Mrs. Cohen
Argumentative Essay
January 25, 2014
School-aged Children Should Read for at Least 30 Minutes Daily
“Being swept away and transported into
another world is awesome, Mrs. Cohen,” one of my students excitedly
explains to me. Too many students are not capable of reading at their
grade level. School-aged children benefit from reading by improving
their ability to decode words, thereby increasing fluency. Vocabulary
skills are built upon, making it easier to understand complex text.
Reducing stress levels by becoming engrossed in a great book is another
reason why children should read. School-aged children should read for
at least 30 minutes each day.
Acquiring the important skill of reading quickly is imperative in
today’s fast-paced world. Stopping to sound out a word takes a lot of
time and concentration, thus slowing down the reading process and
interfering with one’s ability to understand what has been read. “As
automaticity in word recognition develops, students read faster and
have greater opportunity to gain meaning from the text. Difficulty in
recognizing individual words hamper the ability to gain meaning from
the text” (1998 – Stricker, Roser, and Martinez, Eduplace.com).
Decoding quickly allows for fluency to occur naturally. However, some
might argue that reading requires one to sit still versus being physical
which can be difficult for small children. But, reading is
beneficial
because it also leads to obtaining a large vocabulary.
“Children who acquire a substantial vocabulary are often able to
think more deeply, express themselves better, and learn new things
more quickly” (www.scholastic.com). As we all know, school is fastpaced, rigorous, and challenging. With each successive grade level, the
content becomes increasingly more difficult and those who are able to
tap into their vocabulary bank will have an easier time with all subjects.
When making connections while reading, or drawing upon stored
vocabulary words for composing written pieces, vocabulary knowledge
will help. As a teacher who grades numerous papers, I can tell you one
thing – students who insert complex vocabulary words into their papers
prove to me that they are educated, well-versed, and interesting.
Students have argued that they do not feel their writing requires
complicated words to be considered well done; I disagree. Yet another
benefit of reading is that a great novel can take us into another world
where we might not otherwise be able to visit.
Life can be hectic and stressful. We live in a
world that is fast-paced and demanding. Constant emails, voice
messages, loud televisions, computer screens, and feeling overscheduled is an all too familiar lifestyle for all of us. Being swept away
and transported into another world is a great way to unwind,
decompress, and relax. “Reading can help reduce stress and is the best
way to relax. Even six minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels
by more than two thirds, according to new research.” (The Telegraph,
University of Sussex, March 30, 2009). Cracking open the pages of the
most current novel I am reading, my heartbeat slows down and my
body feels like mush; my mind blocks-out everything except for the
characters, the plot, and the mystery of what is happening inside those
word-filled paper pages. It feels good to learn about people and places I
would never really have the chance to meet or visit. However, I have
talked to some people and they do not feel theneed to learn about other
people or other cultures. Becoming engrossed in a great book relaxes
me and helps to reduce my stress levels. Reading is so awesome
Reading offers so many benefits that there is
not a solid reason why school-aged children should not be taking
advantage of this on a daily basis. Decoding and fluency skills are
increased, vocabulary knowledge is acquired, and reading helps to
reduce stress levels. Do yourself a favor, read daily for at least 30
minutes: go out there and purchase a great book!