I recently attended the 2016 Jacobsen Center and Reading Recovery Literacy Academy held at UNI. One of the keynote speakers was Dr. Richard Allington. In his keynote address, he spoke of the importance of the volume of reading for a child. He stressed that the amount of time that a child spends reading books of interest is a big factor in determining who will and won’t read proficiently. The common practice of offering very little time daily for actual reading is the primary source of reading difficulties.
He also stressed the importance of having books that children want to read, and that we allow students choice. These are motivating factors for students.
Dr. Allington also remarked that, as adults, we usually spend most of our time reading text at 99% accuracy. He also stated that students who read text at 98% accuracy do better than students who read at 95% accuracy. His key idea is that if we want kids to read in or out of school, we have to give them easy access to texts that they find interesting and that they can read accurately and fluently.
Sometimes parents feel that we should be sending home books that are harder so that students have to work a little more to read the book. We want students to feel successful with what they read and to learn to enjoy reading. We try to "de-bug" the books at school so that by the time the child takes that book home, it should be a fairly easy read. This helps to build confidence. Confidence in reading leads to wanting to read more books, which provides much needed practice. Reading daily at home helps your chld to use the skills learned in school.
He also stressed the importance of having books that children want to read, and that we allow students choice. These are motivating factors for students.
Dr. Allington also remarked that, as adults, we usually spend most of our time reading text at 99% accuracy. He also stated that students who read text at 98% accuracy do better than students who read at 95% accuracy. His key idea is that if we want kids to read in or out of school, we have to give them easy access to texts that they find interesting and that they can read accurately and fluently.
Sometimes parents feel that we should be sending home books that are harder so that students have to work a little more to read the book. We want students to feel successful with what they read and to learn to enjoy reading. We try to "de-bug" the books at school so that by the time the child takes that book home, it should be a fairly easy read. This helps to build confidence. Confidence in reading leads to wanting to read more books, which provides much needed practice. Reading daily at home helps your chld to use the skills learned in school.