Teachers Share Fun Ways to Encourage Reading

In honor of Celebrate Literacy Week, we’re sharing tips for parents to encourage students’ love of reading. The importance of reading or being read to cannot be overstated, with an impact that extends beyond just hearing stories.

Young children who are exposed to early language and literacy experiences prove to be good readers later on in life. The Department of Education found that the more students read (or are read to) for fun at home and on their own time, the higher their reading scores.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), young children who are read to frequently are also more likely to: count to 20 or higher than those who were not (60% vs. 44%), write their own names (54% vs. 40%) and read or pretend to read (77% vs. 57%). NCES also found that children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than three times a week.