The Importance of Reading to and With our Kids
Why Read?
Making the Case for Reading
Reading is one of those things that everyone knows they should be doing more of (or at all), but few actually devote themselves to its pursuit. Why?
Time.
There is never enough of it and there are always a million different things that are all equally urgent vying for our attention. However, there are few things that are more worthy of our time investment than reading. Reading informs, educates, transports, and transforms us.
"Reading is essential for those who wish to rise above the ordinary."
~Jim Rohn~
Establishing a Family Culture of Reading
"If we are wise,
we will drag ourselves and our families, wailing if necessary,
to ships that wait to sail on...'the ocean of stories...'
In reviving the art of reading aloud,
we can reclaim an old pleasure,
one that has amazing capacity to draw us
closer to one another."
~Meghan Cox Gurdon~
"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations—something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own."
~Katherine Patterson~
The Art of Narration
What is narration?
Simply put, narration is the practice to telling back in your own words what you have just read or heard.
What is the purpose of narration?
The purpose of narration is knowledge acquisition.
3 Benefits of Narration
- Practices an essential skill: self education- We take in information every second of every day, but that information doesn't become meaningful until we process it and make it our own. The process of constructing meaning out of information requires the complex acts of remembering, comprehending, organizing, sequencing, and putting into your own words. It is only when you can tell (narrate) what you know, do you really know something.
- Provides relationship-building opportunities- Narration is a communal act. it requires at least two people and time spent together. The time invested in narration will help you to get to know your child and his or her unique personality and what is important to him or her. This precious time spent together can offer opportunities for rich discussion and bonding. Additionally, narration allows a child to construct relationships between information gathered across subjects, and past and present experiences, and generate meaning from those relationships.
- Provides regular experience with organizing and expressing thoughts- Narration helps children to recognize and differentiate between the times when it is important to listen and when it is time to respond. Listening and talking well are equally important skills to develop.
3 Benefits of Narration
- Practices an essential skill: self education- We take in information every second of every day, but that information doesn't become meaningful until we process it and make it our own. The process of constructing meaning out of information requires the complex acts of remembering, comprehending, organizing, sequencing, and putting into your own words. It is only when you can tell (narrate) what you know, do you really know something.
- Provides relationship-building opportunities- Narration is a communal act. it requires at least two people and time spent together. The time invested in narration will help you to get to know your child and his or her unique personality and what is important to him or her. This precious time spent together can offer opportunities for rich discussion and bonding. Additionally, narration allows a child to construct relationships between information gathered across subjects, and past and present experiences, and generate meaning from those relationships.
- Provides regular experience with organizing and expressing thoughts- Narration helps children to recognize and differentiate between the times when it is important to listen and when it is time to respond. Listening and talking well are equally important skills to develop.
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."
~Joseph Addison~
Cultivating Readers
Stages of Reading
- Emergent Readers
- 4-6 years old
- understand letters and words
- Alphabetic Fluency
- 6-7 years old
- alphabetic fluency
- Words and Patterns
- 7-9 years old
- words and patterns, develop stronger reading skills
- Intermediate Reading
- 9-11 years old
- write with fewer errors and gain overall fluency
- Advanced Reading
- 11-14 years old
- fully fluent, able to practice independent reading strategies, can absorb complex reading materials, can read and write with few difficulties
"There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book."
~Frank Sarafini
A Guide to Children's Literature
