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Why Read it Loud!

Research and practice show that one simple activity-reading aloud-is the best way to prepare children for learning to read and to keep them reading as they learn and grow. Reading aloud creates a special time to bond with children. Laughing together at silly characters, rooting for heroes, and wagging your fingers at villains nurtures the love of both the written and spoken word. Overtime, these very same reading skills enable a growing child to explore the vast resources available in books, periodicals, and the Internet and discover their creativity, interests and capabilities.  

Read it Loud! is a coalition of donors, partners and sponsors that believe it is important to vigorously promote this positive parent-child activity, recognizing that the parent is still the child’s first, and most influential, teacher.

It is estimated that there are nearly 18 million US families with children under 6 years old. If the goal of 5,000,000 families is achieved, this effort could involve 1/3 or more of the total target parent group, and, of course, the reach would be much greater.

Setting the Context

Every nine seconds in America, a student becomes a dropout. A myriad of factors contribute to the academic failure of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged circumstances. Literacy plays a crucial role in keeping kids engaged in school. Without basic literacy skills, young people struggle to read and understand information specific to other areas of instruction and can quickly disengage from the learning process altogether. Consider these facts:

• Fifty percent of urban school ninth graders read at sixth grade level. (Balfanz, 2002.)
• Twenty five percent of lowest achieving students are twenty times more likely to drop out. (Carnevale, 2001).
• Twenty three percent of twelve graders only have partial reading skills (Meltzer, Cook Smith, & Clark)
• 32.5 million students in fourth through twelfth grades read below the minimum standards (National Assessment of Education Programs, 2003).
• Between 1996 and 2006, the average literacy level required for all American occupations is expected to rise by 14 percent (Barton, 2006)

The time to influence the future success of a child is during their formative years; birth to age six. Research overwhelmingly supports that the bonding a child has with a caring adult has long term affects on their self-esteem, confidence, and ability to live a productive life.   In fact, many doctors believe that a child that has never had the experience of being read to is not a fully healthy child. The American Medical Association has suggested that all doctors prescribe “reading to children.” (Family Literacy Foundation).