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From
cereal boxes, to graffiti, to historical
fiction, literacy education expert says
the more kids read the better
Media assistance:
Neil Schoenherr
- (314) 935-5235
Source: Rebecca
Rogers' Web page - (314) 935-8638
Related: More
information on Rogers' research
Related: "America
Reads" program Web site
Related: Summer
reading suggestions from the International
Reading Association
[St. Louis, Mo., June 2002] - For
most kids, school’s out for the summer.
And for many of their parents, the two words
they’ll hear most often during the
next few months are: “I’m bored!”
So what can parents do to keep their kids
busy and, at the same time, give them a
head start on school next fall? Encourage
them to read, says a literacy education
expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
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Summer reading gives kids a head start
on school next fall |
“Summer
is the ideal time for children and adolescents
to continue to extend themselves as readers
and writers,” says Rebecca Rogers,
Ph.D., assistant professor of education
at Washington University in St. Louis.
“The purpose and goals for reading
and writing over the summer depend on
the individual child, but of course enjoyment
should come first.”
And, says Rogers, reading the mail, a
comic book or even street signs can be
very effective ways to increase a child’s
reading confidence.
While there are many different types of
readers, says Rogers, there are some general
“rules” for accelerating literacy
development in children. In general, the
more words a child reads, the better reader
they will become.
“All children should read texts that
are in what reading researchers refer
to as an ‘independent’ to ‘instructional’
level range,” Rogers says. “Independent
texts are texts that are consistently
read above a 95 percent accuracy rate.”
These texts provide students with enjoyment
and they also bolster confidence because
they are books students can read fluently
and easily with little assistance.
Instructional level texts, on the other
hand, are texts that a child reads with
a 90-95 percent accuracy rate, which means
that they are mainly reading fluently
but they are using enough problem solving
skills to challenge themselves, Rogers
says. An instructional level text is just
above what a child can read independently,
and therefore normally requires help from
a knowledgeable parent, peer or sibling.
A text can be instructional according
to the difficulty of the content or of
the words, Rogers says. “It is best
for an adult to read an instructional
level text with a child to help them figure
out unknown words and for monitoring comprehension.”
Both instructional and independent texts
can include a wide range of genres including
comic books, cereal boxes, nonfiction
texts or newspapers.
Over the summer, as with any time, parents
should provide children with a choice
of independent and instructional level
texts that range in genre from nonfiction,
poetry, historical fiction and fiction,
Rogers suggests. “Children should
have many different choices in what they
read.”
Take
a 'print walk'
So
how exactly do parents get their children
to read more during the summer months?
“Parents, adults and teachers should
make time to notice the print that exists
within a child’s world and help them
to notice how print is used, by whom,
and why in their social worlds,”
Rogers says.
For example, take a “print walk”
in the community and read store window
displays, graffiti on walls and street
signs. Parents should have a child read
the mail and figure out who it is from
and how a letter that has to do with paying
bills is often worded differently from
a letter that comes from a friend, suggests
Rogers.
Another way parents can help is to ask
questions during reading sessions. “Parents
should ask things like, ‘How did
you figure that out?’ or ‘What
else could you try?’ or ‘Why
did the author write the story this way?’
or ‘Whose perspective is left out
of the story?’ or ‘What did
you notice about how the characters are
represented in the book?’”
Those kind of open-ended prompts help
children to problem solve rather than
to solely rely on the help of an adult,
Rogers said. “More importantly, such
problem solving strategies help children
to build inner control over the reading
process. This means that children are
more likely to generalize their strategic
reading independently.” Parents should
talk with their children about what they
are reading and try to stay involved in
the reading process as much as possible,
she said.
Another great way to get your children
reading over the summer, Rogers said,
is to get involved in community organizations,
especially local libraries, which often
sponsor summer reading programs.
For more information on literacy development
and on ideas for books to read over the
summer, Rogers suggests visiting the International
Reading Association at http://www.reading.org/choices/choices_download.html.
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