African American Reading Skills

When the question arouse about the various ways to help improve reading in an African American classroom, many parents started to become more and more concerned. Students’ progress in reading is arguably the largest concern compared to any other subject taught in school, and rightfully so. Nothing is more important to academic success than being an adequate reader. Current research in reading attests that children who read extensively become better readers and writers over time. In order for a student to achieve in English, math, science, history, geography, and other subjects, appropriate reading skills must be developed to the point that most of them come natural. A substantial amount of students should not be struggling with recognizing

certain words and phrases but instead they are, consequently resulting to a child reading at a level unparallel with appropriate comprehension of the text.
The first teacher any child has is his or her parent.

Parents should always know what reading skills are expected of their child at each grade level. The school's curriculum usually provides this information. Failure to read at grade level by 8 years old is usually a prerequisite for future learning and/or behavior problems. Parents should stay knowledgeable about the progress the student is making in acquiring basic reading skills on report cards and frequent examinations. Sometimes teachers do not always notice a student’s reading problems until they've become blatantly serious. Find out if your child can sound out and know the meaning of root words and know sight words. Also determine if the child can use correct context clues to identify unknown words to conclusively understand and comprehend what they have read. The earlier the problem is detected the earlier a child can receive the necessary help, thus the more likely and sooner they will become competent

readers.
Since reading is important to not only academic achievement in education systems but achievement as a whole in society, parents can and should play a role in helping their children to become interested in reading and in encouraging the student’s growth in reading skills. Parents understand their children the best and can provide them with the appropriate time and attention needed to lead them to greater success in reading. It all starts in the home. Children with a large supply available of reading materials in their homes usually score higher on standardized tests so the key is to provide varied reading materials. Some reading material can be for enjoyment and some can informative with fiction and nonfiction information perhaps about the children’s different hobbies and interests. Research shows that children learn different features about reading long before they enter grade school. In fact, they usually learn through observation and for a young child to see people around them reading newspapers, books, maps, and signs, most likely they will begin to imitate. Hence, make reading an integral part of your children's lives. Seduce your children into reading continuously by having persuading them to read menus, roadside signs, game directions, and other practical everyday information. Also, make sure they always have something to read in their spare time. In Marcus Garvey’s “Message to the People” he proclaims that the main way for an African American to gain to true knowledge of self and succeeding in America he or she must always have a book to read during his or her spare time. Parents’ reactions have great influences on how hard the child will try to become a better reader so be sure to give them genuine praise for their efforts.
Parents can do a lot to achieve a clear understanding with their children by letting the child know they actually enjoy reading themselves. Studies show that regularly reading out loud to children will produce significant gains in their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and the decoding of words. Parents need to read in a manner that stimulates the child’s mind while generating enthusiasm and curiosity. Whether preschooler or preteen, it will increase the student’s desire to read independently. When reading to your preschooler, you should run your index finger under the line of print. This procedure is simple and helps children begin to notice words and that words have meaning. They also gain an awareness of the conventions of reading including sentence structure and understanding. Once your child can fluently read, reading time should shift to taking turns reading with the child reading more to the parent and with the parent listening and understanding.
When dealing with students who are not interested in reading the ultimate key to persuading the person to read more is by finding the person’s interests and providing the person with a book or subject relatable to explore.

It is literally a conflict of interest, more interest created more effort which generated greater achievement. In the elementary years, from first through third grades, children continue learning how to read. It is a complex process, difficult for some and easy for others. Care must be taken during these early years not to overemphasize the learning-to-read process. Tempt your kids to read by having a large supply of appealing books and magazines at their reading level with reading materials in cars, bathrooms, family rooms, and even by the TV. By encouraging and modeling leisure-time reading in the home, parents take the first and most important step in their child's reading development. Reading for pleasure and information develops reading interests and offers children the opportunity to practice their reading skills in meaningful ways. Parents of elementary-age children should provide reading materials in the home that arouse curiosity or extend their child's natural interest in the world around them. Next, parents should establish daily 15 to 30 minute times when everyone in the family reads together silently or out loud. Seeing you read will inspire your children to read. Just 15 minutes of daily practice is sufficient enough to increase the child’s

reading fluency.