The Importance of Reading at Home...

I am an 8th grade Intensive Reading teacher.  By that, I mean that I work with students that, on the whole, hate reading and do not comprehend what they have read in a meaningful manner.  The majority of my students are also ELL as well.  Because of this, my students are at a major deficit when it comes to reading and language acquisition.  You may ask, what does this have to do with adolescent literature?  If a student cannot understand what they are reading, they will not enjoy what they are reading, and if they do not enjoy it, then they will avoid it.  So in order to get our adolescents to read the many wonderful books that are available, we have to help them find the enjoyment in reading! 

So, how do we do that??  The first step is the easiest...read with them!!  There is nothing wrong, no matter what the age of your child, with reading along or with your child.  Your ability to model proper reading is so helpful in their ability to strengthen their reading skills!  Second step...read to yourself!  Yes!  Just by sitting at home and choosing to read, instead of firing up the television for an evening of "Must See TV", can make all the difference in the world!

When our children are growing up, they watch everything that we do and completely emulate us!  They want to act like grown-ups and do all that we do.  So why not choose something that can truly improve their quality of life and future!  Sit down, grab a book, start a family reading night!  Anything to have your child understand that reading should be an everyday event and that it is something that should be enjoyed, not dreaded!!

When it comes to discussing the best practices in teaching, I feel that one of the most important is communication with family.  Parents want to know what they can do to help their child, and in order for our students to learn, they must have the appropriate modeling at home.  Letting parents know that reading in front of or with their kids will help their children to truly appreciate literacy and education.  The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)  note that there are three ways that parents can read with their children.  They can have the child read to them, they can read to the child, and the parents and children can read together.  On the same topic, The International Reading Association (IRA) comments that “family involvement can be a powerful element of effective literacy instruction” and because of this, we should do all that we can to open the lines of communication between ourselves and parents.