Reading for Pleasure Puts Students Ahead

Do you find yourself more engaged in something that you are reading if you actually enjoy what you are reading? The Institute of Education in the United Kingdom has conducted research on reading for pleasure and found that children who read for pleasure perform significantly better in school than their peers. The longitudinal study analysed the reading behaviour of approximately 6,000 young people and concluded that these students showed significant improvement in maths, vocabulary, and spelling than those who rarely read.

What was surprising to researchers was that reading for pleasure was found to be more important for the child’s cognitive development than the level of education of their parents. The combined effect of reading often, going to the library regularly and reading newspapers at 16 had four times the effect on student progress than having a parent with a degree. There is also a correlation of parents reading regularly to their child and increases in performance on these three types of tests at the age of 16.

Our children are growing up in a digital age that is continually evolving. This study stresses the importance of encouraging children to read as a result of the growing concern that reading for pleasure has declined in young people. This is not to say that new technology has not helped to encourage reading. New developments such as the e-reader have made books and newspapers easily accessible and more people are gravitating to this new piece of technology.

Using data from EQAO results in Ontario, People for Education has tracked reading enjoyment and discovered that liking of reading in grade 3 students fell from 75% in 1998/99 to 50% in 2010/11. For students in grade 6, the numbers fell from 65% to 50% in the same time period. Reading is important in every subject area, thus by promoting enjoyment of reading we can help our children achieve academic success.

Reading is more than just about the skill of reading and should not feel like homework. The following are just some ways to promote reading for pleasure:

-       Read out loud with your child regularly at home, ie. make reading a habit!

-       Choose appropriate resources that interests your child and will help them connect to what they are reading

-       Take your child to the library frequently and look at new books that have been added

-       Go to literature circles, book talks or join a book club with your child

-       Use technology to interest your child in literature

-       Ask your child to find an interesting news article and talk with them about what they read

-       Keep track of reading mileage

Send us your ideas and/or suggestions of how you help to make reading more enjoyable for your child!