Instill the Habit of Reading in Children

Dr Abe V Rotor

Based on a research of Claudine R. Bananal

on Development Communication, UST

Faculty of Arts and Letters

Living with Nature School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

National Book Award Winners, 2008, with Senator Edgardo Angara  (extreme 
right);  author is second from left. Some of the works of these winners were 
displayed during the awarding ceremonies at the Yuchenco Museum, Makati

A child's reading skills are important to their success in school and work. Children who learn to read from an early age are generally more successful in academic areas. Many children enroll in school, only 63 per cent complete primary school, and the quality of education remains poor in many areas of the country. In addition, reading can be a fun and imaginative activity for children, which opens doors to all kinds of new worlds for them. Reading and writing are important ways we use to communicate.(Source: UNICEF Philippines)

The test is an oral test given to a pupil to measure reading ability. Five test questions are administered constituting the entire test:

Independent reading level – Pupil can read with ease and without the help or guidance of a teacher. In the Phil-IRI test, they can answer four or five correct answers (out of five test questions) and can read with rhythm, with a conversational tone, and can interpret punctuation correctly.

Instructional reading level – Pupil can profit from instruction. In the Phil-IRI test, they answer three out of five test questions correctly.

Frustrated reading level – Pupil gets two or below in the Phil-IRI test (out of five test questions). They show symptoms or behavior of withdrawing from reading situations and commit multiple types of errors in oral reading.(Phil-IRI (Philippine-Informal Reading Inventory)

Reading Levels of Children in the City (%)
Grade 1
Frustrated Reader 64.41
Instructional Reader 20.17
Independent Reader 15.42
Total 23,114

Grade 2
Frustrated Reader 49.98
Instructional Reader 31.45
Independent Reader 19.07
Total 28,170

Grade 3
Frustrated Reader 47.59
Instructional Reader 32.47
Independent Reader 19.94
Total 26,843

Grade 4
Frustrated Reader 44.82
Instructional Reader 32.17
Independent Reader 23.01
Total 25,493

Grade 5
Frustrated Reader 50.78
Instructional Reader 28.48
Independent Reader  20.74
Total 30,288

Grade 6
Frustrated Reader36.50
Instructional Reader34.67
Independent Reader28.83
Total 27,199

Source: Philippine-Informal Reading Inventory Test (Phil-IRI), Schools Division of Manila, SY 2003-04

PROGRAMS, PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE READING SKILLS

• Build more public libraries especially in remote areas.
• Encourage the community via reading campaigns to frequently visit these public libraries to borrow books and read.
• Share the joy of reading to the illiterate by reading books, magazines and newspapers to them and teaching them in the process.
• In this campaign, the public libraries will hold daily reading/storytelling sessions to the poor and illiterate, adults and children alike. It will be conducted by volunteers from the community.
• Parents must play a critical role in helping their children develop not only the ability to read, but also an enjoyment of reading.

1. Turn off the TV. Start by limiting your children’s viewing time.
2. Teach by example. There must be books, newspapers and magazines around the house and children must actually see their parents reading so they will learn that reading is of great value.
3. Read together. Reading with children is a great activity. It not only teaches them its importance but it also offers a chance to talk about the book, and often other issues will come up. Books can really open the lines of communication between parents and their children and broaden their minds.

Adages on Reading

• “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all of the miseries of life.” -W. Somerset Maugham
• “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” -Sir Richard Steele
• “He who destroys a good book kills reason itself.” - John Milton
• “No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.” - Lady Mary Wortley Montague ~