Raise Your Child's IQ!

I opened this morning's Charlotte Observer to the op-ed page and the headline, "Best children's books ever" caught my eye. Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times, sang one of my favorite tunes.

In Kristof's words: "In educating myself this spring about education, I was aghast to learn that American children drop in IQ each summer vacation- because they aren't in school or exercising their brains.... A mountain of research points to a central lesson: Pry your kids away from the keyboard and the television this summer, and get them reading."

Kristof then went on to list his 13 all-time favorite books and invited readers to send in their own suggestions. From the looks of today's blog, he achieved his goal. He received over 2000 comments with other book recommendations. He is also looking for organizations that particularly encouraging reading for disadvantaged children. So if you know of one, leave a link in his comments page.

And while we're on the subject of not letting your kids "veg out" in front of the tube or computer this summer, how about linking that reading to a creative writing activity? Check out the International Reading Association's website for reading and writing activities. And what better time than the summer to get your daughter or son working on that "book" which they always say they're going to write? I just happen to know of a book which will help them along in the process. Ever hear of Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8?

Technorati Tags:
Nicholas Kristof, Raise your child's IQ, reading and writing, summer activities
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |

Who reads for pleasure anymore?

According to International Reading Association president Linda Gambrell in a her recent column in Reading Today, the number of teens and young adults who are reading just for fun is decreasing. Citing data from a National Endowment for the Arts report released in November 2007, Gambrell recounted these unsettling statistics:

• Nearly half of all Americans ages 18-24 read no books for pleasure.
  
• From 1984-2004 the percentage of 13-year-olds who reported that they read for fun declined from 35% to 30%.
  
• For 17-year-olds the decline was from 31% to 22%.
  

I know there are a lot more media options competing for a young adult's attention than when I was in high school and college, but as a lifetime reader, I find these results disturbing. A student who doesn't escape into a world of science fiction, fantasy, or history; or doesn't seize the opportunity to read poetry, plays, or biographies; or never ventures into Aztec ruins, Scottish castles, a coral reef, or the internal mechanisms of a modern machine-- is missing out on a galaxy of worlds found in the pages of books.

But not only that, students who don't take the time to read "just for fun" will most likely perform lower in school and on the job.

Consider Gabrell's insightful observations: "Individuals who engage in reading for pleasure are better readers and writers than nonreaders. Children and teenagers who read for pleasure on a daily or weekly basis score better on reading tests than infrequent readers. Frequent readers also score better on writing tests than infrequent readers."

And as I've mentioned on this blog previously, Gabrell points out that poor reading skills are surfacing in the marketplace also. "Employers now rank reading and writing as top deficiencies in new hires. One in five U.S. workers reads at a lower skill level than his or her job requires."

Although I may be preaching to the choir on this one, consider the impact we'd have if we each recommended a book a day to a child, adolescent, or young adult. It doesn't have to be something fancy or heavy duty—just a book that would pique their interest. I suspect we'd all enjoy the effects which would boomerang back to us in the classroom and work place.

Technorati Tags:
literacy, teaching reading and writing
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |

How to Read a Book-5

OK guys, this is my last post on this book for awhile. Promise.

Adler's fifth chapter of How to Read a Book
is about being a demanding reader. I liked it the best because he discusses how to train analytical readers—which will in turn make them better writers. His four questions for readers to ask themselves as they read are:

1. What is this book about as a whole?
   
2. What is being said in detail, and how?
   
3. Is the book true, in whole or part?
   
4. What of it?
   

I love the last question the best. Basically the reader is asking the author, "So what?"

These thought-provoking questions can be raised when reading newspaper articles, advertisements, an historical novel, or a children's book.

Since I believe that reading is writing's kissing cousin, I would add more questions to the list:

1. How did the author communicate his points to the reader?
   
2. Was he effective?
   
3. Why or why not?
   

Now, back to reading the book…

A word from Maupin House

I asked Julie Graddy, the publisher at Maupin House to comment on why teaching through reading is "hot" right now, and this was her response: "The link between reading and writing is obvious, but no one has been taught how to teach the two concepts together as reciprocals. With all the time constraints that teachers have, it makes sense to be able to open up the K-5 reading block and use writing as a strategy for teaching reading. All the research supports it." Julie Graddy, Publisher, Maupin House.