Yesterday I was talking with a relative of mine. He was concerned about the reading skills of his elementary school kids. I recall having the same concerns a few years back when my kids are in the elementary age as well. Good news, in the past ten years I had observed my kids gradually read more and get better over time. There are some lessons I learnt during this transformation.
For the longest period of time, I can recall, I wasn’t good at reading. I grew up in a small town (now a big city) in India. Most people spoke Tamil, my mother tongue. Most people had less books at their disposal. Fortunately my dad was an avid reader of Tamil books and magazines. He reached pre-university courses and could not make it to college courses, owing to family situations. Despite our family situation, he was a regular subscriber to The Hindu, an English language newspaper that was common in our state. Plus he had some trade magazines from clothing industry, since he was doing clothing business. All said, I had access to some books and magazines in assorted areas. Most of these were advanced, which meant I probably was looking at pictures and advertisements rather than read the articles or books. Therein lies one of the lessons. Reading well requires exposure. Such foundation is built on having access to simple materials.
In 2010, I had the opportunity to be a parent volunteer on the Elementary School Literacy Committee of Bellevue School District. We reviewed several textbook materials and selected a new set for use across the entire school district that has about 10,000 elementary school kids enrolled. I also read the Teaching Reading Source book which was highly informative. I discovered that there is a structured way to approach reading and teaching it. It is gratifying that teachers and educators have access to such high quality materials to prepare and teach the students. Reading well benefits from having structure. One big take away I had was that we need variety of books starting with simple ones gradually adding complexity to ensure reading is an enjoyable sport.
At our local library I found that there are lists of books by grade and genre (historical fiction, fantasy fiction, science fiction) to help us choose books. In my early days I used to stay away from picture books. Later I discovered that picture books are a great way to provide fun reading experiences. I took the kids there and we found books to read. Reading well requires access to books that libraries often provide. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) awards the Caldecott Medal for best illustrated books each year. This is a great list of books to start with. Further as the kids get better fluency and comprehension, one can look at Newberry Medal Winner books to learn from a variety of books and topics.
It is highly valuable to have access, structure, and variety in books. Even more important is make time for reading to children and reading with children. Many nights I (or my wife) will take the kids to bed and we will read a few minutes to them. Initially the attention span was likely to be at 5-minutes and gradually this improved to 20+ minutes. Having pictures in the books is always beneficial, since the kids can easily understand context than just knowing the words or sounds (technical term is: Phonics). Sometimes when I read to the kids, I may fall asleep too :). Gradually we moved from “reading to” phase to the “reading with” phase wherein the kids may read a page or two, and we listened. Reading well requires dedicating time for reading.
During the school years, the kids had access to K-5 Junior Great Books. Years had rolled by and now we often have books scattered around the house. Kids make their own choices of books to read from the school or public library. Sometimes they come in with request for books to buy as well, which we purchase for them. Reading well requires allowing independence and choice.
Reading maketh a full man”
– Francis Bacon in his essays “Of Studies”, see page 439, in Major Works
Indeed, reading a variety of materials, with comprehension and depth, prepares each of us to become better person in the future. It applies to girls, boys, men, and women, all alike. I am excited for having learnt to read and also learnt to understand the details behind reading in the past ten years. More reading we have, better we are!
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
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