Week 1-response to article from NPR Education News feed

As I was scrolling through my news feed from NPR Education there were many interesting articles that I read.  One that really stood out to me as a parent and an educator was an article on the importance of introduction literacy at a young age.  The article was called "To 'Immunize' Kids Against Illiteracy, Break Out A Book In Infancy."  The article was based on the new guidelines that the American Academy of Pediatrics have adopted.  Instead of just mentioning to parents how important it is read to children they will now be telling parents when their children are infants "immunize their children against illiteracy."

The article went on to say "the difference between children who have been read to starting at six months and later on in terms of their word production eventually. So they are able to read and understand more words in the long-term, they say words earlier in the short term, and they actually know what a book looks like, and that's very important for their development."  Another interesting topic that the article brought up was how children in high poverty areas are not exposed to a higher vocabulary level and this greatly impacts their reading when they start school.  Books are an excellent way to introduce these children to more vocabulary starting at a young age.  Books for young children also provide a logical sequence of events which helps with reading comprehension. 

I am a special education teacher and I work with many students with reading disabilities.  One of the biggest factors that impacts their basic reading and reading comprehension skills is their lack of vocabulary.  I am so happy to hear that the American Academy of Pediatrics have adopted these new literacy guidelines.  I do however hope that there is a way to get these books into the hands of underprivileged families.  I know the United Way sends free books to low income families through a monthly book program.  This article also reinforces what I have been doing with my daughter, her book collection is massive and we read all of the time! 

Reference
To 'Immunize' Kids Against Illiteracy, Break Out A Book In Infancy by Audie Cornish