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An addiction to reading:
D.E.A.R. fosters a healthy habit |
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In a digital age, when so much of kids’ activity is in front of a screen, it can be hard to get them to “Drop Everything And Read.” That makes it all the more important that schools encourage the habit. Many in our region plan to do so with vigor this year: Commitments to The Consortium for Public Education’s D.E.A.R program this year surpassed a 10-year record. All told, 31 elementary schools in 17 districts have committed to 26.9 million minutes of sustained, silent reading — or an average of 38 hours per student — in their classrooms.
“It shows that our districts are committed to ensuring that students not only build reading skills, but also develop an appreciation of reading, which is the key to lifetime learning and a lot of pleasure,” said The Consortium’s Literacy coordinator.
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For more than a decade, The Consortium has challenged elementary schools across the region to commit their classrooms to D.E.A.R because research from both the International Reading Association and the National English Teachers Association suggests that the program increases fluency, extends vocabulary and builds background knowledge. The program underscores the value of silent, sustained reading times, when students can choose books according to their interests, as a way of building on classroom-related reading activities; it is not meant as a substitute for curriculum-related reading.
For more information about D.E.A.R. contact The Consortium at 412-678-9215. |
