READING AT ALL AGES

Infant and Toddlers
• Children develop much of their capacity for learning in the first three years of life, when their brains grow to 90% of their eventual adult weight. (Source: Investing in Our Children. RAND, 1998).

• From birth to age 3, children begin associating words they hear with the meaning. They also identify objects in books, talk about characters, look at pictures and recognize they are symbols of real things.
(Source: DeBruin-Parecki, Perkinson, & Ferderer, 2000).

Preschool
• During the preschool years, children begin identifying the parts of a book, recognize and name letters of the alphabet, begin to bring together letter-sounds in one-syllable words.
(Source: The Importance of Reading. NC Standard Course of Study, 2002)

• Reading to preschool age children promotes language acquisition, literacy development and future achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school.
(Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). The Condition of Education 2006 )

Elementary School
• During first grade, children use phonics knowledge to read one-syllable words and begin writing about personal experiences in stories. (Source: The Importance of Reading. NC Standard Course of Study, 2007)

• In third and fourth grade, children are no longer learning to read, but reading to learn. They should be able to read at grade level with fluency, accuracy, and understanding. (Source: National Center for Family Literacy, 2007)

Middle School
• Middle school students read to comprehend literal information and draw conclusions. They read to give information (reports), to persuade (speeches), to interpret and judge ideas and information (book reviews). (Source: The Importance of Reading. NC Standard Course of Study, 2007.)

• For middle school children, reading is important to expand their horizons, explore interests, and form opinions about the world and their place in it.
(Source: The Importance of Reading, NC Standard Course of Study, 2007)

High School
• High school students are involved in reading and understanding complex text, drawing conclusions, and making connections to personal experiences and other readings.
(Source: The Importance of Reading. NC Standard Course of Study, 2007)

• Students are preparing to transition into the workforce and/or to college, however many high school graduates enter college unprepared in reading. Approximately 25% require remedial reading courses. Many drop out, since they cannot read well enough to do the course work.
(Source: U.S. Department of Education. Adolescent Literacy Research Network, 2007)