Student A reads 20 minutes five nights
every week.
Student
B reads only 4 minutes a night.... or not at all.
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 each week.
Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 min.
a week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week= 20 minutes
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step
3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months a school year.
Student A reads 3600 minutes a school year.
Sudent B reads 720 minutes a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. Student B gets
the equivalent of only 2 school days of reading practice.
By
the end of 6th grade, if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent
of 60 whole school days. Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 days. One would expect the gap of information
retained will have widened considerably, and so undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think Student B will feel
about him/herself?
Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful
in school ... and in life?
Which student are you ?
Article
borrowed from and used with permission of Mrs. Debbie Barth,
2nd grade teacher, Resurrection School (Evansville
IN)
