True or Not True?

If you have not read The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I advise you to drive to the closest book store or download them from the nearest Kindle/tablet device (preferably your own). This blog is partly in celebration of the release of Suzanne Collins’ book adapted movie, The Hunger Games, which will be released Friday, March 23^rd. If you haven’t read this amazing series of books, my blog is still relevant to you. I present a list of facts and myths about reading that some tend to get confused. The primary tie this blog has to Suzanne Collins is that one of her characters, Peeta Mellark, in the final book, poses questions in the form of “true or not true.” It should also be noted that The Hunger Games has been sold in 38 different countries and in 26 different languages, inspiring children nearly everywhere to read. For our nonfictional world of literacy, here is a list that answers the question “true or not true” about reading.

True or Not True:

1.       Prisons use elementary school reading scores to plan for future prison beds.

Not true. This is purely a myth that prisons incorporate second or third grade reading scores to predict how many people in their area will be in prison in the future. Bill Graves’ article from The Oregonian is one of the several news sources that have declared this information false.

“This is an urban myth,” Thornton, spokesman from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, wrote. “A few weeks ago, I contacted nearly every department of corrections in the nation. I heard back from 25 states saying they do not use elementary reading levels to plan for future prison beds. We have no idea where this originated from.”

I think that calls for a sigh of relief.

2.       Reading in dim lighting is harmful for your eyes.

True. According to Science Net Links along with a string of other science journals, reading in low lighting can increase your chances of becoming near sighted.

Howard Howland, a vision expert at Cornell University, states, “In low light, your pupil has to open up wider to let in enough light to see. That changes where light normally hits the retina, blurring the image. So the eye gets a signal to grow longer, so the image will hit the right place on the retina. And that can eventually cause nearsightedness.”

He goes on to say, “Damage is more likely to occur in younger people, where eyes are still developing.”  That means if you have children or young adults, be sure they’re reading in well lit areas. Erm the Worm may rock a cool pair of glasses, but healthy 20/20 vision should be everyone’s goal, so keep those lights on.

3.       Reading upside down confuses the brain.

Not true. The opposite is true. Writer Stephen Mills says reading upside down is one of many ways to exercise your brain. He encourages people to try it! Many other sources agree, saying it strengthens parts of your brain you don’t use much. Other activities that exercise and enrich your brain are writing on paper as opposed to only on the computer and learning a new language.

I would assume bonus points would be in order if you could read in another language upside down!

4.       Reading to your children affects their literacy later on in life.

True. There are so many statistics proving this correct, it would be nearly impossible to list them all. I have selected several from our very own www.promisingpages.com.

True: Reading to children is one of the best ways to promote positive attitudes toward reading and to give children the sounds and words of literacy and reading. Beginning at birth, all children should be read to with regularity and enthusiasm. (Southern Early Childhood Association (2002) Early Literacy and Beginning to Read: A Position Statement of the Southern Early Childhood Association. Southern Early Childhood Association: Dimensions of Early Childhood, 30(4), 28-31)

True: Reading aloud to young children helps to develop vocabulary, phonological awareness, oral language skills, fluency, and a positive attitude toward learning. (Barrentine, S.J. Engaging with reading through interactive read-alouds. The Reading Teacher, 50(1), 36-43)

True: Reading aloud to children is one of the most effective and inexpensive activities parents, caregivers and educators can do to promote literacy. Children who are introduced to books early and read to on a regular basis do better in school. (Herb, S. (1997) Building Blocks for literacy: What current research shows. School Library Journal, 43(7), 23)

5.       Reading makes you smarter.

True! Children who do not become familiar with reading by the age of five are four to five times more likely to drop out of high school. Young children who are not exposed to books have brain scans similar to stroke victims. Here are some other stats from our website:

True: In a study conducted of kindergartners, those who were read to at least three times a week as they entered kindergarten were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent of literacy tests than children who were read to less than three times a week. (National Institute for Literacy (2006). The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Available online. http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/ECLS.html)

True: Children who are read to frequently are nearly twice as likely as other children to show three or more skills associated with emerging literacy. (Nord, C.W., Lennon, J., Liu, B., Chandler, K. (1999). Home Literacy Activities: Signs of Children’s Emerging Literacy: 1993 and 1999. From the National Center for Family Literacy, 2005)

If you would like to know more about the facts I listed, check out these articles at http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/03/prisons_dont_use_reading_score.html, http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/reading-in-the-dark/, and  http://www.ratracetrap.com/the-rat-race-trap/25-ways-to-enrich-your-brain-experience.html. More fun facts are also located on our website at www.promisingpages.com. Keep that brain enriched by reading our blog. I dare you to even read it upside down.  

--Faith Lippard, Promising Pages Blogger