In our last newsletter, I included tips for reading aloud to students of all ages. Yesterday, someone shared with me the following article from the Wall Street Journal!
Reading Aloud Can Remedy Covid Learning Loss
While listening to stories children develop a deeper understanding of language and other subjects. By Meghan Cox Gurdon
Here are a few quotes to pique your interest:
” There is a proven way to help, however, and it doesn’t cost a dime. Educators can give students an immediate boost by reading out loud—not only to young children but to all of them.”
“It used to be thought that the practice [reading aloud] primarily helps the very young, with little benefit for older children who lacked such early nurturing. A 2019 study led by Jo Westbrook at the University of Sussex, however, shows that being read to helps into adolescence. For the study, 20 English teachers at 10 schools, all with classes of poor-to-
average students 12 or 13 years old, chucked out their regular lesson plans for three months. Instead of making the kids labor over short passages of text, the teachers read them novels such as John Boyne’s “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” at a tempo intended for enjoyment rather than didacticism.”
“The results were astounding. . . . When the children were given reading-comprehension tests
afterward, average readers had made 8.5 months of progress while poorer students had made 16 months of progress. As the study authors observed: “Simply reading challenging, complex novels aloud and at a fast pace in each lesson repositioned ‘poorer readers’ as ‘good’ readers, giving them a more engaged uninterrupted reading experience over a sustained period.”
“The simple, inexpensive expedient of a teacher reading aloud a few times a week produced students who were happier, more motivated and more capable academically.”
Isn’t a free intervention worth a try? You can read the complete article at the site listed below:
https://tinyurl.com/5n9bmt6t
