Effective School Reading Programs

by Myra Turner | More from this Blogger

22 Sep 2006 10:19 AM

The importance of instilling a love of reading in my son Tyler is something I take very serious. I am fortunate to have a child who loves reading and being read to. With a mother who is not only a writer but an avid reader you might imagine he would probably love reading. Books and reading have always been a part of his life and like a lot of parents I started reading to him before he was born. Now, that he can read well and independently and he's just five, well I am sooooo proud of him.

Will a child who loves to read for recreation, continue to do so when they start school and it becomes a part of school work? According to a survey conducted by Scholastic many kids do not. Their findings show that only about 30% of kids over the age of 8 were recreational readers. Even less of the 15 to 17-year-old age group read for pleasure, just 16%.

The International Reading Association (IRA) reports that one reason kids don't read for pleasure is a lack of motivation. Reading motivation can be affected by many factors, among them the quality of the reading program at your child's school. The IRA also believes that all kids can become better readers and kids who are better readers do better in school and life in general. They urge parents to find out more about their child's reading programs and offer ways you can judge how effective the programs are. According to the IRA, an effective reading program should:

(1) Have good teachers. The teachers should be well-prepared and keep up to date on the latest research findings and techniques on teaching reading.

(2) Provide for mixed instruction to include whole class, small group and one-on-one instruction.

(3) Offer many interesting books and magazines in the both classroom and school library.

You can easily find out if your child's program meets these requirements by talking with their teacher at open house and parent-teacher conferences. So far I am pleased with the emphasis on reading that is taking place in Tyler's kindergarten class. At open house earlier this week, his teacher asked if I wanted him to participate in the accelerated reading program, an independent program that is developed between the child and the school's librarian. Of course I said yes. He's really excited about this and so am I. And now that I know what I am supposed to look for, I will certainly monitor closely his reading programs.

See also Finding Books for Family Storytime

Learn more about Myra Turner

I'm a proud mid-life single mom with an active seven-year-old son, Tyler.

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