America needs every child to read.  However, millions of our children are falling behind.  A recent national survey showed that more than 40 percent of fourth-graders nationwide read below grade level, and an alarming 6.4 million children between kindergarten and third grade now face an illiterate future.

            Children with poor reading skills often:

·         Receive poor grades

·         Are easily frustrated

·         Have difficulty completing assignments

·         Have low self-esteem

·         Have behavior problems

·         Have more physical illnesses due to stress

·         Don’t like school

·         Grow up to be shy in front of groups

·         Fail to develop to their full potential

            The ability to read is essential to being able to learn any subject taught in school.  In our high tech society, proficiency in reading is a must to compete favorably in today’s job market.  The information age is upon us and here to stay.  You can expect greater demands to be made upon reading ability.

            As parents, it’s up to you to make sure that your children can read, write, spell, and pronounce words correctly.

            Learning to read should be as easy as learning to talk.  Just watch how a preschooler will pretend to read a story you have just read for them.  They are learning by imitation.  Actually, that is how children learn many things.  Take speech for an example.  Young children learn to talk by imitating the sounds made by their parents.  They then learn how the sounds go together to make words. 

            Reading and writing are simply talking on paper.  Why shouldn’t learning to read be just as much fun as learning to talk?  Here are some tips for encouraging your child to enjoy reading:

·         Read to your child.  No matter what age your child happens to be, he/she will benefit from listening to you read aloud.  I have a friend who is a reading specialist, and she told me many times that her kids loved her reading to them before they went to bed—and these kids were high school aged when she told me.

·         Discuss the books you read to your child.

·         Be a good reading “model” by letting your child see you read.  Remember, children learn through imitation.

·         Introduce your child to books that discuss his/her hobby, interests, or new experiences.

·         Buy books as presents for your child and he/she will learn to value books

·         Make sure your child has a library card and utilize the local library on a regular basis.

            The main goal for children should be to help them become independent readers.  Independent readers have mastered basic reading skills and can teach themselves new things by reading.  The more they read, the more their skills improve.  Independent readers are also independent thinkers.  They are beginning to interpret or “read between the lines” and respond critically to what they read.  With your involvement, your child will be off to a healthy start toward a lifetime of reading.  With the start of a new year, make a commitment to read with your child.  You can’t go wrong.

                                                              Sincerely yours,

                                                               BELLEFONTE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

                                                               James T. Masullo, Jr., Ph.D.

                                                               Superintendent of Schools

An Equal Opportunity Employer                                                                                                   www.basd.net

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