Facebook, texting, TV, sport and club activities, jobs, family obligations, schoolwork, and hanging out with friends -- these are the activities that make up a teenager’s world today. Add sleeping time into this mix, and the once popular leisure activity called reading ranks among most teenagers’ lowest priorities. In the high-tech, high-speed 21st century, reading proficiency is an essential tool to compete in today’s global marketplace. Yet numerous study results show a continual decline in students’ reading performance. The 2007 reading study by the National Endowment for the Arts noted that “reading has slipped to a mere eight minutes per day for 18-24-year-olds” (To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence, p. 10). A survey of reading by the National Assessment of Educational Progress conducted between 2005-2007 indicated more students are reading below basic benchmarks, and the number of students performing at or above the proficient level is declining (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2009). Clearly, reading intervention for students is needed.
Many school districts actively encourage an independent reading program for students such as SSR (silent sustained reading), DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), FVR (Free Voluntary Reading), or others of a similar nature. These programs share common features such as student choice in selection of books, silent reading time without interruption for periods of 10-30 minutes daily or weekly, and free reading not tied to literature not studied as part of a class. Recently, many school districts have reduced time once dedicated to students’ independent reading as part of an ever-increasing trend to focus on preparation for standardized testing. Also, a landm...
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The book Readicide by Kelly Gallagher is the ugly truth of the policies adopted in the school system to prioritized test taking strategies for the most part of the day and killing the enjoyment of students reading. The author points out that students’ reading has shifted negatively and the reading percentage has decreased. Students hate to read and classic novels are slowly vanishing from classrooms. The findings to Gallagher’s discoveries are research based and heartbreaking as the movement of standardized testing has been reinforced in most states. There are too many standards to teach and teachers are held accountable for students testing performance. Therefore, educators are forced to do test preps where students are provided with facts to be memorized and lack of comprehension. The author emphasized that students are no longer able to choose a book for the enjoyment of reading. Students’ interests are no longer taken into consideration. Students are reading less and less at school to make time for test prep. Gallagher says that as an educator and parent young
The accelerating declines in literary reading among all demographic groups of American adults indicate an imminent cultural crisis. The trends among younger adults warrant special concern, suggesting that – unless some effective solution is found – literary culture, and literacy in general, will continue to worsen. Indeed, at the current rate of loss, literary reading as a leisure activity will virtually disappear in half a century. (NEA, “Reading at Risk”)
Gomez, L. M., & Gomez, K. (2007). Reading for learning: Literacy supports for 21st-century work. Phi
Very few studies have been done to address the issue of how media affects reading habits affects college aged students. However the few that have been done seem to contradict each other tremendously. Some studies proved that excessive television watching can lead to lower reading levels, while another study said television watching did not affect the way a person reads. This seems to say that either ther...
Young people, normally under 20 years old, tend to read less. The book The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein portrays the ignorance and lack of knowledge in teenagers as he connects this disparity to their declined reading habits. Bauerlein says that the young American mind is being tarnished by technological advancements that draw children and teens away from books. He often states how he fears for the country’s future because of the intellect of the younger generation.
Literacy, or the capability to comprehend, translate, utilize, make, process, assess, and speak information connected with fluctuating settings and displayed in differing organizations, assumes an essential part in molding a young's persons trajectory in life. The ability to read speaks to a key factor of scholarly, social, and financial success (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). These abilities likewise speak to a fundamental segment to having a satisfying life and turning into an effective worker and overall person (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated that low reading skills lead to critical hindrances in monetary and social achievement. As stated by the National Center for Education Statistics, adults with lower levels of reading skills and literacy have a lower average salary. Another study evaluated that 17 to 18 percent of adults with "below average" literacy aptitudes earned less than $300 a week, though just 3 to 6 percent of adults with "proficient" reading abilities earned less than $300 a week (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go.” This quote by Dr. Seuss explains the importance of reading. Knowing how to read is very important to be successful in life. In 2009,a nationwide study by the National Center for Educational Statistics recorded that sixty-seven percent of 4th grade students, seventy-five percent of 8th grade students, and seventy-four percent of 12th grade students were not reading at a proficient level. This will cause many problems as the child progresses through life and later on to adulthood. According to the National assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), forty-three percent read at the lowest 2 literacy level ("Who Needs Phonics"). They will not be able to apply to jobs, stigmatized in society, and may result in their children being illiterate also. In order to decrease the alarming rate of seven million illiterate children and give them a chance to have a better life is by integrating a method to teach them how to read better.
Reading is on the decline and our reading skills are declining right along with the amount of reading we do. This is happening right across the board through both genders, all age groups and education levels, people are busy and they just do not have time to read books that they are not required to read for school or work. There are serious consequences to this neglect of reading that will continue to worsen if ignored. We need to take notice of what is happening to our culture and stop this situation from continuing, we must act to correct these issues that we are faced with. These things are discussed in the essay “Staying Awake’’ by Ursula K. Le Guin who uses the NEA essays “To Read or Not to Read’’ and “Reading at Risk’’ to support her argument that there is a decline in the amount of time that we are spending on reading and our ability to understand what it is that we are reading.
“Literacy—the ability to access, evaluate, and integrate information from a wide range of textual sources—is a prerequisite not only for individual educational success but for upward mobility both socially and economically,” states Sean Reardon (18). Literacy plays a significant role in civilized society. As Reardon mentioned, literacy is an important part of social and economic progression; therefore, it is unsurprising that thousands of dollars are poured into the education system each year to ensure that students can be considered literate. Reardon continues on to claim, “by third grade virtually all students can “read” in the procedural sense—they can sound out words and recognize simple words in context” (20). However,
...ed by most, and how dyslexia can cause problems with reading comprehension. It also discussed ways that we can mitigate these problems for dyslexic people, but these skills can and should be used by all learners. Reading comprehension is a perishable skill, one that if you don’t work on increasing your reading ability by building your vocabulary, learn to read effectively, or using the correct reading strategies for the type of reading material being studied will diminish. Even with the largest vocabulary, if the words are not understood literacy cannot be achieved. Literacy is the key to comprehensive reading. It also gave some of the tools for reading and understanding different types of literature and how to get the important information out of each one. Edmund Burk said “To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting” (Gallagher, 2003, p. 11).
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
While I believe every child is a reader, I do not believe every child will be enthralled with reading all the time. All students have the capability to read and enjoy reading, but just like any other hobby, interest will vary from student to student. The students in my classroom will be encouraged in their reading, be provided with choice, taught how books can take you into another world but, my students will not be forced to read. This paper will illustrate my philosophy of reading through the theories I relate to, the way I want to implement reading and writing curriculum, and the methods I will use motivate my students to read and help them become literate.
Every child deserves a positive, safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. My role as an educator is to provide my students with this type of environment as well as an education that will help them succeed academically and become life long learners. It is the responsibility of a literacy educator to provide students with this type of environment, but also to provide instruction that will help students become successful readers and writers. There are numerous programs and philosophies about literacy and reading. Through years of experience and research, one begins to develop their own creative approach on teaching these skills. After looking at different programs and seeing the positive and negatives of each, an integrated and balanced approach of literacy seems to be the best way to teach the differing needs of each student.
Angelina, a very self-involved 7th grader from New York Middle School states in a very pretentiously, “I do not read because I wanna pass my classes. I have a 4.1 GPA which, by the way, is the highest GPA ever to be received! I have gotten 177% on all of my tests which is nearly impossible to do!” In a statement from Angelina’s parents, they state, “Not reading has made our daughter, Angelina, super smart! Unlike our other daughter who reads all the time. She is failing all of her classes!” Many students just like Angelina have reported that ever since they started reading less than 37 words a day, they began to pass tests and
readers: A perspective for research and intervention ―[Electronic version]. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(4), 289-312.