Whether you are engaged in a novel, pouring over a newspaper or a just looking at a sign, reading skills allow you to interpret and become engaged in the world around you. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, “Reading is the single most important skill necessary for a happy, productive and successful life.” Developing those skills takes active engagement from an early age.
Reading to Learn
Children today have many opportunities to gather information.
Books are not the only tools children are exposed to. Using a
smartphone, reading from an electronic tablet or researching on a
computer has opened the floodgates for finding and accessing
information. A student with the reading skills necessary to access and
use information is not just learning to read but reading to learn. With
proper reading skills, she can explore topics ranging from how spiders
spin silky webs to the details of the Wright brothers' first flight in
North Carolina.
Lifelong Readers
Fluency, decoding and vocabulary development are needed to
comprehend written material. Readers use these skills to interpret and
understand written words on a page. They read often from a wide variety
of materials. They read to find out more about the world in which they
live and use that information to improve their lives. Lifelong readers
think critically about what they’ve read and make connections to their
own lives. They apply their skills in language and writing development.
Long-Term Implications
Reading skills, are "essential to function in our society,"
according to Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development, speaking before a congressional
subcommittee in 2002. Alexander stated that many children living in
poverty lack the skills that will allow them to become lifelong readers.
A person with low reading ability may not be able to read signs,
understand medical information or prescription directions, or apply for
jobs that require basic skills tests.
Successful Students
Whether the author is writing to inform, persuade, give
directions or entertain, he is communicating to his audience. A person
who can read has the ability to empathize with and connect to the
characters in a story. A reader builds background knowledge about many
different subjects that he can later use. Students with the necessary
reading skills can later develop writing and language skills necessary
for academic and professional success.
