INTRODUCTION If I can’t bring my book, I’m not going. That ultimatum, printed on the child’s T-shirt, would make literacy experts cheer. After all, research clearly establishes the link between time spent reading independently and reading achievement (Foorman, Schatschneider, Eakin, Fletcher, Moats, & Francis, 2006; Swan, Coddington, & Guthrie, 2010). The more students read books that they can and want to read, the more proficient they become at reading. Avid independent reading not only benefits a student’s academic performance but also fosters a deep love for books that will continue into adulthood. “If we want students to embrace reading now and always, then we need to keep at the forefront of our attention the rich, complex, and profound pleasures of reading” (Wilhelm & Smith, 2013). Research suggests that student choice is one of the two most powerful factors for improving reading motivation and comprehension (Guthrie & Humenick, 2004). When students choose what they read—the authors they follow, the topics they learn about, the genres that excite them—they read. They take ownership of their literacy development and gain confidence in their abilities as readers. Students themselves see the value of book choice, with nine out of ten agreeing that their favorite books are the ones they pick out themselves (Scholastic & YouGov, 2019). Choice positively affects students’ motivation and engagement, which in turn fuels reading gains. In fact, reading engagement connects more strongly to achievement than family background. Students with high reading engagement but lower parental education and income have higher reading achievement than their peers with low engagement and a similar socioeconomic background (Guthrie, 2008). For students to have choice, they need access to many books—the other key factor driving reading growth. “Children must have easy—literally fingertip—access to books that provide engaging, successful reading experiences throughout the calendar year if we want them to read in volume,” note literacy experts Allington and McGill-Franzen (2003, p. 74). In fact, students who have access to a well-stocked classroom library read 50% more than students who do not (Catapano, Fleming, & Elias, 2009). Sadly, many children lack such school-based resources. Research suggests that students attending schools in the most economically disadvantaged communities have the fewest school library resources to draw from (Pribesh, Gavigan, & Dickinson, 2011). They also are missing books in their neighborhood: a study that examined access to children’s books in high-poverty areas found that in one Washington, D.C. neighborhood, 830 children would have to share a single age-appropriate book. “When there are no books, or when there are so few that choice is not an option, book reading becomes an occasion and not a routine. This has enormous consequence for children’s reading development and school success” (Neuman & Moland, 2019, p. 143–433).
SCHOLASTIC LITERACY PRO FOUNDATION PAPER 1
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