"WHY CAN'T I SKIP MY 20 MINUTES OF READING TONIGHT?"

LET'S FIGURE IT OUT --- MATHEMATICALLY!

Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week; Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!

Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week. Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins./week Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes

Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month. Student A reads 400 minutes a month. Student B reads 80 minutes a month.

Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year. Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.

By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days. One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?

Some questions to ponder:

Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school.... and in life?
Which student are you?

U.S. Dept. of Education, America Reads Challenge. (1999) "Start Early, Finish Strong: How to Help Every Child Become a Reader." Washington, D.C.