World Read Aloud Day is coming up on 1 Feb 2019. Exciting reading activities will take place all over the world. People all around the globe will read aloud together and share stories on that day to encourage teachers and parents alike to read to the children in their care.
Let’s think about the importance of reading aloud to children. Is it important? In this post I plan to put reading aloud in perspective and take a look at what some of the studies on reading aloud show.
1. Reading to young children gives them a headstart in life
Studies show that one of the most important things we can do for our children is to read aloud to them when they are young. A study conducted in a partnership arrangement between the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, uncovered some interesting information. http://bit.ly/2UDCFVN. The key finding was that frequency of reading to children at a young age has a direct causal effect on their schooling outcomes regardless of their family background and home environment. The study shows that there is an important role for parents in the development and educational performance of their children. Parental reading to children increases the child’s reading and other cognitive skills at least up to the age of 10–11. This is an early-life intervention that seems to be beneficial for the rest of their lives.
 |
| Taken from Unsplash |
2. Children need 1000 hours of being read to before preschool
This fits in with what I heard about reading before preschool at a reading conference not too long ago. The Dean of Education from Rhodes university quoted a study that showed that If we can develop independent readers by Grade 3, we can almost predict academic success at school. However to become independent readers by Grade 3, he said, children need to have received 1000 hours of being read to before entering preschool.
Just hearing the written word helps them develop their vocabulary, strengthens their memory, and nurtures their imagination. Children who are surrounded by print and immersed in great and well-told stories are more curious, confident, and motivated to learn. Stories help our kids develop empathy for others, curiosity about the world we live in, and they stimulates critical thinking.
Our goal must be for our children to start reading for enjoyment, meaning and understanding on their own. If we can get the children in our care interested in reading for enjoyment, we are setting them up for success. Reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance.
 |
| Taken from Unsplash |
3. Research shows the importance of parents reading with children – even after children can read on their own
A study ‘Interactive reading opportunities beyond the early years: What educators need to consider’ by Margaret Kristin Merga found in the Australian Journal of Education, was highlighted in an article by the author. http://bit.ly/2Uv9hkj She found that “hared reading experiences are highly beneficial for young people. Benefits of shared reading include facilitating enriched language exposure, fostering the development of listening skills, spelling, reading comprehension and vocabulary, and establishing essential foundational literacy skills. They are also valued as a shared social opportunity between parents and their children to foster positive attitudes toward reading. When we read aloud to children it is also beneficial for their cognitive development, with parent-child reading activating brain areas related to narrative comprehension and mental imagery.
I was curious to see if there was any research on reading to babies in the womb and was surprised to see that there is a lot! Science indicates that reading to baby in the womb helps develop early language learning.
A study at the University of Oregon found when pregnant mothers were given a recording that included a made-up word to play near the end of pregnancy, the babies were able to recognize the word and its variations after they were born. They could discern this by neural signals emitted by the babies that showed they recognized the pitch and vowel changes in the fake word. The babies who heard the recording most frequently displayed the strongest response, suggesting that infant language learning begins in utero. The researcher says, “Our findings indicate that prenatal experiences have a remarkable influence on the brain’s auditory discrimination accuracy, which may support, for example, language acquisition during infancy. “ A website ‘Womb to World: Reading and Talking with Babies’ highlights some of the research done on reading aloud to babies in the womb http://bit.ly/2Uw0IWv.
A great article on the Baby Centre website called ‘Reading to your baby’ http://bit.ly/2UrxEiK suggests that it’s never too early to start reading to baby. Babies recognize their mother's voice in the womb, so why not make reading aloud a habit while you're still pregnant? Another article ‘Womb to World: Reading and Talking with Babies’ http://bit.ly/2Uw0IWv gives some very practial tips on how to get started. Joining the local library is a great way to start.
The PUKU website in South Africa gives some interesting global literacy statistics about reading. https://www.puku.co.za/en/south-africa-celebrates-world-read-aloud-day/ Here are two examples:
- Reading aloud to children every day puts them almost a year ahead of children who do not receive daily read-aloud reading, regardless of parental income, education level or cultural background. (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research)
- If all children in low-income countries left school literate, 171 million people could move out of poverty. (World Literacy Foundation)
There’s no doubt about it – reading improves the mind. It has a multitude of benefits to us as humans. We need to start early in the home to ensure academic success at home. “The pen is mightier than the sword.” As parents and teachers let’s join in on the fun on World Read Alud Day on 1 Feb 2019.
No comments:
Post a Comment