Why Can’t I Skip My 20 Minutes of Reading Tonight?

Question: Why can’t I skip my 20 minutes of reading tonight?
Answer: Let’s figure it out mathematically!

Student A reads 20 minutes/5 nights/every week.
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night … or not at all.

Step 1: Multiply minutes per night times 5 nights each week.

Student A reads 20×5 = 100 minutes/week
Student B reads 4×5 = 20 minutes/week.

Step 2: Multiply minutes per week times 4 weeks per month.

Student A reads 400 minutes/month.
Student B reads 80 minutes/month.

Step 3: Multiply minutes per month times 9 “school” months/year.

Student A reads 3600 minutes/school year.
Student B reads 720 minutes/school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of 10 whole school days each year.
Student B gets the equivalent of only 2 school days of reading practice.

By the end of sixth 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.

By the time they graduate high school, if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits,

Student A will have read the equivalent of close to a whole school year!
Student B will have read the equivalent of less than one marking period.

One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?

Questions to Ponder:

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?

Source: U.S. Department of Education, America Reads Challenge (1999) “Start Early, Finish Strong: How to
Help Every Child Become a Reader.” Washington D.C.