Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Reading Out Loud

I learned to read at an early age*, as I've talked about before. I was three years old and after I learned to read, I always read to myself out loud. Because Mom had read to me out loud, I figured that was the way you did it.

When I was 5, we took a trip to Grand Junction. I remember sitting on my Grandma's couch in the living room with an Archie Comic Digest in my hands. I started to read out loud and from the kitchen where the adults were playing pinochle, Mom said, "Don't read out loud. Just read to yourself."

"How do I do that," I asked, puzzled. Wasn't that what I was doing?

"Instead of saying the words out loud, say them in your head where only you can hear them."

HUH??? I was so confused. Surely that wasn't the way things worked. What was she talking about? I just knew this wasn't going to work. But it DID work! It was great! I could read faster now than before!! And the adults weren't bothered which I know now was the main objective! :)

________

* = Apparently no one believed my parents when they told friends & family that I could read at 3 years old. During a trip to Jct, my Grandpa's brother Leon & his wife Betty were also there visiting. Mom & Dad mentioned that I could read and Leon scoffed. He called me over to sit on his lap and he pulled out his ever-present pocket Bible, opened to a random page and told me to read. And, haha! I did. I read everything right. His response?

"That was good, but does she UNDERSTAND what she just read?"

Some people are just so hard to impress


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