Talking to and Reading to Kids Helps Them Learn

My wife, one of the brightest people I know, tells of listening to the tales of Beowulf at her father’s knee. A great storyteller, he also wrote books about Norwegian folklore. According to ETS’s report on factors that affect student learning, that probably had a positive effect on her ability to read and learn.

According to Hart and Risley, the key is in the number of words a child hears by the age of four. The more words a child hears, the better is their vocabulary development and that’s a leg up in the world. (Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1995 44 Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1995)

Being read to also increases vocabulary and a tendency to becoming readers. It appears there was once a radio program in Seattle where the broadcaster read the Sunday Funnies to kids. My wife remembers listening each Sunday morning and following along on the Funny Papers. She was reading before she entered school. The Child Trends DataBank sums it up like this: “Being read to has been identified as a source of children’s early literacy development, including knowledge about the alphabet, print, and characteristics of written language. In addition, shared parent-child book reading during children’s preschool years leads to higher reading achievement in elementary school.” (Child Trends cites Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin (Eds.), Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1998; Adriana Bus, Marinus von Lizendoorm, and Anthony Pellegrini, “Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in Learning to Read: A Meta-Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission of Literacy,” Review of Educational Research, 65 (1), 1 – 21, 1995.)

Percentages of Children ages 3-5 who are read to every day varies by ethnicity and economics. Between 1993 & 205 the report shows a definite ethnic advantage. Whites = 59% in 1993 and 68% in 2005 Blacks = 39% and 50% Hispanics = 37% and 45%

Again, the economics is reported in percentages above the poverty rate. 200% above poverty rate = 61% read to in 93 and 65% in 2005 100-199% = 49% and 60% Below 100% = 44% and 50% (Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2007, p. 149.)

It would appear that talking to and reading to young children improves their success in school and these behaviors seem more common in upper economic groups and whites. Judge for yourself.