Read This as Slowly as You Can

This article from the Wall Street Journal on September 10, 2014 written by Jeanne Whalen states we need to slow down and read.  She finds people were reading fewer books.  Reading habits have changed with constant dings for new emails, and facebook posts.  These interruptions interfer with our comprehension.

Slow readers state:

* it improves abilty to concentrate

* it reduces stress

* It deepens our ability to think

* it improves our listening skills

* it helps us empathize better

"A study published last year in Science showed reading literary fiction helps people understand others' mental states and beliefs"

There is also proof that books with interactive options such as links and sounds and video result in lower comprehension levels.  What?  Experts state that real books are the best and underlining or writing notes while you read improves your comprehension levels. 

So think about reading in front of you children: showing them a good example.  Share items that you find in your books.  Writing down interesting words. (This helps their vocabulary grow as well as shows another example of how to learn words.) Share interesting passages with them.  If the story takes place in an interesting city or country, show where it is on a map or globe.

When children see a parent reading, they might want to imitate it and then you have grown a slow reader.