Helping a child learn to read, is a gift that will last a lifetime and takes a partnership that begins at home and continues at child care and in school.  Here you will find tips and information to help children build the foundation to learn to read.

 

The Importance of READING- What National Research Shows:

• Reading serves as the major foundational skill for all school-based learning.
• Although reading and writing abilities continue to develop throughout life, the early childhood years - from birth through age eight - are the most important period for literacy development.
• The development of early literacy skills through early experiences with books and stories is critically linked to a child’s success in learning to read.
• Only 5% of children learn to read effortlessly.
• 20% - 30% of children learn to read relatively easily once exposed to formal instruction.
• 60% of children face a more formidable challenge:
  • For 20% to 30% of these children, reading is one of the most difficult tasks they will have to master throughout their schooling.
  • 90% to 95% of poor readers can greatly increase reading skills to average reading levels through prevention and early intervention programs that combine:  phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency development, and reading comprehension strategies that are provided by well-trained teachers.
  • 88% of poor readers in first grade have the probability of being poor readers in fourth grade.
  • 75% of children who are poor readers, who are not helped prior to age nine, will continue to have reading difficulties through high school. 10% to 15% of children who have difficulties learning to read will drop out of school; only 2% complete a four-year college program.
  • While older children and adults can be taught to read, the time and expense is enormous.
• 80% of children identified as having learning disabilities have their primary difficulties in learning to read.
• Half of adolescents and young adults with criminal records have reading difficulties.
• Half of the youths with histories of substance abuse have reading problems.

What is Reading?

Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation.

Reading is More Than ABCs

What parents do or don’t do in the preschool years has a lasting impact on children’s reading ability. Learn some facts about the importance and need for literacy experiences in the first three years, in preschool, and in the primary grades. For a child to become a good reader, it takes a partnership that begins at home and continues at school.  You can prepare your child to read by sharing your time, talking about the world around you, telling and reading stories and asking and answering questions.