Children who read every day typically:
1. Have reduced stress.
2. Have greater content knowledge.
3. Are more mentally stimulated.
4. Have a more expansive vocabulary.
5. Have greater memory.
6. Have stronger analytical thinking skills.
7. Have better focus and concentration.
8. Have better writing skills.
9. Have greater development of life goals.
10. Have better developed empathy for others.
This is the short list! Many, many research studies show countless other benefits from reading every day!
Believe me: I know that the Book Buddy books are not the absolute most exciting books ever written (although, I do think that, when given a chance, many of the stories can be quite entertaining!), but please also believe me when I say that, after searching the world over, I have not found a single better source for systematically developing a fluent reader by gradually and consistently introducing phonograms, than the Reading for All Learners books that we use in the Book Buddies.
Please feel free to have your child read any books you deem appropriate each night AFTER your child finishes the nightly reading of his/her Book Buddy book. Please always ensure that the Reading for All Learners book is read every single day and returned to school. I remind students to turn in their Book Buddies every single day – usually multiple times each day! Once your child has finished the program (after reading the purple book set), his/her daily reading can be completely chosen by a parent.
I know that the vast majority of students in our class scored at or above benchmark for our January DIBELS test, but please know that the Spring benchmark (for the test that will be administered in late April or early May) is much more of a stretch and will prove difficult for even some of those who tested successfully in January.
Thank you so much for helping your child to be a successful reader!
I just have a quick comment about book buddies. some of these books are taking longer tan 20 minutes to complete. I’ve noticed especially with the ones with three and four stories are taking a long amount of time keeping focus. I’ve found it when I let my child read one or two stories in the book buddies and switch gears and let him read a book of choice it keeps him engaged and not dreading reading the following night. I hope you can understand this as I don’t want my child to dread reading ever. Thanks for your help
Yes, as per the instructions at the top of the sign-off sheet, students are only required to read one story in the book per night, but they should read that one story 2-3 times. For the books that have more than one story in them, I don’t expect them to read the entire book each night. Some students choose to do that, but it is not an expectation. I certainly think it is a great idea to switch gears and read another book when necessary – whatever keeps them engaged and reading! As long as they are reading their one story per night and getting their 20-30 minutes of reading in each night, I am a happy camper! 🙂