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Fast Reading 2

Rock Solid Readers

- How to help your child become a standout student

Library day is the best day of school for five-and-a-half-year-old Victoria Lin. She searches for books by her favorite author, Dr Seuss. Her mum has read The Cat in the Hat to her so many times that she can read some of it on her own, with a little help from her memory. She also chooses books she and her dad like to read and talk about, such as non-fiction about firefighters or marine animals. Her family plans to visit an aquarium (水族馆) soon, so the librarian suggests a book on dolphins. Victoria adds it to her own “library” along with one about manatees (海牛) – they fascinate her.

Victoria is well on her way to becoming a good reader, which could make all the difference in the world to her future. Decades of research demonstrate that enjoying reading and reading well are the biggest factors in a child’s school success. Good readers make great students. They score higher on achievement tests in every year, in all subjects, including maths and science. So what are the secrets of giving your children an academic edge as well as lifelong pleasure?

1. Good readers start out ahead.

Reading scores in Year One are a key indicator of school success in Year Eleven. What happens in the very early years has a lasting effect on learning. So try these tips with young children:

●The more you read, talk and sing to babies, the greater their foundation for vocabulary

and understanding. The youngest ones are amazingly receptive to language.

●Toddlers (初学走路的孩子) will sit still to interact with books if you arouse their interest

with questions like “Who’s that” and “What else do you see?”

●Preschool is the time for children to begin to learn the alphabet, and to become aware of

the sounds that make up words – a crucial skill for reading known as phonetic awareness (音位意识). They don’t call it that, but Victoria and her mum practice phonetic awareness whenever they’re reading her favorite rhyming books. They clap out the syllables in names (“Vic-tor-i-a”) or play word games, such as “I’m thinking of a word that starts

with the letter E.”

●Young school age kids need lots of practice reading to and with their parents. Try echo

reading to build fluency: You read a passage and then let your child read one. Call your child’s attention to punctuation and interesting words as you read.

2. Good readers have better vocabularies.

Think about the conversation you’ve had with your child today. There’s a good chance that –because of the busy lives parents lead – most of the words you use are simple, immediate and directive. For example, “It’s time to go now!” Especially on our busiest days, it’s easy for parents to forget that kids look to us for varied and rich conversations. From Year Three on, kids need to learn about 3,000 new words a year –that’s eight new words a day. And it takes at least four exposures to make a word their own. To enrich your child’s word power, try these ideas:

●Tell stories about the past, present and future. At dinnertime, relate a story about your

childhood or ask about an upcoming school event.

●Encourage play. According to child development expert Sue Bredekamp, it’s a crucial

way for children to develop their language skills.

●Read a variety of books – picture books, stories with rhymes, science or history books

that convey cool new information. And engage your child in extended conversations about what you read together.

3. Good readers preview and summarize.

As you begin a new book, spend a little time with the cover, suggests Francie Alexander of Scholastic Education. Read the title, look at the illustration and ask your child what she thinks the book is about. Research shows that prediction triggers the deeper thinking that improves comprehension. Every few pages or so, ask your child to retell what’s happened; ask what might happen next.

4. Good readers picture a story in the mind.

Children who do this are better at remembering details and are much more interested in reading for pleasure. Encourage your child to notice a character’s feat ures or clothing, for

example.

5. Good readers connect to what they’re reading.

Comments from you help create engaged readers. “This story reminds me of the time …” or “I wonder if that character…” Soon your child will be eager to make his or her own links. PREPARING your child to be a good reader is one of the greatest gifts you can give as a parent. Kids who often struggle over words and have trouble understanding text find little enjoyment in the process. They avoid reading, and it shows in a study of American Year Five students, the most greedy readers spent more than 50 times as many minutes a day reading for pleasure as less fluent readers. By year’s end, the better readers had read more than two million more words, creating an even wider gap of proficiency and knowledge.

Academic achievement certainly isn’t the only reason to nurture reading skills. For one thing, there is the pure joy of reading. As Jennie Nash, author of Raising a Reader, says in her book, “You can find companionship in books, advice, comfort and delight. You can spend hours alone in a room listening to the quiet music of the written word.” Reading can give your child those magic moments and much more.

1.The passage aims to tell parents some secrets on how to help their child become an

outstanding student.

2.Good readers score higher in arts subject than in maths and science.

3.Reading scores in Year one indicate whether the student will be successful in their future

work.

4.Young school-age kids need reading to their parents, but it is not necessary for them to

read together with their parents.

5.Telling stories about the past, present and future may be an effective way to enrich your

child’s word power.

6.Children who often picture a story in the mind can remember details better and enjoy

reading more.

7.Kids who often struggle over words and have trouble understanding test enjoy themselves

in the process.

8.In the conversations with their child, parents tend to use ___________________ words

because of the busy lives parents lead.

9.It is shown by research that deeper thinking that improves comprehension can be brought

about by ____________________________________.

10.According to a study of American Year Five students, ______________________ spent

more than 50 times as many minutes a day reading for pleasure less fluent readers. Beijing’s local education authority compiled a list of “potential security problems” on campus last week. They include fire accidents, crime, bombing, stealing, social

communication problems and ___1___.

“Though the ‘ivory tower’ sh uts out some dangers from the outside world, it is not a paradise ___2___ to crimes and accidents. School-safety has been in focus,” said an official of the Beijing Education Committee.

In the first six months of this year in China, 25 students were victims of ___3___ accidents or crimes and 10 students committed suicide.

While numbers remain low, how can campuses be made safer places to live in? making safety education compulsory is the governments’ answer. University students in Beijing will soon receive compulsory classes. In the lessons, they will learn how to protect themselves by looking at real ___4___.

For example, girls will learn when and where sexual harassment (骚扰) is most ___5___ to happen. They will also get ___6___ on how to protect themselves, like not wearing mini skirts in crowded public places.

Students should not only be aware of the dangers from the outside, but also those self-inflicted. Even though it ___7___ last in the list, it doesn’t mean suicide is the least serious.

China Daily___8___ a growing number of suicide attempts in China on September 15. between May and July, three Peking University students killed themselves by jumping from buildings. One girl left a note saying that she was “sick of life and ___9___.”

In the safety course, students are given tips on how to cope with pressure. They are also encouraged to go to the school psychologists if they feel depressed. They will learn what to do if their classmates behave ___10___ because of depression.

Keys: Fast Reading 2

1. Y

2. NG

3.NG

4. N

5.Y

6. Y

7. N

8. simple, immediate and directive

9. prediction 10. the most greedy readers

1. O

2. B

3. M

4. L

5. K

6. I

7. A

8. H

9. D 10. F