Too Much LEVELED BOOK • S

Screen Time?
A Reading A–Z Level S Leveled Book Too Much
Screen
Word Count: 1,173

Writing
Connections
Time?
Using information in the book and
outside resources, write a persuasive
essay explaining your opinion on
screen time.
Math
Ask your classmates how much time
they spend using a screen each day.
Organize the data in a graph. Analyze
your data. Share what you find with
your classmates.

Written by Keith and Sarah Kortemartin

Visit www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com

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 Too Much challenging
Words to Know
researching

Screen electronic
engaging
smartphones
social media

Time? interacting
obesity
relationships
strict
technical
technology
Photo Credits:
Front cover, back cover: Hero Images Inc./Alamy Stock Photo; title page:
© iStock.com/fzant; page 3: © iStock.com/Ridofranz; page 4: © Tim Hawley/
Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images; page 5: Blend Images/Alamy Stock Photo;
page 6: © iStock.com/carstenbrandt; page 7: © rawpixel/123RF; page 8:
© iStock.com/Halfpoint; page 9: © iStock.com/Imgorthand; pages 10, 11, 13:
© iStock.com/FatCamera; page 14: © iStock.com/gradyreese; page 15:
© iStock.com/VikramRaghuvanshi

Written by Keith and Sarah Kortemartin

www.readinga-z.com

Focus Question
Too Much Screen Time?
What is screen time? What effects can Level S Leveled Book Correlation
© Learning A–Z
LEVEL S
it have on people? Written by Keith and Sarah Kortemartin
Fountas & Pinnell O
All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 34
www.readinga-z.com DRA 34
 Many people enjoy video games.
Are they spending too much time
trying to beat the game?

Time’s Up!
A girl wearing a black helmet and a purple
backpack runs across a grassy field. She scoops
up an ax from the ground. Then she chops
Contents
down a tree and begins building a tower.
Time’s Up! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Someone is coming up behind her, so the girl
ducks behind a wall to hide. She has a chance
Screen Time: Good or Bad? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
of winning, but only if she doesn’t get caught.
Screens and Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
A voice floats up from downstairs. “Dinner
Screens and Social Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 is in five minutes!”

Screens and Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Oh no! Quitting the game now would be a

disaster—there’s no time for dinner! But Dad
How Much Is Too Much? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
insists. Screen time is over. Winning will have
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 to wait until tomorrow.

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 3 4

 Screen Time: Good or Bad?
Video games and social media apps are
incredibly popular. Everyone at school might
be playing the same games and swiping
through the same photos. They’re all watching
the same videos, TV shows, and movies, too.
Then they text, chat, and post about them.

Many people have smartphones or tablets with them at all times.

All of these activities use screens—flat

electronic panels that display images and
information. The world is full of screens. They
are on TVs, computers, smartphones, and
tablets. Screens are at school, at home, and just
about everywhere in between. The time people
spend every day looking at screens is known
as “screen time.” Some families have strict
rules about how much time children can
spend with screens. Others may have fewer
rules. Why do any of these rules exist? Are
adults just trying to ruin the fun, or are there
Tablets are one of the most popular devices eight-to-twelve-year-olds use
to watch TV and play games. good reasons to limit screen time?

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 5 6

 People have been asking questions about Screens and Health People often do not realize
how much time has passed
screens for many years. Some of the first A boy stays up late while they play games or
look at social media.
scientific studies of the effects of television playing video games. The
appeared in the late 1940s. Scientists continue next morning, he wakes
researching the effects of screen time on up late and almost misses
health, relationships, and brain development. the bus. Mom makes
However, technology develops quickly. Many a new rule: no screens
devices, apps, and games are fairly new. This before bed. She wants her
makes it challenging for researchers to collect kids to get enough sleep.
good results.
Many people watch
Screen Time Statistics TV or look at social
A 2017 survey of families across the United States found media before bed. They believe it will help
that 98 percent of homes with children under the age of eight them relax and fall asleep more easily.
have smartphones or tablets. Children under the age of eight
spend just over two hours per day using screens, including TVs, However, most researchers recommend
computers, and tablets. Those between the ages of eight and turning off electronic devices an hour or two
eighteen spend more than seven hours per day using screens. before bedtime. The light from phones, tablets,
12 and other screens tricks the brain into thinking
it is daytime. This makes it harder to fall
9
asleep at night. Looking at screens before
bedtime causes people to get less sleep and
Hours

6
to wake up more often during the night. Lack
7 hours
3 of sleep can cause changes in mood, make it
2 hours
0
difficult for students to pay attention in school,
Children under Children between the ages and lead to other health problems.
the age of eight of eight and eighteen

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 7 8

 Sleep Signals Screens and
Doctors say that students Social Life
in elementary school should
A family eats
get between nine and twelve
hours of sleep each night. Some dinner together.
researchers recommend reading Mom is answering
before bed to help the mind
emails on her
and body prepare for sleep.
phone, and the
children are People often look at screens even when
watching a movie. they are with others.
Dad makes a new rule: no screens at the dinner
table. He wants the family to actually talk to
one another.
Obesity is a health problem that has been In many ways, screens are helpful for
linked to both lack of sleep and screen time. communication and connecting with other
When people spend a lot of time watching people. Social media, communication apps,
TV or playing video games, they are likely and video calls allow people to be almost
spending a lot of time sitting still. Spending constantly in contact with one another.
more time with screens may mean that people Screen time can also help people build new
are spending less time being active and getting relationships. By sharing and commenting
exercise. Sometimes, watching TV and playing on videos, images, or music, people can meet
games cause people to forget to pay attention others who have similar creative interests.
to the signals their bodies are sending. People Video games can also be social. Often, people
may eat snacks while watching TV and not who enjoy playing games become friends with
realize when they are full. This can lead to others who enjoy games. They may then play
overeating and becoming overweight. or watch games together.

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 9 10

 However, some adults are concerned that Screens and Learning
young people spend too much time staring at A mom watches her children during their
screens and not enough time interacting with screen time. They are staring at different
others in real life. They worry that, as a result, screens, and she thinks they look like zombies.
young people cannot properly understand She wonders whether all these screens are
emotions or develop strong relationships. damaging their brains. She makes a new
Researchers think that screen time is healthiest rule: from now on, all screen time must
when it involves social interaction, whether be educational.
online or in person. When two people watch
a video or read an article online together, Many kinds of screen time may be good
they can talk and ask each other questions for students. Some shows and games can
to understand it better. When two people play help students learn. Students may use screen
a video game together, they can work together time to develop their creativity and skills
to beat the game. in creating videos or editing photos. Video
games can help people learn to react quickly,
Seeing Screens make strategic decisions, and solve problems.
Many people think screen time can be damaging to Students may even learn skills such as coding
eyesight. Rates of myopia, or nearsightedness, have doubled computer programs or fixing technical issues.
in the United States and Europe over the last fifty years. Many
researchers think When students use social media, watch
myopia is connected movies, or do research online, they may
to a lack of sunlight. come across people who are different from
If children spend a
lot of time indoors, them or ideas they have never thought about
they may not be before. This can help students become more
getting enough welcoming to new people and more willing
sunlight for their eyes
to develop properly. to become involved in their communities.

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 11 12

 Some activities that use screens help people spend time together and build
relationships.
Many students use tablets and computers in school. Some teachers say
these devices help students work together. How Much Is Too Much?
However, some researchers think that For many years, scientists recommended
screens change how the brain processes that children use screens for only one or two
information. Some have linked screen time hours each day. However, many researchers
to lower test scores or shorter attention spans. now say that the amount of time spent using
Scientists don’t yet know all the ways screens screens may not matter as much as what
impact the brain and learning. They say that children are doing with screens. They argue
the best screen time is active and engaging. that active and interactive screen time can be
This means using screens to be creative or healthy. Screen time becomes a problem when
to play games that involve problem-solving it gets in the way of important things such as
rather than simply watching videos. health, relationships, and schoolwork.

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 13 14

 In the future, scientists will continue Glossary
studying the effects of screen time. Parents challenging (adj.) hard to do or demanding (p. 7)
will likely continue to make rules limiting electronic of or relating to devices made of
screen time. Everyone at school will continue (adj.) many small electrical parts (p. 6)
to play games and use social media. Many engaging attractive or interesting in a way that
people will see screens every day. Plenty of (adj.) holds a person’s attention (p. 13)
good things can come from all this screen time, interacting speaking or doing things with others
(v.) (p. 11)
but it’s a good idea for both children and adults
to pay attention to how much time in a day obesity (n.) the state of being unhealthily
overweight (p. 9)
they spend looking at a screen. They should be
aware of how screen time affects their health, relationships the ways in which two or more
(n.) living things or groups interact
relationships, and learning—and it’s always or deal with each other (p. 7)
a good idea to stop in time for dinner.
researching studying or investigating, especially
(v.) to discover new information (p. 7)
smartphones mobile phones with computer
(n.) features and Internet access (p. 6)
social media types of websites or programs that
(n.) people use to share information,
pictures, or other content (p. 8)
strict (adj.) requiring that rules be obeyed or
certain behaviors followed (p. 6)
technical of or relating to the techniques or
(adj.) knowledge of a certain field (p. 12)
technology (n.) machines or tools that are developed
through the use of scientific
Many researchers recommend that families make mealtimes or bedtime knowledge (p. 7)
screen-free to help balance the amount of time spent with screens.

Too Much Screen Time? • Level S 15 16