THE IMPORTANCE OF READING AT HOME
Reading at home will help your student build vocabulary and critical reading skills. Some ways you can help are:
Help Improve Your Student’s Comprehension: After reading a book with your child, ask him/her to tell you what the book was about. Being able to remember and restate important details of a story are key to reading comprehension.
Ask questions like:
□ What do you think will happen next?
□ What would you do?
□ How would you feel?
□ Why do you think the character did that?
□ How does the character feel in this picture?
□ What did you like about this book?
Mix it Up (but not too much): Make reading fun by picking out new books at the library and bookstore, but don’t forget about your old books. While new books can be fun, rereading a favorite book can help children work on pronouncing words properly and reading in a smoother tone.
Help Decode Unknown Words: Help your student decode unfamiliar words by sounding them out, and by using clues from other parts of the sentence or story. You may also help your child look up new words in a printed or online dictionary.
Some important things to consider:
*Children who were read to at least three times a week are twice as likely to score in the top 25% of reading scores.
*The number of books in the home correlates significantly with higher reading test scores.
*Children’s books contain 50% more rare words than primetime television.
Reading improves student concentration, helps develop students’ language skills, fosters curiosity about the world we live in, and helps students do better in all subjects.