough
-it is estimated that more than 2 billion spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they have reading problems
-more than 20% of adults read at or below a 5th grade level far below the level needed to earn a living wage
-44 million adults in the US can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child
-21 million Americans can’t read at all, 45 million are marginally illiterate, and 1/5 of high school graduates can’t read their diplomas
-first grade children with good word recognitions skills were exposed to almost twice as many words are their basal readers as were children who had poor word recognitions skills

Now, keeping those statistics in mind, creating a stronger foundation in reading at a young age may seem that much more important if it wasn’t already. The following are the top ten ways to improve reading skills.

    1.    Set aside a regular time to read to your children everyday. This will increase your children’s desire to read independently.
    2.    Surround your children with reading material. Having a large array of reading material is enticing and by placing it in multiple areas of the house, the children will be encouraged even more.
    3.    Have a family reading time. Seeing you read, even if it’s for a half hour, will inspire your children to do the same.
    4.    Encourage a wide variety of reading activities. Make sure they always have something to read in their spare time while waiting for appointments and such.
    5.    Develop the library habit. Entice your children to read more by taking them to the library every few weeks to get new reading materials.
    6.    Be knowledgeable about your children’s progress. Track their progress in acquiring basic reading skills on report cards and standardized tests.
    7.    Look for reading problems. Teachers do not always detect children’s reading problems until they become serious. Make sure your children comprehend what they are reading.
    8.    Get help promptly for reading problems. The earlier children receive help, the more likely they will become good readers.
    9.    Use a variety of aids to help your children. For example, computer programs, books on tape, and games.
    10.    Show enthusiasm for your children’s reading. Your reaction has a great influence on how hard they will try to become good readers. Be sure to give them genuine praise for their efforts.

Keeping in mind the statistics and the helpful suggestions, let’s help the future generations by instilling strong reading skills. At the end of this past year, PCF ran a book drive for a month to help boost the literacy rates at Kinsey Elementary School. In 2008, Kinsey received the following PSSA reading results. In Grade 3- 44% were at or above proficient; Grade 4- 35% at or above; Grade 5- 26% at or above; Grade 6- 43% at or above; Grade 7- 40% at or above; Grade 8- 50% at or above proficient reading levels. We collected slightly over 900 books to donate to their library, offering a wide range of readings to grasp their interest and hopefully increase their proficiency level.