Reading is fundamental. This old adage has been around since the dawn of education. And it is true. While the emphasis on reading remains constant in classrooms, many teachers have a narrow definition of quality reading time. But not all students feel equally passionate about launching into a novel. There is room to expand that definition to include new forms of reading. Here are four alternative ways to incorporate reading into your life, regardless of your free time or genre preferences. 1. Utilize Digital Reading Tools Hate carrying around heavy books? Download the Kindle app on your smartphone device. You can purchase books and keep them on hand to read whenever the urge strikes. You can also purchase an e-reader like the Kindle or Nook. These devices allow you to carry multiple books with you, without the heavy burden. Particularly for high school and college students with ample textbooks, this method lightens their book bag and makes reading more convenient. 2. Find an Aggregated news Source Not into fiction? Get your nonfiction fix by using an aggregated news source. Combine all your major news subscriptions into one place with tools like the Apple News app, Inoreader etc. No more toggling between the New York Times application and BuzzFeed News. Enjoy having reputable, credible nonfiction in one single location. Skip the clickbait headlines and build a reading log you can rely upon. 3. Podcasts and Audiobooks Let’s face it–reading can be arduous or inaccessible. Whether the issue is that you’re often driving or even that you suffer from dyslexia, sometimes life simply does not afford us the luxury of staring at pages for hours on end. Audiobooks and podcasts provide quality alternatives. The amount of material available is truly astonishing. There is no decrease in selection or cost, either. Many podcasts are available free of charge, and can be streamed via bluetooth or downloaded on the go. If you’re craving a way to read more books in your spare time, but cannot get on board with visual reading, definitely give this a try! 4. Blogs Can’t find a book that interests you? Tired of reading long-form pieces? The caliber of blog content is unparalleled nowadays. You can read about virtually any topic, with just the click of a button. Find a few bloggers who create quality, regular content and subscribe. Swap chapters of book reading for swiping through engaging posts. Just be sure to find blogs that have valuable production quality and strong language skills to ensure that you continue to grow.
Summertime is the bastion of relaxation and ease in a child’s life. No school, fun in the sun and endless free time. It is not uncommon for a child to put away their books until school starts once again. However, this creates a risk for summertime learning loss and even potential academic setbacks when school is back in session. Encouraging your young one to pick up a book can require a creative approach, especially when reading time competes with social activities and technology. We suggest that you tag team your child’s summer reading list by reading to them or with them. For older children, feel free to read independently and discuss together later. You will find that the opportunities for engaging conversation on intriguing topics are virtually boundless and tech-free bonding is an added bonus! Below you will find summer reading suggestions for children of all ages. All of our selections have television or film adaptations to supplement the reading and are available for hardcopy or audiobook purchase online. Elementary School 1. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit: A young girl encounters an extraordinary immortal family who teaches her that there is more to life than simply living forever. 2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: This comedy novel explores the daily life of a self-proclaimed wimpy kid just trying to fit in. 3. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey: Two overly imaginative pranksters spend hours in a treehouse creating comic books about their hero, Captain Underpants, and are surprised to discover that he has become real. Middle School 4. Holes by Louis Sachar: An unlucky teenage boy named Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections facility in a desert in Texas, after being falsely accused of theft. 5. Wonder by R.J. Palacio: A boy with Treacher Collins Syndrome, which has left his face disfigured, leaves homeschooling behind to experience a larger world after his parents enroll him into Beecher Middle School for the start of fifth grade. High School 6. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Avid gamer Wade Watts searches for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which will lead him to inherit the game creator’s fortune. 7. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon: Madeline Whittier lives everyday stuck inside her LA home while being treated for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) until a new friend motivates her to come outside. 8. The Circle by Dave Eggers: A young woman begins a new job at top technology firm, The Circle, that has consequences for every aspect of her life.
Looking to infuse your child’s day with a bit of enrichment, but short on time? Nowadays, a parent’s schedule is jam-packed with obligations. Still, finding time to actively expose your child to new and interesting concepts is crucial. We have compiled three 10-minute ways to enrich your child’s day, regardless of whether they are in elementary, middle or high school. Let us know how you like them after you give them a try! A fabulous resource to pique your teen’s interests in a short amount of time is TED.com. TED talks are short speeches given by experts on nearly every topic under the sun, from what it’s like to be a robot to the power of introverts. TED believes in “ideas worth spreading,” and features virtually endless content on their platform. The best part about watching a 10-minute TED Talk is that the tone and subject matter are completely up to you and your child. Wanting to watch something more creative and funny? There is a TED Talk for that. How about digging into a more serious, political topic? TED has what you are looking for. Use these short, engaging talks to springboard a conversation about new and interesting ideas. Who knows? You may learn fascinating new things about yourself and your child in the process. Puzzles are another foolproof way to enrich your child’s say without devoting extra time to prep and protocol. You can find dozens of crossword puzzles online or pick up a crossword puzzle book from the store. It presents an opportunity to learn new vocabulary, reinforce spelling and to explore the concepts related to clues and keywords. The big draw? Crossword puzzles have varying levels of difficulty, so you can utilize this tip with a child of any age. Crosswords not your cup of tea? Give word searches, sudoku, mad-libs, riddles or any other brain teaser puzzle a shot, and watch the enrichment blossom. Finally, the most tried-and-true type of enrichment on this list is reading aloud. For younger children, reading a fictional chapter book like The Princess Bride or the Harry Potter series are great for teaching your little to stay engaged in a longform narrative, and to retain information. Interestingly, many parents stop reading aloud to their children once they reach the age where they can read on their own. However, studies show that reading aloud to teenagers has a positive effect on their opinions of learning and their perceptions of reading overall. At the middle school level, children respond positively to reading texts designed for oral presentation–like plays, poems and other rhythmic literature. For high school kids, change up the routine by having them read to you. Teachers have found success by enriching concepts like the Vietnam War through having students read letters from people living during the war. As it turns out, reading more personalized material it enlivens the historic event and grounds it in a human point-of-view that textbooks lack. Going back to the basics and finding ten minutes per day to read with your child is an worthy investment in your child’s education that you will not regret.
Want to enrich your child’s education, but unsure of how to engage? Fear not! Valuable academic lessons do not require hours of painstaking prep and a formal classroom setting to pull off. We’ve compiled three engaging ways for parents to reinforce fundamental middle school concepts with their children in an hour or less. BAKE A CAKE Concepts Review: Fractions and Reading Comprehension This is one of our favorite fraction review exercises because it’s applicable to real life, requires minimal planning, and is simply delicious. Choose a recipe that requires measuring ingredients in varying capacities, like ¼ cup or ⅔ TBSP. We love baking recipes like this Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake because it utilizes unique fraction measures for dry and wet ingredients, without requiring parents to purchase a fortune’s worth of items they will never use again. Allow your child to take the reins to test their reading comprehension skills, taking care to correct them only when necessary. Your young one will love measuring the vanilla extract and baking powder while watching a positively scrumptious dessert come to life. The best part? The lesson only lasts as long as the prep and bake time, will a tasty reward for all of your child’s hard work! Extra Credit: Have your child double or halve the measurements in the recipe in order to practice multiplying and dividing fractions. COUPON SHOPPING Concepts Review: Percent and Decimal Conversions, Price Discounts and Mark-Ups, Unit Price You know those pesky coupon booklets with which local grocery stores spam your mailbox? Turns out they are perfect for practicing percentage and decimal conversions. Cut out 5-10 discount coupons and ask your child to calculate the new price when the discount is applied. You can also have them calculate the original price by using the discount percent and new discount price. For bulk items like 24-cans of soda, challenge your little one to calculate the unit price of a single can using the discounted price. Then, compare like items and ask them which is the better buy based on the unit price. Not only will this exercise prime your child to shop wisely, you will also have a helper when it comes to finding weekly savings! Extra Credit: Ask your child to calculate the unit price for the original and discounted prices. Also, have them convert every percent discount into a decimal. CURRENT EVENTS Concepts Review: Reading Comprehension, Information Synthesis, Vocabulary Ask your child to summarize a current news article about a topic that he or she finds interesting. Have them summarize it for you verbally by answering “The 5 W’s: Who? Where? What? When? Why? and How?” Ensure that they keep a running list of new words and phrases as they read, and task them with using a dictionary to find and record their meaning. Before you know it, not only will your child strengthen their ability to process what they read, they will be versed on current events as well! Extra Credit: Have your child write new sentences using the vocabulary words they define from their article.
It is no secret that the educational landscape of the United States is a highly varied one. Families have seemingly unlimited options to choose how they educate their children. These options include public and private schools, montessori facilities and homeschooling and more. Not to mention, every of one these institutions can be subdivided by curriculum. Some schools emphasize a science, engineering, technology and mathematics (S.T.E.M.) track, while others bolster the humanities. Some even specialize in certain disciplines à la music magnet schools or bilingual programs. Regardless of the innumerable pedagogical opportunities available, there are two academic skills that prove essential to leading a productive adult life. Multiplication Tables Upon hearing the phrase “multiplication,” for many, the first time equation that comes to mind is “two times two equals four.” Piece of cake, right? But what about nine times seven? Or twelve times eleven? If you have to pause to think about these products or even break out your iPhone calculator, fret not. You are not alone. Many adults struggle to perform fundamental multiplication, the consequence for which is often inefficiency or even financial loss. Possessing the ability to perform mental multiplication is crucial because it is constantly applicable to modern daily life. Times tables will appear in every facet of your child’s advanced academic life as “the building blocks for countless other mathematical concepts.” Your youngsters’ ability to budget and handle money will depend on their grasp of multiplication. That is to say nothing of how domestic life will fare without strong multiplying abilities (portion control and grocery shopping, anyone?). Ideally, a child should memorize all multiplication tables through twelve with near knee-jerk speed and accuracy. Parents can employ flash cards, timed minute quizzes, and recitation games in order to solidify these skills. No matter the class culture, ensuring that children are facile with their times tables will only serve them in the long run. Reading Comprehension We have all heard that reading is fundamental. However, results from Gallup polls show that as many as 25% of Americans do not read a single book a year. In fact, many non-reading adults developed this habit in childhood. But what causes this trend? Some blame technology, speculating that in this era of 140 character tweets and immediate gratification, the average attention span has decreased compared to earlier generations. This shorter attention span leads to difficulty concentrating when reading, which in turn, limits reading comprehension. Shaky reading at an early age only compounds as time passes, making for a grueling academic future come high school and college. Outside of the classroom, reading comprehensively encourages creativity, boosts empathy and could even boost IQ by six points! Research suggests that reading can teach a whole host of invaluable life skills that can significantly alter the course of your child’s future for the better. Who could say no to that? So, the next time your child whips out a calculator or passes on Dr. Seuss in favor of Doc McStuffins, consider encouraging them to rely on their brain power instead of their gadgets.
As parents, it is so important to help our children as they learn to read. Our job is to help them grow the skills that they are working on to lead to reading growth. At times, it can be difficult to know where to begin when helping your new reader. If you are a parent who feels lost on where to begin with your growing reader, use some of these tips below: Remember to always go slow when beginning with your new reader. When first learning to read, you can never go slow enough, at times. Always keep this in mind as you help your child. Have your child read out loud the words from the book. Reading out loud is one of the best ways a younger reader can develop their skills. While reading out loud, have your child sound out each letter to help them put together words. The best way to start helping your child is through your local Library. Begin making weekly trips to the library where there are no distractions around. The library is a quiet, easy place for the two of you to concentrate and spend time together. Spending this time alone will help your child build their confidences and get them on the road to being a great reader. Many libraries have story nights which is great for your new reader. Having them listen to the story while following along to the words in the book. Find a book that comes with a CD to listen to in the car. Have them listen and read along to the story as it is read on the CD. You can always try to find a book that also comes with a CD. That makes car rides a little more fun. They can read the words as the story is being read. This will make road trips a little more fun and keep their minds and eyes in a book. This will also keep your younger ones learning too! This will open their minds up as much as your new reader! The more you get them interested in books, the better off they are! As you read together, begin going over what they read and talking about the story. Comprehension is a strong part of reading that leads to better reading skills. Ask your child questions about the story: Who was in the story? What happened in the story? Teaching your child to pay attention to the story as they read is important to their reading growth along with something that they will be tested on later on. If your child feels frustrated by the idea of remembering what they read, then take it slowly. Always remember to be there for your child as they read. Never read what they should be reading to get the work done quicker for your child. The first year of reading in school is one of the most important years. Finding new books at their reading level helps bring interest to your child. There are plenty of reading books to pick from at your local library and/or library.
