Highlights for Children's mission is to help children become their best selves through engaging content that fosters joyful learning. Research shows that the more time children spend reading outside of school, the higher their reading achievement test scores will be. As children read more, their brains develop stronger connections between the areas responsible for processing sounds and symbols, allowing them to recognize words more fluently. Exposure to many words through reading and conversations is critical for developing a deep vocabulary from an early age. Developing word recognition skills and fluency while also building vocabulary and background knowledge is important for comprehension in early reading.

1. Highlights Digital Reading Platform
The Power of Reading

2. 2
Highlights for Children’s Mission
“We believe children are the
world's most important people.
We help children become their
best selves by publishing
content and creating
experiences that engage,
delight, and foster joyful
learning. Children and families
around the world enjoy our
content every day—at home,
in school, and all the places in
between.”

3. 3
The more time
spent reading
outside of school,
the higher the
score on reading
achievement tests.
(Cullinan 2000)
The Power of Reading

4. 4
How do children learn to read?
Reading is a product of:
Decoding (word recognition)
Language comprehension
Reading fluency is defined as the combined ability
to read the text and understand what is read

5. 5
How do children learn to read?
When children acquire language early, their brains build a
foundation of language. As frequent readers grow, their brains learn
language more efficiently, so early practice is critical
Decoding (word recognition)
Language comprehension
Less fluent reader More fluent reader

6. 6
How the brain reads
Proficient readers develop a “neural pathway” (blue) between the area that
processes sound (green) and the area that processes symbol recognition
(pink). When that pathway is developed, directly below it is the area that
stores vocabulary, allowing for quick retrieval of words and meaning.

7. 7
How the brain reads
Orthographic
Processor (symbol)
Phonologic
Processor (sound)
Fluent ReaderBeginning Reader
Sound-symbol
connection
“Within his brain, the child is literally building the neural
circuitry that links the sounds of spoken words, the phonemes,
to the print code, the letters that represent these sounds”
- Guinevere Eden, Georgetown University Study (Shaywitz, 2003, p. 177)

8. 8
Development of vocabulary
--Hart, B. & Risley, T. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children.
Baltimore, MD:; Paul H. Brookes, 1995.
The number of words heard
The richness of language heard
Vocabulary is developed based on
Exposure to many words, through both reading books and spoken
conversation, is key to acquiring a deep vocabulary when learning a
language

9. 9
Development of comprehension
• Readers must be able to get the text off the page to
have sufficient cognitive energy to devote to
reading.
• While developing word-recognition skills and fluency,
a young reader needs to develop a wide and broad
base of vocabulary, oral language, and
background knowledge.
What does research say about
comprehension in early reading?

10. Student A
10
The Power of Reading
Student B
• 1 min/day
• 180 mins/school
year
• 8,000
words/year
• Scores in the 10th
percentile on
standardized
tests
• 20 mins/day
• 3,600 mins/school
year
• 1,800,000
words/year
• Scores in the 90th
percentile on
standardized
tests
• 5 mins/day
• 900 mins/school
year
• 282,000
words/year
• Scores in the 50th
percentile on
standardized
tests
Student C
Nagy & Berman, 1987

11. 11
Benefits of Reading
Improve children’s lifetime success in English language
Early reading
practice leads to
exponential
understanding in
future grades!
Successes in the
beginning meant
future success, while
those who struggled,
remained struggling.
Duncan et al., 2007; Juel,1988; Wagner et al.,1997;
Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte,1994

12. Benefits of Reading with
Highlights Library
With access to thousands of authentic books, Highlights
Library was created to help children improve their English
language fluency – for success now and in the future!

13. Highlights Digital Reading Platform
Thank You!