Importance of Daily Reading

Do you know the importance of daily reading?

How much do you know about the importance of daily reading? Do you assign daily reading to your students? After seeing a recent post I found on social media, you might! I watch social media closely and it's my job to share some of the hot topics on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other outlets that teachers, principals, students, and parents are contributing.

How often do your students read? After seeing Tamra Dollar‘s recent Twitter post, you should consider assigning daily reading if you don't already. According to the infographic Dollar posted, a student that reads just 20 minutes every day has read for 3600 minutes during the school year and roughly 1,800,000 words. Meanwhile, a student that only reads an average of one minute per day during the school year only reads for 180 minutes and roughly 8,000 words. 20 minutes a day makes a HUGE difference. You can see the infographic below.

The benefits to reading more are obvious. The student who reads more will have a larger vocabulary, better understanding of the language they are reading in, better reading comprehension skills, and more general knowledge picked up through their various reads. They'll also learn more about how you construct a narrative, including setting, characters, plot, and even ideas such as themes and motifs. Reading just 20 minutes a day gives students a big head-start.

Do you assign daily reading to your students? Why or why not? Does your school have an adequate library to supply students with books to read if they are not readily available at home?

Tori Pakizer is the Social Media Editor at SimpleK12.com. She writes regularly about the use of educational technology in K-12 classrooms, and specializes in how teachers use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media. You can follow Tori and SimpleK12 on Twitter @SimpleK12. If you have ideas for using social media in schools, please send your information or tip to editor@simplek12.com.