The Importance of Reading for 20 Minutes at Home
Thursday, September 23rd, 2021—Did you know that students who read on average 20 minutes per day in Kindergarten, by the time they are in 6th grade they will have read for an equivalent of 60 school days!
There are many benefits to reading to your child at home for a minimum of 20 minutes a day. For instance, studies have shown that it not only builds a connection with you and your child, but it also builds confidence in reading skills and exposes your child to a rich vocabulary. Studies have also shown that reading for 20 minutes at home can in fact improve test scores over time.
Let’s break it down
Reading for 20 Minutes a Day
- 3,600 minutes per school year
- 1,800,000 words per year
- Scores in the 90th percentile for standardized tests
Reading for 5 Minutes a Day
- 900 minutes per school year
- 282,000 words per year
- Scores in the 50th percentile for standardized tests
Reading for 1 Minutes a Day
- 180 minutes per school year
- 8,000 words per year
- Scores in the 10th percentile for standardized tests
Below are additional fun facts about reading aloud and the many benefits it has for your student(s).
- Reading aloud helps students learn how to use language to make sense of the world; it improves their information processing skills, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- Reading aloud targets the skills of audio learners. Research has shown that teachers who read aloud motivate students to read.
- Reading aloud creates a classroom community by establishing a known text that can be used as the basis for building on critical thinking skills that are related and unrelated to reading.
If your family needs reading materials at home, please contact your student's Syracuse Academy of Science and Citizenship elementary school teacher. We are more than happy to help!
