As science is increasingly showing us, good reading habits have the potential to increase the academic and social ability of students significantly. Here’s why that is the case and the role School-Connection plays in encouraging healthy reading habits in students.
Did you know that reading habits can profoundly improve your child’s academic and social prowess? It’s true! Children who consistently read well have been shown time and time again to be better learners. Reading helps them do well in the classroom and enables them to become more accomplished and successful adults.
A large study by the University of Oxford analyzed 17,200 responses from students and started tracking at age 16 and until 33. The study evaluated the details of extra-curricular activities that these children participated in and how it impacts their academic and social ability. The study found that reading for pleasure is the only activity linked to getting a managerial or professional job later in life. Apart from improving these students’ literacy skills and academic ability, reading was an important factor in reaching the top of their professional careers.
Another study by researchers from the University of Southern California found that reading improves students’ cognitive stimulation. Reading not only improves the intellectual prowess necessary for academic success, but it was also linked to better structural brain development over time.
Quite simply, children that develop good reading habits from a young age are more likely to become smart, confident, and successful later in life. Reading is one of the basic building blocks of important literacy skills such as writing, speaking, and comprehension. Children who are proficient readers are better positioned to understand and express themselves well in other academic subjects such as Math, Science, and Social Studies. However, the reverse is also the case for students who read poorly or do not read often. They often find it harder to comprehend other subjects, leading to them being considered difficult learners.
Good readers can focus exclusively on a single task, which helps their concentration and critical thinking skills. Like all who have picked up an interesting book to read, you know how much time you spend finishing a book or agonizing over all the possible outcomes. Children who are avid readers do this all the time, meaning they spend a lot of minds flexing their mental muscles – certainly an outcome that every parent wants!
There’s a reason why people draw such a strong connection between reading and becoming smart and successful in life. Ask yourself, what is the one thing that you’re always likely to find the most successful and accomplished people doing? Reading! CEOs, founders, entrepreneurs, and billionaires are all avid readers, and they all acknowledge the important role that reading plays in the success they have achieved. Children who read well generally do better in school and have a better chance of achieving professional success, while those who struggle to read also tend to do more poorly when it comes to academics.
School is a traditional option that most parents explore to help their children develop the reading skills they require. However, educational institutions can often take a jaded approach towards learning. While this may not sound like such a bad thing, it often means students do not benefit from current, science-backed modules that enable more effective learning. Many schools also struggle with the challenge of actively engaging the children within their charge, which can interfere with the development of the necessary reading skills.
Even where schools can develop good programs that encourage reading amongst students, they face the real problems that students’ differing interests and abilities pose. Many students are uncomfortable in the traditional school system, often preferring to learn in less conventional and more engaging ways than a classroom affords. The problem for kids often starts with the assumption that reading is a skill they will pick up naturally. However, this is very rarely the case. Experts agree that reading is not a natural ability that students can just pick up on their own or with little effort by teachers. Instead, they need to be specifically engaged in a program developed by professionals to encourage reading in a fun, effective, and measurable way.
Certainly, parents can take up the task of personally supervising their child’s reading efforts. They can decide to read with their child as their daily activity after dinner. However, it would take a tremendous amount of time to do this daily with their child, and it’s almost impossible to read every single book with their child while also checking progress with science-based tools.
The most effective way to help your child read much better is to enroll them in a specialized program designed to foster high-level literacy skills in students. The School-Connection Reading Program can get your child reading at the level that you want by exposing them to unconventional and individual-focused learning. This reading program was specifically designed to help students develop excellent reading skills in a flexible and monitored fashion.
The great thing is, with School-Connection, you don’t have to worry about how your child will get along or if the program meets their needs. The program includes learners of all reading levels, meaning your child can immediately find support at their reading level and the help they need to get better.
In School-Connection’s Reading Program, students work in small, mixed-ability learning groups where they can work together towards the common goal of increasing their reading level. These groups give children the stimulation of a group environment where they can learn, as well as teach others, while they work with others in a mutually-reinforced structure.
The program encourages critical thinking through journal questions provided for interest-driven books. The questions encourage the children to concentrate more closely on the books they are reading and develop the skills they need to make important connections when reading. With online accelerated reader quizzes, your child is tested on their comprehension of each book they read, using specific questions that engage their understanding and knowledge.
Your child will be delighted to find that they can choose the books they would like to read based on interest and reading level. This engages them better in the reading process and fosters a genuine desire to improve their reading skills. Besides, the more your child reads, the better they will enjoy the compounding effects of reading on students. This effect, identified as “the Matthew effect” in the scientific community, means that students who read regularly will enjoy the cognitive stimulation and social improvement that reading fosters. Further, the more they read, the more they enjoy these benefits, with even greater results.
School-Connection’s Reading Program is tailored to children in elementary and middle-school who need to improve their reading skills. They are able to work in small, focused groups to reach the common goal of better reading habits. For every book assigned to each child, School-Connection can monitor their reading comprehension through online quizzes and journal questions to direct reading for every book. Writing prompts are also used to help children develop critical thinking skills as they read and then express their thoughts about their reading.
The program includes quarterly Star Assessments that provide a detailed overview of each students’ progress, including where they have excelled and areas that need further support. This way, you know exactly how your child is doing and the next steps in their reading journey. Click here to learn more about the School-Connection Reading Program and how it helps your child become a better reader.
