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In today’s digital age of short text messages and tweets,

reading is quickly become a lost art.

Most kids struggle with both reading and understanding long passages

because these skills don’t come

all that naturally to them.

I see this often

in my dual jobs

as both tutor and mom,

and in both roles

I’m constantly thinking about ways

to help kids learn

to think critically

about the written word.

My sons, for example, don’t willingly pick up a book for pleasure,

and they often have difficulty understanding the subtlety and tone

of what they’re reading.

And they’re not alone;

most of my students have the most difficulty

in improving their scores

on the critical reading passages

of the SAT and ACT exams.

Comprehensive reading is a lifelong process,

not a skill

that can be taught

in a mere 10 weeks.

So how do we teach our children to be inferential readers?

They go to school, engage in lots of homework and extracurricular activities,

and – at least my sons – aren’t exactly jumping

for joy

at the thought of extra work

from mom.

And I don’t blame them.

However, the Art of Reading is too important to ignore.

So I came up with the Sunday night dinner reading ritual.

It works like this:

Most Sundays I make a special family meal.

Before we sit down,

I ask my sons and husband to read a poem or newspaper article

that I’ve copied for them.

(Often, I take our readings

from the New York Times opinion section or other editorials,

as opinion pieces promote inferential reading.)

These readings – saturated with distinct tonality and an underlying subtext – create lively dinnertime discussion

as well as help our children become critical readers.

They learn to pick up on sarcasm, cynicism, subjective and objective tones –

all of which can change the overall interpretation of a piece.

It’s fun to discuss something

entirely random

at the dinner table,

and interesting conversations often ensue.

It’s made dinnertime more fun – my kids often forget they’re learning! –

and is a nice change of pace

from the “How was your day” discussions.

I always end our talks

with the question,

“Do you agree or disagree with this passage

and why?”

This forces my children to really contemplate the issue

that we’ve been talking about,

and nurtures their critical thinking skills.

The New York Times editorials are a far cry from Harry Potter stories.

The language is often dry, the vocabulary is impressive,

and the overall message is in no way relevant to their lives.

This is also true of the SAT and ACT readings:

Boring, boring, boring!

The SAT is not leisure reading.

In fact, the SAT is not really about reading at all.

Rather, it’s about finding clues to answer the questions.

Yes, I am an SAT tutor,

and yes, I’m a mom

who may be starting her children’s standardized test preparation

early,

but I am also promoting the Art of Reading.

This is a skill

that will serve them

for a lifetime.

Plus,

these Sunday dinners allow me to slow down

and truly listen to my children. 

And that’s a skill that I need to work on!

Note: This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 at 9:06am by Laura and is filed under SAT.