Owning your own book

With December coming, you can guess what we recommend as a great gift for your children . . . books, of course! 

Did you know that research suggests that the very act of owning books can influence a child's reading ability? In a study of Israeli students, high achieving students on average owned 10 times more books than low achieving students.

In another study, researchers gave 852 disadvantaged students 12 books yearly.  After doing this for three consecutive years they found that students who brought the books home had significantly higher reading scores than other students. In fact, just having those 12 books seemed to have as much positive effect as attending summer school.

In a NY Times article* about the above study, David Brooks quoted a philanthopist who regularly gives books to disadvantaged kids:

It’s not the physical presence of the books that produces the biggest impact, she suggested. It’s the change in the way the students see themselves as they build a home library. They see themselves as readers . . .

At Reagan Academy we hope to create a whole school of children that see themselves as readers! 

It doesn't have to cost a lot to buy a book.  Add a book to the presents under the tree or maybe Santa can stuff one in a stocking or give a gift card to Borders (kids love to use their own plastic card!) --whatever you do, try to add books to your gift giving traditions.  (Holiday traditions will be our next post in fact!)  In your search for a good book, don't forget this week's Scholastic book fair! (Dec. 6th-10th)

*Click here to read the NY Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/opinion/09brooks.html?_r=2 

"Are we there yet?"

Are you planning to go "over the river and through the woods" during the Thanksgiving break?  One fun and memorable way to pass the hours while traveling is reading a book aloud or listening to an audiobook.

Did you know that the listening comprehension of most children exceeds their reading comprehension?  What this means is that although your 1st grader may not be ready to actually read a book like Charlotte's Web, they may be ready to listen to one. When you listen to a good book you enjoy the same benefits as when you read a good book, but listening frees you to take in the scenery while traveling and you can do it together as you go.

The results may surprise you.  For instance, a teacher shared the following story: 

One year I started reading The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle aloud to my children while on a long trip.  As I was reading I worried, 'Is this too strange or old-fashioned for everybody? Is my four year old understanding this language?' To my surprise, when we stopped to get gas and stretch our legs all the kids begged, "Can we stay in the car and keep reading?" 

There are so many interesting possibilities out there!  The public library has lots of audiobooks.  Ask the librarian to recommend a favorite.  You can also download books from many sources online such as  (http://www.audible.com/cat?node=2239696011 or http://www.theaudiobookstore.com/?KID=3966740&gclid=CJm4x43DtKUCFQN7gwodpTGVaA. )   At this site you'll find a fun list of recommended audio titles for kids (http://www.travelsavvymom.com/blog/resources/the-best-audio-books-for-kids/).  At Reagan Academy we have the Jim Weiss CDs for parents to checkout.  Many of you may remember when storyteller Jim Weiss came to Reagan Academy.  He is funny and engaging.  These compilations are a good option for the first time audio listener.

You may be thinking, "This sounds great, but my kids are already used to watching DVDs while we travel.  How can a book compete with that?"  Well, perhaps the kids are ready for a change or maybe you need to work a little magic.  One teacher suggested that you could start out driving when suddenly . . .  "Oh no!  We've packed the DVD under the suitcases in the trunk!  Hey,  I've got the audiobook of Harry Potter instead.  Let's try this."  Another family has a travel rule, you can watch a DVD only after an hour with a book.  Sometimes after that hour of listening to a book, they'll want to keep listening and save the DVD until another time.  Whatever you do, make sure that listening/reading is fun and enjoyable and doesn't feel like a punishment.

What audio books has your family enjoyed?  What tips or tricks can you recommend?  Post a comment and share your experiences, recommendations, and ideas.

To those of you traveling -- have a safe trip!

Ideas for reading goals

We'll be blogging about these in the coming months:

• Read aloud as a family
• Read daily to young children
• Go to the public library regularly
• Establish rules about TV watching and video games
• Listen to audio books in the car
• Talk about books during family dinners
• Establish a family quiet time for reading
• Expand a family library
• Make sure that kids have a bookshelf in their bedroom

The two puzzle pieces

In general, learning to read well involves two pieces of a puzzle.

1. A child must be taught to read.  This includes learning phonics, fluency, comprehension strategies and critical thinking skills.  These are things teachers take seriously.  Reagan Academy teachers work hard to ensure that students are taught reading skills on their level and are continually progressing towards becoming better and better readers.
2. A child must be read to often and read and read and read and read.  It is this frequent experience of cuddling up with a good book daily that creates "a reader."

When it comes to this second puzzle piece what you do (and don't do) at home makes an enormous difference in the education of our students.  We have excellent families at Reagan Academy and we can tell that many of you do outstanding things with your children at home.  Thank you!

As a part of the Reagan Reads campaign we encourage every family to set a goal that builds on what they are already doing at home to become readers and enthusiastic learners.  (See the next blog entry for some possible goals that you might set.)

Why do we care about what happens at home?  Because we really care about student learning and we recognize the powerful influence of partnering with parents to help students learn all that they can.  For instance, one of the foremost indicators of a successful reader is the mere amount of time spent reading. (We will post research about this in future blogs.)  On this front we can only do so much at school.

How much time would you guess children spend at school yearly?  At Reagan Academy we get almost 1000 hours per year with your children. We do our best to use that time wisely. Those 1000 hours are used to teach reading, writing, math, history, geography, art, music, discipline, physical education, library and citizenship.  It is also spent going to recess and lunch and assemblies and field trips and fire drills and state testing. 

How much time does that leave? After taking out time for sleeping, students spend about 4700 hours outside of school every year.  Certainly that time is filled up with lots of relevant activities, but the parent who says, “Reading and learning is for school, not at home,” misses vital opportunities that all students need to learn and progress adequately.  (Sadly, they are also missing out on lots of fun too!) At the end of the year, school time alone is just not enough time to build “a reader". 

What is the bottom line?  Make sure that you find time at home when your kids can read and you can read with them. It makes a big difference!