School is back in session for many districts across North Texas, which means that educators are hard at work getting students back on track in the classroom.
One of the main focuses for the younger students is reading, according to Dallas ISD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Elena Hill.
“The summertime is the time we see many kids lose some of that learning because they just aren’t exercising those skills as much at home as they would if they were in class every day,” Hill said.
When it comes to literacy, she said there are several ways parents can reinforce what kids are learning in class.
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“Some topics that we see kids are really interested in are breakthroughs in science, maybe giving them a book about a sport they like to watch or play and even helping them read through age-appropriate current events,” Hill said.
Hill stressed that just because a child can read the words on the page does not mean that they can comprehend what they are reading. That is one of the most fundamental parts of learning for students that they take across subjects.
“Reading does increase vocabulary and the more vocabulary you come into contact with, the more connections you can make to even more complex text,” Hill said.
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She also wanted to remind parents that every child is different, so there really are no hard rules on the amount of time a child spends reading at home, as long as they are doing something.
“It’s just one of those things where its consistency is probably a little more important than the exact number of minutes they are reading.”
