The Many Benefits of Reading Aloud
There is a great body of evidence that supports the impact reading aloud can have on a child. A significant body of research shows that reading aloud can positively impact a child's language, literacy skills, and brain development. (http://www.nea.org/grants/facts-about-childrens-literacy.html) If a parent reads aloud to a child fifteen minutes a day for five years, it will add up to over 460 hours of reading! A study by Scholastic in 2014 reports that more 54% of children between birth and age five are read to daily. Sadly, this percentage declines to 34% for children age six to eight and 17% for ages nine to eleven.
(http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/Scholastic-KidsAndFamilyReadingReport-5thEdition.pdf)
Read the full article on the Bangor Daily News Teacher Voice Column
