MARCH INTO LITERACY:
March is National Reading Month!
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.” -Dr. Seuss
In honor of the birthday of one of America’s most admired authors and illustrators, Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel, March is designated as National Reading Month to celebrate and promote the joys and the importance of reading.
Reading plays a crucial role in our lives. It stimulates our imagination, expands our knowledge of the world and each other and helps us to develop language skills.
Reading is also associated with early childhood learning and development, as it helps children to:
- learn sounds, words, and language
- expand literacy skills
- develop the ability to focus, concentrate, socialize, and communicate
There are also long-lasting health benefits to reading for individuals of all ages, including increased cognitive function, memory, empathy, and decreased levels of stress.
Literacy Statistics
Literacy Data and its impact on the Nation
- Illiteracy has become such a serious problem in our country that 130 million adults are now unable to read a simple story to their children
- 21% of adults in the US were illiterate in 2022
- 54% of adults have a literacy below 6th grade level
- 44% of the American adults do not read a book in a year
Literacy Data and its impact in the classroom
- The Top 3 states for highest child literacy rates were Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Hampshire, in that order (highest to lowest).
- The Bottom 3 states for child literacy rates were Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico, (highest to lowest). Approximately 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level.
- Almost 70% of low-income fourth grade students cannot read at a basic level.
- 60% of the behavioral problems occur during reading assignments- group or independently.
- Struggling readers suffer socially.
- Struggling readers suffer emotionally.
During this month, we encourage each other to read every day. Spend ample time reading our favorite books and recommit ourselves to making sure children and young adults read diverse literary works early and often so they can see themselves and others in what they read.
In addition, in order to do our part to help promote reading and literacy, we have partnered with Mary’s Center in the month of March on a book drive!
Mary’s Center is a community health center serving over 65,000 people of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds in the Washington, DC metro area for over 30 years. With their integrated healthcare model, Mary’s Center provides education and social services – along with routine healthcare services – to adults and children.
To help serve our community and their patients, we are asking our Bloom Ob/Gyn family to donate children’s books for Mary’s Center throughout the month of March.
Serving as a collection center, we hope to tap into our generous community for a variety of childrens and young adult books that we will deliver to Mary’s Center at the end of the month. A collection station will be located adjacent to our front desk, so feel free to bring books with your appointment or stop by anytime during regular business hours!
Don’t have books to donate? No problem! Mary’s Center has an Amazon wishlist and would happily accept any of the items listed below:
