Engaging Children to be Readers. What Does it Take? Part 1
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers” — Harry S. Truman
In order for students to be successful learners they have to become engaged in the process. What are successful students doing differently then unsuccessful students? It’s their level of engagement. Heightened engagement will lead to achievement.
Ten Minutes of Reading a Day Will Change a Child’s Life
If we can get a student to read 10 minutes a day, it will change their literate life (Adams, 2006;Anderson, Wilson & Fielding, 1988; Beers & Probst, 2017). Struggling readers will read as little as two minutes a day on their own. Students that enjoy reading will read roughly 20 minutes each day, which all the research and articles I have previously read states as the goal per day. Ernest Morrell, Ph.D in his white paper, New Directions in Literacy teaching: Engaging Readers and Writers in 21st Century K-12 Classrooms, states “just ten minutes will change a child’s fluency, comprehension, and academic vocabulary.” If a student increases their reading by 10–15 minutes a day, that amounts to approximately a million words a year! Over 13 years in school is an additional 12–13 million words over the course of their career. Imagine if a student reads ten additional minutes at home each night, now they are roughly reading 25 million words. Look at the advantage the student that reads an additional 10 minutes at home per night has over a student that is not reading at home. I find it so interesting when success can be explained in simple math like this. The question becomes, how do we spark a student’s interest to read more at home and school?
One Saturday morning I was out for breakfast and sitting at the table next to us was a father and his daughter. The daughter appeared to be about ten years old. The minute they sat down, the daughter opened up a book that she brought along and started reading. I have often wondered what makes some children so interested in reading that they bring a book with them wherever they go? My curiosity was piqued because most of the time what you see now is children on digital devices. The next thing I observed gave me insight into why this little girl was so interested in reading. I looked over and her father was also reading. That is the key! The daughter enjoys reading and books because that is what has been modeled for her by her father. The more I watched the more impressed I was with this duo. Every so often they would stop reading and engage in conversation about their reading. The father was truly interested in what his daughter was reading about. Talking about books raises the level of engagement, enjoyment and ultimately understanding. It was an inspiring moment for this literacy nerd.
I grew up in a family that valued literacy and reading. My mom was a secondary English teacher and most evenings she was curled up with a book after dinner. I would often find my dad in his recliner with a RC Modeler magazine in his hand. I have often wondered why I didn’t enjoy or engage much in reading as a child when my parents were always reading. After seeing the father daughter duo at the restaurant, I think I figured out what was different for me. In my family, books and reading was a solo activity. There was no shared engagement or enjoyment. The opportunity was always there and encouraged for me to read but I didn’t like it. Now the question becomes…
How Do We Get Children Excited About Reading?
It seems logical that students that are excited about reading will engage more. When they engage more, they will read more and will perform better across all literacy practices. They will read better, speak better and write better. Pause for a moment and think about the last time you were so engrossed in a book that you couldn’t put it down. I will never forget when I my children were young and I was reading a book by Judith McNaught. No idea what the title of the book was anymore, but I will never forget looking at the clock one night and discovering it was 4:30 in the morning. I was so engrossed in the story that I had lost all track of time. This is what true engagement looks like to me. The reader is so engrossed that they lose all track of time. They cannot put the book down because they have to keep reading to discover the author’s purpose.
For enjoyment I like to read fiction. I especially enjoy murder mysteries. Reading is often a two fold experience. Readers are faced with anticipation to get to the end of the book and find out the conclusion or how the problem was solved, there is also and element of disappointment and let down when the book is finished because then there is the question of what to read next? I have found that I enjoy reading books in a series so I can jump right into the next one. That keeps my level of engagement high and I am not searching for the next book. This is a technique that I used with students as well. I encouraged them to find a series that they enjoyed.
If children discover the joy of reading, higher engagement will be a natural by product as well a improved academic success. Teachers and parents a like need to be very careful that we are working hard to instill the joy of reading and not killing it. Uncover the mystery of what motivates your child or students. It will pay huge dividends over the course of their life.
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“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
― Frederick Douglass
The joy is in the journey!
Blessings and Peace,,
Mary
