Let's figure it out -- mathematically!
Student A reads for 20 minutes five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week
Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 minutes per week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes per week
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month
Student A reads 400 minutes a month
Student B reads 80 minutes a month
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months each school year
Student A reads 3600 minutes in a school year
Student B reads 720 minutes in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year.
Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.
By the end of 6th 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.
One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened
considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance.
Some questions to ponder:
How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?
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?
I know that all of my students strive to always do their best, and that they
all want to be "Student A" ... that is why they can't skip their 20
minutes of reading tonight! :)