Summer reading for kids: Keep literature and pleasure in the same arena.
June 25, 2012
Some Books Are More Equal Than Others http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/how-to-choose-summer-reading-for-students.html?_r=2 speaks to the question: How important are summer reading assignments and what should they look like?
The article stated that for newly fluent readers, usually age 8 or 9, any reading is indeed good reading. But for students in middle school and high school, reading selection does matter in terms of their acquiring both word recognition and world knowledge.
I applaud the sentiment that “allow students to explore literature in the summer as a pleasure and return to school curious about the world around them, not weary from having written about books they could not fully understand, or smug from having earned credit for an essay on a book they could have easily comprehended in fourth grade.”
The following are a few suggestions that keep literature and pleasure in the same arena
Helpful hints for Summer reading for children:
~ Give children direction in choosing books.
~ Encourage reading without use of the post-it-notes.
~ Support children reading challenging books during the summer, without the mandate to fully understand the book.
~ Encourage children to read nonfiction books that support acquiring world knowledge. Becoming excited by current events and history is the byproduct.
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” Ray Bradbury 1920-2012
June 14, 2012
Ray Bradbury, who never attended college, described himself as “completely library-educated.” That was one of his two preferred explanation for how he became a writer. “ I discovered me in the library. I went to find me in the library.” Ray Bradbury was best known as a sci-fi titan but in “my book” he is […]
The perfect summer activity
May 30, 2012
Research shows Mom, as always, was right.“Brief exposure to the outdoors make people more creative, happier and better able to focus.” Summer is fast approaching and to prevent the well-documented summer slide in academics, most notably in reading, why not build into your summer schedule weekly outings with a snack and book in a fun […]
Teach kids empathy before its too late.
May 25, 2012
“When is a Problem Child Truly Dangerous?”, a recent article in the NYT Magazine draws attention to the challenge to teach kids empathy before its too late.
“Don’t touch that button yet” versus “And then what happened in the story?”: A parent’s choice.
May 23, 2012
Studies that aim to answer the question of whether a child gets a different experience from a book than an e-book are just getting under way. Studies of how such a device affects the development of young children typically take three to five years. When a parent reads a physical book to a child, the […]
