Why Can't My Child Skip Their 20 Minutes of Reading Tonight?

Why Can't My Child Skip Their 20 Minutes of Reading Tonight?

Let's figure it out -- mathematically

Student A reads for 20 minutes five nights of every week;

Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!

Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week

Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 minutes per week

Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes per week

Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month

Student A reads 400 minutes a month

Student B reads 80 minutes a month

Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months each school year

Student A reads 3600 minutes in a school year

Student B reads 720 minutes in a school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. 

Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.

By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B 

maintain these same reading habits,  

Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days. 

Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.

One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened 

considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. 

Some questions to ponder:

How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?

Which student would you expect to read better?

Which student would you expect to know more?

Which student would you expect to write better?

Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?

Which student would you expect to be more successful in school...and in life?

I know that all of my students strive to always do their best, and that they 

all want to be "Student A" ... that is why they can't skip their 20 

minutes of reading tonight!  :)