Why help children read for pleasure?

Teaching this course at the start of the summer holiday means it is the perfect time to help students begin reading for pleasure! There is less on their plate, giving reluctant readers more time to search for something they could enjoy reading.

Students who already enjoy reading might find some ideas to make reading even more enjoyable.

You might be wondering:

Why include ‘Reading for Pleasure’ within a Technologies for Academic Success curriculum?

How does reading for pleasure help students get better grades at school?

Reading for pleasure significantly improves academic success

The recording below (live lesson introducing this topic) and these web pages should start to answer these questions.

Based on research

The impact of reading for pleasure on academic success cannot be overstated. Reading for pleasure was found to be more critical for children’s cognitive development than their parent’s level of education.  Click here for the full report.

Improved well-being

Students who find school challenging are more likely to struggle with mental health issues.

Reading for pleasure not only improves academic success, it has also been shown to improve emotional intelligence, empathy, creativity, confidence and general wellbeing. Research can be found here.

Still not conviced?

If you are still not convinced that this is an area to invest in, I recommend you listen to the radio program that explores the benefits of reading.

To listen https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00187ws

Want to help your child enjoy reading?

Then, it’s time to do some research.

1. Try to find books your child will enjoy.

2. Explore technologies to make reading enjoyable.

Remember, this is not about learning to decode text but enjoying the story. Listening to books is an ideal way to do this.

Do not confuse reading enjoyment with improving reading skills.
Reluctant readers need these to be two separate activities.

What if your child finds reading difficult?

This topic is even more critical when children dislike reading. Helping them develop a love of reading can be challenging.

I unintentionally extinguished any enjoyment in my eagerness to help improve my reading skills.

Wanting to help others learn from my mistakes, I have created an eBook and a supporting video for parents

One of the simple but very effective suggetions in the book above it to turn on subtitles.

Turn on the Subtitles

Turning on quality subtitles means your child will read a staggering number of words. Put them on and your child will read the equivalent number of words that are in all the Harry Potter books, all of the Lord of the Rings, all of the Chronicles of Narnia and everything Roald Dahl wrote, combined!

Research has shown that it can double the chance of your child leaving school as a proficient reader. You can turn them on for the whole family or most streaming services will now allow you to do it just for children’s profiles.

The site gives instructions on how to switch on subtitles. Perhaps, after all, there is a magic button….