All About Reading
So, let’s start with the basics: why is reading important? What skills are developed through reading?
As Neil Gaiman writes, in his wonderful work titled ‘Why Art Matters’, “everything changes when we read.” We grow as people, in our understanding of other worlds, cultures, histories, groups and individuals. We escape to fantastical worlds and confront demons and know that we can beat them. We learn to view the world through other people’s perspectives, and we learn empathy. It’s important for children to learn these lessons – that was once the point of fairy tales, after all.
The power of the imagination is unparalleled, and reading is one of the best ways to foster this ability in children. It can also be endlessly entertaining, when children are able to find authors, stories and genres that they love to explore. Some of the more banal skills that reading helps one develop are focus, concentration and memory. Regularly accessing language also boosts communication skills and an understanding of how language can shape meaning.
How?
As a high-school English teacher, this is one of the most frequently asked questions from parents: “how do I get my child to read?” It’s a good question, sure, but often the answer is difficult. Why? Because it’s not usually the quick fix that parents are often hoping for.
Having a ‘good reader’ as a child feels like the Holy Grail. How is it done? How are such children raised? Often, it’s in a household of readers. Reading to children from infancy familiarises them with the task, it becomes a rewarding part of their routine, it develops their language skills and hastens their language acquisition. Parents reading for their own pleasure is often something that isn’t modelled to children, however. Perhaps it’s because your only chance is on your commute to work, or when the little ones are asleep, or maybe you simply don’t have the time or don’t enjoy it yourself. I would challenge you to consider how you might model this behaviour to your children – show them you enjoy it, talk about books with them and in front of them, take them to the library or bookstore, make reading a part of your routine and theirs. Children are great mimics.
Offering them choice is also important – letting them feel that they have some agency and control encourages children to take responsibility for their own reading journey which, after all, is a highly personalised experience. No two people will read a book in the same way. Of course, this itself offers fodder for dinner table conversations! A great tip is to encourage the use of a ‘Reading Fiction for Meaning’ bookmark. It offers the opportunity for a reader to consolidate comprehension and understanding of events, characters, themes and moral teachings. Asking those questions with your child, discussing their answers and taking an interest in their reading encourages their curiosity. If you want such a tool, subscribe to our newsletter and receive a free download to print – enough for the whole family! There are further questions and instructions in the download to help you help your child to strengthen their reading comprehension skills.
What?
A good follow-up to the ‘how do I get my child to read’ question is to ask: “what should my child be reading?” The simplest answer is: anything. Anything at all. Whatever interests them. This could be the newspaper, advertisements, graphic novels, chapter books, short stories, magazine or information articles, play scripts – the sky is the limit. Are graphic novels all that they should read? No. Students should try to read widely – across genres, text types and literary time periods. This is particularly important for students who may wish to study English Advanced or Extension someday. It also helps learners to understand conventions of genres and text types, which is important for all levels of high-school English. Similarly, to develop their own writing style and voice, students need to understand how and why writers make the choices they do.
Libraries and bookstores are wonderful resources – the staff are knowledgeable, there are lots of browsing options and it can expose readers to new texts, authors, genres and styles of writing. Of course, sourcing texts through platforms like Goodreads or even whatshouldireadnext.com are always useful options. Finding something that you enjoy can be a challenge, but it’s ever so rewarding when you succeed.
Where?
Next question: where do you start? There are so many platforms and resources available – it’s overwhelming. Realistically, all mediums have their advantages and their drawbacks, so it’s best to choose what will work for your family and your child, whether that’s hardcopy, an app, or even a program like Audible. A combination of written text with audio can also be highly beneficial for some – it can help with pronunciation, or those who may have a learning difficulty like dyslexia or ADD. It’s also great for people who struggle to visualise – that is, people who struggle to form an image in their mind’s eye as they read. For these people, the Reading Fiction for Meaning bookmark is crucial, as it’s much more difficult to follow and comprehend a storyline if you can’t imagine it as you go. Drawing an image or symbol to help represent events or chapters is a great way to start developing the skills needed to visualise effectively.