Changing the Narrative: How to encourage your students to read for fun and enjoy it
Hey there friends! John and I are here with another blog post we thought you’d enjoy. It’s good to be back, and we’re excited to share with you a new series on @theteacherteam blog! This new series is called Changing the Narrative and we will be discussing a variety of topics dedicated to creating a new, positive outlook for students, educators, and parents alike.
This week’s Topic
We focus on reading for fun and how we can help students obtain a better relationship with reading. So often, we are asking our students to read passages for tests. Assessments, assessments, and more reading assessments. No wonders students have developed a hatred for reading.
Let’s Change the Narrative- Reading for Fun!
There are a ton of questions…
I think a lot of us have when it comes to why students have a great relationship with fun reading at first only to lessen and lessen as the years go by. This is a complex topic that has been circling around forever, and I know as adults we’ve had our share of negative emotions when it came to reading. And why is that? Why can we all collectively agree that at one point or another we disliked reading or even hated it? Our students and children have a lot more in common with us than we think.
Our Experiences
Well, let’s start somewhere and look back on what we’ve experienced. John and I have always been big readers… when it comes to things we like tee hee. Did other hobbies get in the way? Of course. Were there stages of life where we didn’t read or it wasn’t a priority? Absolutely. My favorite genres are mystery and thriller books while John’s favorite genre is mainly biographical. There’s no wrong way to read whether it’s on a kindle, in a magazine, online articles, blogs, or the old fashion way- book in hand HA.
Foster the Joy of Reading
Believe it or not, students are the same as we are when it comes to reading. It’s difficult to read for fun when students are required to read literature or things they may not like that they’re being graded on. It’s something that can’t be avoided unfortunately, and it may create a negative impact on a student reading for fun when they’re up to their eyeballs in reading “less fun stuff”. As students grow, reading also may be perceived as nerdy or not favorable as their peers-also understandable. Some students may be in 4th grade with an 8th grade reading level and we push or require them to read ONLY in that reading level. (Again, some circumstances are unavoidable and it just comes with moving up each grade and/or growing up in general), but we have to change our mindset as educators a little bit.
Oh, the memories…
I remember one of my daughters having this same experience in K-6th. She’s always been a very high reader, and in elementary school it was required for her to read only in her reading level. I remember her being so discouraged about reading because not only were the words a lot longer/harder, the content was also way above her head as an elementary schooler reading a high school book. That instance turned her off from reading for a very long time, but luckily she’s starting to read for fun again!
So how do we encourage our students and children to read for fun? For starters, help them find books that they’re interested in! There’s an enormous sea of books that are hard to trial and error, so direction is always key especially for younger readers. Reading also doesn’t have to be just your standard novel. There’s so much reading potential whether it’s a magazine, a cookbook, flyers, pamphlets, or Ebooks!
Find “Best Fit” books
Reading has an immense amount of benefits when it comes to a students learning development. Students gain vocabulary unconsciously from reading and are able to retain it much more than studying flashcards or vocab quizzes. The same goes for ESL students! The more you read, the more vocabulary you’re exposed to, which in turn leads a broader vocabulary. This essentially means that reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and verbal language will all grow which is so awesome! Now of course every student or child is different and will each have different struggles when it comes to reading and writing. The best course of action is to do things when they’re ready, give them the opportunity to try all different types of reading material, or even read with them! Not every student is going to love reading, but it might make reading easier on them! Any type of support is good support. 😊
Thank you for catching up with us @theteacherteam for our new series Changing the Narrative! Feel free to reach out to us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter- we love hearing from you guys. Let us know in the comments how YOU encourage your students or children to read! There’s so many layers to this topic and we are both very passionate about it!
Carol and John
@theteacherteam
#theteacherteam