Reading the Newspaper

When I was a kid, I remember the commercials that had a gathering of kids in front of a school who said “Reading is fundamental!” That commercial has stayed with me through the years and I use that phrase as a motto for myself, my students, and other children I come into contact with. Kids must read to become informed. In order to be productive members of society kids have to know how the world works. Newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post are excellent sources of fair reporting on a myriad of issues.

Kids should start out with easier local papers (from a very young age), but as they get older you as parent should guide them into higher level reading newspapers. Newspapers are a great for way for children to increase their vocabulary. As a result of not reading, children’s vocabulary stagnates. One point I have made in my class is to model how to grow one’s vocabulary. I place a dictionary on every student’s desk in my classroom. Whenever I ask them if they know what a particular word means and they don’t know, we all look up the word together. You as a parent can do the same thing. Make time to read the newspaper with your child and look up with your child words that are unfamiliar. You will probably learn some new words too!

Written by Charles Mathison

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