Each year on Dr. Seuss’ birthday — March 2 — the National Education Association, along with schools and organizations around the country, celebrate the joy and importance of reading with Read Across America. 

National Read Across America Day occurs each year on the birthday of beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss, so put on a Seussian hat and join students, parents, teachers, and communities around the nation today and share your love of reading with a young reader. Introducing the joy of reading early helps encourage a lifelong love of learning. 

As Dr. Seuss wrote, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” So grab your favorite copy of one of his famous tales, like One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, sing along to Seussical the Musical, play a “guess the character” reading game, or visit a bookstore to celebrate. Another great way to continue the reading fun after the day is over is to start a children’s book club – parents and children get to socialize, share ideas, and their favorite books. 

 

 Five Fun Facts About Reading

  1. Reading is a great stress reliever – studies show that reading reduces stress by 68%
  2. Reading is not every child’s strongpoint – however children who are exposed to early language (including being read aloud to frequently) gain proficiency 
  3. It all adds up – reading just 20 minutes a day adds up to reading 1,800,000 words per year
  4. The fastest way to build vocabulary – children learn 4,000–12,000 words every year by reading
  5. Classroom libraries create bookworms – kids in classrooms without mini-libraries read 50% less than kids with classroom libraries

*National Today (https://nationaltoday.com/national-read-across-america-day/) 

 

Five Facts About Early Literacy Development

  1. By age 2, a child’s brain is as active as an adult’s and by age 3 the brain is more than twice as active as an adult’s – and stays that way for the first 10 years of life
  2. Cognitive processes develop rapidly in the first few years of life. In fact, by age 3, roughly 85% of the brain is developed. However, traditional education takes place in grades K-12, which begin at age five 
  3. According to the Department of Education, the more students read or are read to for fun on their own time and at home, the higher their reading scores, generally
  4. Books contain many words that children are unlikely to encounter frequently in spoken language. Books for kids actually contain 50% more words that children are unlikely to encounter frequently than regular conversation, TV or radio 
  5. Children exposed to fewer colors, less touch, little interaction with adults, fewer sights and sounds, and less language, actually have smaller brains

**The Literacy Project (Key Child Literacy Statistics)

Please connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest to get tips and tricks from your peers and IMSE. Read the IMSE Journal to hear success stories from other schools and districts, and be sure to read the OG Weekly email series for refreshers and tips.