Reading to children

 

Sounds wonderful, but as a mother who read to her children every day, and who took them to the library, and bought them books, I don't believe this. It's good cuddle time, it's enjoyable for parent and child, but not every child enjoys book reading.

“The commission spent two years poring through thousands of research projects conducted in the previous quarter century, and in 1985 issued its report, Becoming a Nation of Readers. Among its primary findings, two simple declarations rang loud and clear:

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”1 “It is a practice that should continue throughout the grades.”2 The commission found conclusive evidence to support reading aloud not only in the home but also in the classroom.

In their wording—“ the single most important activity”—the experts were saying reading aloud was more important than work sheets, homework, book reports, and flash cards. One of the cheapest, simplest, and oldest tools of teaching was being promoted as a better tool than anything else in the home or classroom— and it’s so simple you don’t even need a high school diploma in order to do it.”

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
(Penguin, 2013, 7th edition).