The Power of Daily Reading

Many parents ask, how can I ensure that my student is getting a well-rounded English curriculum? How can I ensure that they will see growth in their spelling/grammar/writing/(fill in the blank) skills?

These are excellent questions, and I love hearing them from parents. It shows that you've already given your children the most important skill of all: your time. When parents show a concern for their children's growth in English Language Arts skills, I know that they're interested in their children's learning and are willing to invest time to building their children's interest, motivating them, and asking them questions that challenge them.

The second most valuable tool you can give your children is an emphasis on daily reading. A student who reads 30+ minutes every day will encounter more than 13 million words in their first 18 years of life, learning an additional 13,000 or more vocabulary words than their peers who read 15 minutes or less on average (Renaissance Learning). These skills translate not just to a more robust vocabulary, but also offer students a better grasp on ELA-related skills like spelling, writing, and grammar as well as more complex skills like critical and logical thinking, empathy, memory, focus, and stress reduction.

Having a child sit down to at least 15 minutes of reading offers them the world at their fingertips. Literacy opens significantly more doors for your child's future and breaks down barriers to build an overall stronger society tomorrow. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that your child read every day (yes, even in the summer!). The content or genre itself is not so important as is simply sitting down and focusing on reading of something that they enjoy. (It may not always be easy to find books your students love, and I'll address this in my next post.) Suffice to say that when I meet a student and see their writing, I can know instantly if that child is an avid reader, an occasional reader, or one who rarely cracks a book. The skills (or lack thereof) are that transferable. Be sure your students get the positive start in life they deserve by opening a book each day.