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ARTICLES FOR MOMS, DADS OR TEACHERS
Why Nonfiction is Important in Reading and Learning
Children learn by taking in pieces of information and categorizing them. They do this all through their schooling years. When they reach puberty they take this information, sort it, and think critically with it. They keep what they know, problem solve or create new ideas.
As a child grows, he or she adds to that warehouse of information. Sadly, many high school and college students do not have that strong solid informational knowledge base to do the work required of them in high school and college. Most college professors assume students know the information they need to summarize an article or understand unknown vocabulary words in context. From as early as possible, children need an ongoing diet of non-fiction reading material and all throughout their schooling years.
Studies show that children are not reading sufficiently, not comprehending what they read, and are not reading enough non-fiction. The only way to succeed with developing good reading habits and ensure comprehension is to read a lot.
What This Means For Teachers and Parents
Teachers and parents need to expose students to a variety of motivating non-fiction texts that are challenging. There should be plenty of oral and reading activities to help close some of the reading gaps and especially for English language learners. In fact, teachers should aim for a balanced oral-reading approach. “The research suggests that the reason for the disparity between word-and text-level skills among language-minority students is oral proficiency. Well-developed oral proficiency in English is associated with English reading and writing skills for these students” (August and Shanahan 4).
Practice, Practice, Practice!
With lots of practice, children will learn to sound out words and retain what they read with lots of practice. Non-fiction books are fun, engaging and informational. Find a book with large illustrations that give clues to the text. Even a lower performing reader can understand what’s happening. The pictures, located directly under or over the easy-to-understand text, help create an emotional response to the information. This response, whether it is happy, sad, or something else helps a child retain the information.
A parent or caregiver should not for one moment, think that a child’s reading will take care of itself once s/he enters school. Children have many different ways of learning and what they understood from their early years already affects his/her learning. While teachers will change every year, a parent is the only constant in a child’s school career. Parents/teachers can take already ensure that all reading components are in place by taking the following actions:
1.Start the reading process early.
2.Reduce the Summer Brain Drain. Kids can lose up to 60% of what they have learned during the summer months. Experts say reading during the summer is the best way to offset braindrain.Make sure you have a good stock for your kid’s summer reading list.
3.Read well and read often.
4.Build an diverse library for your child with plenty of non-fiction books.
5.Include in their library non-fiction, fiction and practical “How To’s.”
6.Have the books available; be ready at the first initiative to read a book - don’t wait until they express interest.
And remember…
* Readers often write well because they have read good literature.
* Readers have a better vocabulary because they are exposed to more words.
* Reading stimulates the mind.
* Reading entertains without dulling the mind like television and video games.
Read good books that will broaden their informational base and shape their futures.
Read books where you will get the most fun and learning for your money.
And just read!
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