Two children, same age, same class. Fred has been an amazing student this year. When I read aloud a picture book Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Fred already knew about the events of Darfur and the pending election to divide Sudan.
"How do you know about all this?" I asked him in astonishment.
"Oh, me and my dad listen to NPR on the way to school every morning and we talk about all that stuff."
Over the course of the year, Fred shared his thoughts on Wikileaks ("I'm not sure how I feel, because I understand the government needs secrets, but I also think we need to know what our government is up to") and other topics. When I mentioned it to his teacher, she noted that Fred had general knowledge about American history and loads of specific knowledge about plantation life during slavery. She ask him the same question I did. "How do you know about all this?"
"Oh, we were driving in South Carolina and we saw this plantation so we stopped and read the signs and my parents explained to me about rice cultivation."
Fred was so pleased when I showed the students the library's magazines, saying "Oh, I get Cobblestone (a children's magazine of American History). I really like it." No wonder he has such a deep sense of history. Finally, one of the ways I start conversation as children arrive at the library is to ask what their parents are reading aloud to them. Fred's family always has a book underway.
Compare to Jessica. Jessica arrives at carpool and takes off her earphones; she is watching a DVD during the drive. When I read aloud, Jessica asks frequent clarifying questions that are startling: "What is a rowboat?" "What is a tsunami?" "What do you mean, Civil War?" "What does 'solemn' mean?" And Jessica answers the read-aloud question by saying "My parents don't have time to read to me."
The difference is already apparent by age 9. Critical thinking, an essential skill, doesn't just develop by itself as children mature. Parents are essential to the development of critical thinking, of learning to think deeply about a topic or a book. It grows over time through many, many conversations and many stories read aloud. Even when a child is able to read fluently by herself, it is essential for parents to continue to read aloud. Since reading skills and listening skills don't converge until about 8th grade, parents provide children with access to more sophisticated literature through reading aloud. Not only are the plots and vocabulary more complex, the experience of reading together provides an opportunity for a parent to share the family's values:
"I think she is being a very loyal friend," or "I think he's making a bad decision."
When you are there as a parent, you serve as an important source of information and support. Modelling how to slow down, question and reflect during reading shows a child that reading is not simply saying the words on the page in one's head.
I'm hoping Jessica's family will check out a stack of library books to enjoy together this summer. I know Fred's family will.
Here's a great infomercial for a public library (if the embed doesn't work, click here)
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Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post....I linked it to my blog. As the gifted resource teacher in a large district, I am always asked what parents can do for their "gifted" children. I constantly tell them to read read and read some more. This is very helpful and hopefully parents will understand their role in providing a literature rich critical thinking environment for their children.
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