A+Project+-+Reading+for+Pleasure

Shannon Carey A Project

**How can teachers encourage students to read for pleasure and not just for school? **  Looking at the curriculum for most schools, reading instructions for students in upper-elementary school and secondary schools begins to diminish as the content students are expected to comprehend becomes more complex. Math, Social Studies and Science become the forefront of student learning and reading comprehension is assumed to be mastered. Because of this misconception, students who struggle with reading, with and without disabilities, continue to fall behind. Their inability to grasp these complex concepts influences their motivation to excel or to improve their reading ability. This discouragement begins the downward spiral of student’s motivation to read for school or even for their own pleasure. Their insecurities about their reading ability are not just academic, but social as well. We must ask ourselves – How can teachers encourage students to read for pleasure and not just for school?

 The importance of continuing to read and improving our reading is essential in all subjects, not just English. We provide textbooks with information in Math, Science and Social Studies but rarely offer alternative texts. The dry, mundane writing in textbooks often loses student interest quickly. After reading //Persepolis, The Good Earth, and Enrique’s Journey,// I was able to make many strong connections to events in history. However, I was often left with many unanswered questions not having a strong background in some of the historical events discussed in each text. What better way to make sense of our history than to read about individuals we can relate to, who have experienced it. Providing alternate text to students in subjects that may not interest them, may offer an alternative way to approach that text and raise their comprehension. Each text offered a wide variety of experiences that would allow many students to make connections and perhaps become more interested in the historic side of the story.

 Giving students the choice of what to read for class, as we have discussed is a positive way to allow students to discover a genre or themes they enjoy. However, this may not solve the problem to motivate a student who struggles to read any text. In a study, researchers looked at middle school students with and without learning disabilities who struggled with reading. Although they were able to slightly improve reading comprehension scores after 18 weeks, the student motivation to read did not. “One implication of this finding for practice is that reading teachers should consider focusing on the importance of reading for students’ lives in addition to improving their reading skills. If youth appreciate the value of reading, they might develop higher motivation to read and thus make even more improvements in reading.” (Melekoglu, p. 14). Students are often told they have to read for grades, but are not often told why it is so important for their future.

 Throughout this semester, we have read various genres with a multiple themes in each. Reading each text, I often thought of students I have taught that did not enjoy reading. Based on the content or the format of the text, I contemplated if these texts would interest particular groups of “non-reading” students. These students do poorly academically and it is often assumed by their peers that they will do poorly. I remember reading a short story from a textbook with a group of students. When I called on a “non-reader” to read, the students began to laugh and the student asked if I could call on someone else. I agreed not wanting the student to feel embarrassed. This was one of many reminders of the social challenges that middle school and high school face. The embarrassment of being a low reader and lack of support from schools motivates students to not read.

 Students must value reading and that can often be influenced by their peers, however, teachers play a role in how students perceive reading. A school in New Zealand demonstrates this by offering a dedicated reading period once every seven days (Holdings & Bond, p. 26). The students go to the Library with couches and cushions to sit on and enjoy books of their choice. They are given the opportunity to read for pleasure that many often do not make time for at home, or sadly because they do not have the resources at home. The library holds events for students and book talks encouraging reading as an exciting activity and something to look forward to. This effort increased the number of students who became eager to read for pleasure.

 As I learned in my RPP, the student I profiled was a low reader and stopped receiving reading help in 4th grade simply because the school no longer offered reading support. She lives in a middle to upper class school district but still these students are not given help in reading beyond 3rd grade. We spend years in school continuing to learn more complex math problems, studying science and its many unknowns, and give history lessons from the beginning of time to present. Without reading this should not be possible, yet we stop supporting our students who struggle to read in 3rd grade. What message are we sending to students about the importance of reading? How are we going to motivate students to think that it is crucial to their continued success in all subjects?

 Student’s motivation to read does begin at home, but the reality is not all students are lucky enough to have that support. As educators, time should be taken to give students opportunities to read and understand its importance in their everyday lives. We should use time in the classroom to give students opportunities to get lost in a book and simply learn to enjoy reading. We should look for ways to incorporate reading into complex topics and allow them alternatives to process these topics. Not all students will love reading, just like not all students love gym class. However, just like exercise, we must teach students that reading is essential to development in our lives. Works Cited  Holding, Robin, and Amanda Bond. "Encouraging a Love of Reading in Our Students." //English// // in Aotearoa // Apr2009.67 (2009): 26-27. Print.

 Melekoglu, Macid A. "Impact of Motivation to Read on Reading Gains for Struggling Readers  With and Without [|Learning Disabilities]." //Learning Disability Quarterly// 34.4 (2011): <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> 248-61. Print