Reading as One of the Most Important Things That a Child Should Learn - Essay Example

Successful Readers Drawing on observations of children's reading behavior at nursery, what makes a successful reader Reading is one of the most important things that a child should learn as the rest of his studies and the success of his career depends on this. Mostly children in nursery schools enjoy reading in class, however as they grow up their interest in books starts to taper off. This is probably the fault of the teachers and parents who do not lay importance on this. Moreover, lots of distractions have also developed which take a child away from academic learning like TV, video games etc. There are various things that can make a successful and good reader. Some of these things are discussed here. Certain characteristics of a good reader are also identified. The role of a teacher is more important in teaching a child any language skill than that of a parent. Hence some guidelines of how to become a good teacher are also mentioned. The main idea is to inculcate a good reading habit in our younger generation which will help them in future. Drawing on observations of children's reading behavior at nursery, what makes a successful reader "The acquisition of language is doubtless the greatest intellectual feat anyone of us is ever to perform" (Leonard Bloomfield : introduction to the study of language) Reading is one of the basic skills that children must acquire at an early age. Not being able to read in present times is a great handicap. Some children are natural readers and have the ability to start reading at the early age of 3, whereas others need a push. Natural readers are not to be confused as born readers. They do not just wake up one morning and start reading. They go through a developmental process in which parents and teachers play a vital role. It has been observed that nursery school goes generally have a positive attitude towards reading They enjoy reading and being read to. Their favorite time is story time How and why Children of this age are given a favorable environment in which they are encouraged to participate in educational activities such as reading. A teacher is specially trained to help guide the children in learning to like reading whereas a home environment cannot always do this. A colorful classroom, vocabulary and letter charts on the wall, objects beginning with the same letter placed together, and more similar settings will surely encourage a child to learn more eagerly. This environment is difficult to provide at home. Nursery student's specially enjoys reading nursery rhymes. I believe that is because they have a certain tune which is easy for the young minds to memorize and the lyrics also make up an interesting tale about a character that appeals to them .It has been seen from experience that reading rhymes to this age group is one of the best ways to promote reading habits. Children will love to pick up a nursery rhyme book for reading. Parents can contribute to this easily since the rhymes being taught at school re still the same ones that were taught in their times and I am sure parents still remember them I sure do! Children of this age enjoy being read to. It has been my personal experience that at the story telling time when children gather around the teacher to listen to a story being told, they are most focused. They love to make guesses about what is going to happen next. I think that is the correct time to encourage a child to read further by himself in order to find out how the story progresses. Moreover, I believe that phonics has also made reading easier and interesting. Previously, when this practice wasn't followed, a child had to be told repeatedly and also had to memorize which letter made which sound. Phonics has made that simple. Now it is easy for a child to associate a sound with a letter thus making it comparatively simpler to form words and read them. Some children also enjoy reading at this age as they are provided encouragement from home. Parents who read aloud to their children for at least 30 mins a day are more likely to develop a reading habit in them. If a child enjoys reading at home, I am sure he would also enjoy it in school. Also, a study has revealed that those children who did not develop a good reading habit owned fewer books at home than others. Our lives have become so fast and busy that sometimes we ignore the desire of a child to read or be read to and this lessens the child's drive for reading, as the following diagram shows: One negative thing that has also been seen in students who develop a reading habit at an early age is that they develop a somewhat anti social behavior. They do not like to play and interact with other children. They do not enjoy outdoor games and physical activities which are important at this age. They also become a little aggressive towards others in the same age group. Their favorite past time becomes to curl up with a book and not be disturbed by anyone. This in my opinion is quite a minus as this habit probably stays even when the child grows up. This would make it difficult for him to excel in life whereas it would be a plus point in academics. Another general negative aspect is the growing trend of children towards watching TV and playing games on the play station. These activities take up so much time of the child that scholarly activities are neglected. I have sometimes heard parents saying that it's alright to let a child watch TV and play video games as long as he is quiet and does not disturb them. I am absolutely not against the use of these electronics, but parents should time their children and not let them waste precious time. What makes a successful reader Reading is a skill which requires a lot of practice. The more you read the more fluent you become .Unfortunately, students are engaged in other activities at school even at an early age and are not reading enough, hence the lack of fluency, and lack of fluency takes the fun out of reading. The kind of reading practice students do is important. Students need to read materials at a level which is challenging without being frustrating. This is called the zone of proximal development. It is the reading level at which reading practice will produce the greatest growth. All readers, whether adults or children, share similar traits. One of them is self monitoring. A child should be able to make connections with the words he is attempting to read and those he has heard. He should be able to ask himself the question that does this word sound right or do I have to pronounce it differently to make sense. All readers lose track of what they are reading at times. A good reader is one who stops and knows when he should re read a passage for it to make sense. Teachers and parents also need to encourage children to self monitor themselves rather than exert pressure on them to read very fast and therefore lose track. The second trait good readers should possess is structural awareness. A child reading a story or a book should be aware of the genre and the feel of the reading material. This will enable him to make connections with the words he has to read. Choosing appropriate reading material can contribute in making a good reader. Often parents choose books that are either one level above or below the child's reading ability. A lower level book gets the child bored whereas a higher level book may not be interesting although he can read the words, but then he loses the fun of reading. It si very important to maintain the love of reading,. If a child does not enjoy reading a book once, there are less chances of his going for it again. Children who read well have parents who: Read aloud to them Talk to them about their ideas and experiences Take them places Let them watch television but limit it Take an interest in their reading progress It has been seen that if a child is asked thought provoking questions, he tends to be a good reader. I think a challenging question makes him sometimes want to read up for a proper answer. Talk to children about events not only ongoing ones but those that you were not able to attend with him. Children that hold lengthy conversations at home learn to reflect on experience and to construct meaning from events. This is part of their learning to read and understanding what they read. If your child likes to watch "Sesame Street" or "Mister Rogers" or any other educational TV program, help relate the TV lesson to other situations. For example, if the show focuses on the letter B, have your child give you examples of other words beginning with B. Have the child show you a toy which begins with that letter, such as a ball or a bear. Encourage your child to make scrapbooks. This activity can help the child to identify words and letters. Have a pre-schooler make an alphabet scrapbook using an old notebook or sheets of cardboard tied with a shoestring. One day the child could work on a A and cut pictures from magazines beginning with A - apple, airplane, automobile. The next day the child could work on B. Most important is to monitor your child's progress and stay involved in his learning. In a research, there were 26 characteristics that could be identified in what we can call a good reader. These are as follows: A: anticipate meaning B: become lifelong readers C: choose their own reading material D; do not read every word , only meaningful chunks E; elaborate on important parts of the text F: focus on fluency by reading G; get books H: have a purpose for reading I: image when they read, picturize in the mind whatever you read J: just skim unnecessary points sometimes and at others read thoroughly K: know about their own mental skills L: learn to enjoy listening to and telling stories M: make personal connections to events in the book N: negotiate meanings, there can be more than one meaning of a statement O: often self correct P; paraphrase periodically Q: question statements and ideas in reading material R: respond to literature S: share reading with others T: take time to read, read , read U: use prior knowledge of words and idioms as well as phrases V: validate predictions W: write thoughts X: expect reading to make sense Y: yearn to read Z: zero in on learning strategies when they need them As a child spends most of his time at school and idealizes a teacher more than a parent, the role of the teacher is a vital one. The teacher should try to have a lot of patience while teaching these young minds to read. Loss of patience will be negative for a potential lover of reading. The use of special techniques will be required. One of the most important things a teacher has to do is to break the ice and develop a trusting relationship with the students. Try not to put the child on the spot. In the initial times, do not ask a child to read in front of the entire class if he is unwilling to do so. Plan activities which you are sure the child will excel in so that he is encouraged. Teachers should try to focus on intensive reading rather than extensive reading. This actually means that the quantity reading should not be as much preference as quality reading and understanding of the text should. It is very important for a child to be a good reader if he wants to be successful in life. Books help to develop a child's vital linguistics skill. They open up new worlds for him and enrich his life. It enhances his social skills. It improves hand eye co ordination. Reading can provide children with plenty of good, clean fun. Reading really does matter. We should all play our roles in helping our younger generation in becoming good and avid readers. List of References Dorris Young (Raising Our Little Ones) Penguin books Heidi Hyte (Lessons learned from life as an educator in the ESOL world ) Yahoo Answers available from< http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index> Jill Caton Johnson (What Makes a "Good" Reader Asking Students to Define "Good" Reader) International reading association AboutKids Health News available from < http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Nature-or-nurture-what-makes-a-good-reader.aspx> Samantha Taylor (A Successful Attitude Towards Learning) Scribd Beauter Hainrick (Good Teacherhood) Read More