A SUMMARY OF RESEARCH AND EXPERT OPINION
Written by Lois Bridges, Ph.D. Copyright © 2018 by Scholastic Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: WHAT READING MAKES POSSIBLE ....................................................................................................................... 3 How to Read the Compendium .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 1: READERS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Early Readers.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Adolescent Readers.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Student Engagement................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Learners of English as an Alternative Language (EAL)..................................................................................................................20 Diverse Learners............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 Striving Readers............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 33 CHAPTER 2: READING .......................................................................................................................................................................................................43 Volume, Stamina, and Avid, Independent Reading....................................................................................................................................44 Comprehension........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 53 Background Knowledge......................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Vocabulary........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 61 Fluency................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 3: EQUITY ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 71 Whole Child...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 72 Social Justice................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 76 Engagement and Motivation............................................................................................................................................................................... 81 The Power of Reading Choice, Time, and Pleasure.......................................................................................................................85 New Literacies: Fan-Created Literary Content..................................................................................................................................... 91 CHAPTER 4: TEXT .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 97 Access to Books............................................................................................................................................................................................................98 The Summer Slide—or Reading Leap!.....................................................................................................................................................102 Classroom Libraries..................................................................................................................................................................................................106 Home Libraries................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 111 Genre and Text Types.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 113 Authentic Texts and Text Complexity........................................................................................................................................................ 116 Nonfiction...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................122 Fiction................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 126 CHAPTER 5: TEACH ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 131 Interactive Read-Alouds in the Classroom........................................................................................................................................... 132 Guided Reading........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 138 Text Sets............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 143 Book Clubs.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................148 Reading and Writing Connections............................................................................................................................................................. 154 CHAPTER 6: FAMILY LITERACY .............................................................................................................................................................................. 161 Oral Language—The Foundation of Literacy....................................................................................................................................... 162 Speaking Two (or More) Languages Is Better Than One......................................................................................................... 167 Home Reading Culture..........................................................................................................................................................................................170 The Read-Aloud and Reading Role Models Boost Learning................................................................................................174
LIFETIME BENEFITS: THE CASE FOR INDEPENDENT READING ........................................................................................... 178
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THE JOY AND POWER OF READING
Introduction WHAT READING MAKES POSSIBLE
Reading shapes lives; reading even saves lives. Consider the stories of our greatest leaders across time, culture, and place. Almost all credit reading as an essential force that catapulted them to success. Thomas Edison, for example, had little formal schooling but was a “relentless autodidact” and profited mightily from reading books in his father’s home library, as well as the Detroit public library (Walsh, 2010). But Edison’s story has its basis in science; indeed, explicit, systematic cognitive research gathered over many decades provides proof beyond dispute that reading not only builds our brains, but also exercises our intelligence (Krashen, 2011). Reading Makes Us Smart Anne Cunningham, renowned cognitive psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, explains that reading is a “very rich, complex, and cognitive act” (2003) that offers an immense opportunity to exercise our intelligence in ways we lose if we don’t read. Hundreds of correlated studies demonstrate that the most successful students read the most, while those who struggle read the least. These studies suggest that the more our students read, the better their comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency—and the more likely they are to build a robust knowledge of the world. In short, reading provides us with a cognitive workout that transcends not only our inherent abstract problem-solving abilities, but also our levels of education. Reading makes us smart.
A childhood spent among books prepared me for a lifetime as a reader.
—Carol Jago, past president of the National Council of Teachers of English
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WHAT READING MAKES POSSIBLE
Consider These Facts: • Reading builds a cognitive processing infrastructure that then “massively influences” every aspect of our thinking, particularly our crystallized intelligence —a person’s depth and breadth of general knowledge, vocabulary, and the ability to reason using words and numbers. (Stanovich, 2003). • Children between the ages of 10 and 16 who read for pleasure make more progress not only in vocabulary and spelling but also in math than those who rarely read (Sullivan and Brown, 2013). • “Omnivorous reading in childhood and adolescence correlates positively with ultimate adult success” (Simonton, 1988). • Multiple studies have shown that avid readers demonstrate both superior
literacy development and wide-ranging knowledge across subjects (Allington, 2012; Hiebert and Reutzel, 2010; Sullivan and Brown, 2013).
• Avid teen readers engage in deep intellectual work and psychological exploration through the books they choose to read themselves (Wilhelm and Smith, 2013). In addition to increasing intellectual prowess and expanding vocabulary, reading also educates the imagination, “kindling the spirit of creativity in every human heart” (Jago, 2010). And reading fiction, in particular, expands the heart, making us more compassionate (Oatley, 2014). The Reading Life We’ve known for a long time that the best way to help our students succeed is to encourage them to read. To that end, we want our students to discover themselves as readers, to have a sense of their own unique, rich, and wondrous reading lives. What books make their hearts race? What topics do they return to again and again? Dick Robinson, president and CEO of Scholastic, sums it up: “You are what you read.” Effective teachers work hard to help their students establish a reading identity that declares, “This is who I am as a reader.” This research compendium aims to showcase decades of reliable reading research to support you in your ultimate aim as an educator and parent: to help all children become proficient, avid readers who bring passion, skill, and a critical eye to every reading encounter (Atwell and Merkel, 2016). In this way, our students might grow to exemplify and embrace the words of Myra Cohn Livingston, poet, musician, critic, educator, and author: “Books have more than changed my life— they have made it possible.”
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INTRODUCTION: WHAT READING MAKES POSSIBLE
How to Read the Compendium Start anywhere and read in any direction. Let your interests be your guide. The compendium is organized around six sections: • Readers: We profile early, adolescent, and boy readers—plus emerging bilinguals, students from diverse backgrounds, and striving readers. • Reading: High-volume readers build an expansive capacity to comprehend what they read. They develop robust vocabularies, deep knowledge of the world, and a proficient, fluid reading style. • Equity: Avid readers are highly engaged and motivated. With stamina, self-efficacy, and a can-do spirit, they understand the joy and power of reading. • Texts: At school and in their homes, all children must have access to abundant texts of all kinds (print and e-books, short texts, magazines, and more). Children also need to develop a sense of genre, text structure, and reading purpose. • Teaching: Students need daily time at school and at home to read and become enthusiastic readers. They also need instructional support such as the interactive read- aloud (reading aloud plus conversation about the book), guided reading, book clubs, and the benefit of writing about reading. • Family Literacy: Families with a rich reading culture—access to books and lots of talk about books—are more likely to raise successful readers. The compendium does not in any way represent a definitive treatment—the field of reading is vast, varied, and vital. When we investigate reading, we explore cognition, linguistics, psychological influences, and social-cultural traditions. Instead, the compendium is meant to provide a brief introduction to the benefits of independent reading, or free voluntary reading (Krashen 2011), and suggest some of the pivotal research behind these benefits. It’s a place for you to begin your own exploration. As our title suggests, we include both research and expert opinion so the references reflect a range of formats—traditional research reports, as well as newspaper and professional journal articles. Additionally, when appropriate, we link to the Scholastic anthology: Open a World of Possible: Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading, a collection of essays authored by some of the leading literacy experts in the country (Bridges, 2014). Depending on the depth of your interest, you may want to use the references we cite as the starting point for a deeper investigation. Note that some of the links are live, enabling you to read the original research online or download a print copy.
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HOW TO READ THE COMPENDIUM
Did you know? Moll and Bus’s 2011 meta-analysis of 99 studies that focused on the leisure-time reading of preschoolers, kindergarteners, students in Grades 1–12 , and college students found an upward spiral of casualty between print exposure and oral language skills, reading comprehension, and technical reading and spelling.
For each year of reading, students’ skills in these domains improved by:
34%
20%
19%
13%
12%
Preschool
Primary Grades Middle School
High School
College
Many of the texts I read as a child have been like roadmap markers, showing me a range of life options … helping me define myself not only as a reader but also as a human being. —Dr. Alfred Tatum, dean of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago
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THE JOY AND POWER OF READING
Chapter 1 READERS > Early Readers > Adolescent Readers > Boys > Learners of English as an Alternative Language
> Diverse Learners > Striving Readers
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EARLY READERS “Children exposed to lots of books during their early childhood will have an easier time learning to read than those who are not.” —Dr. Henry Bernstein, Harvard Medical School
KEY FINDINGS
> > “Learning to read represents the weaving together of multiple skills, understandings, and orientations, many of which have their developmental origins in infancy and toddlerhood” (Pinnell, 2018; Rohde, 2015; Snow and Juel, 2005; Pinnell and Fountas, 2011). > > The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) recommends that pediatricians encourage parents to read aloud daily, ideally multiple times throughout the day, from birth on (2014). As noted in the APP policy, “Those 15-20 minutes spent reading with a child can be the best part of the day. It’s a joyful way to build child-parent relationships and set a child on the pathway to developing early literacy skills.” > > Children who are routinely read to day in and day out—and are immersed in rich talk about books and the various activities in which they are engaged—thrive (AAP, 2014; Cunningham and Zilbulsky, 2014; Needlman, 2006, 2014; Bernstein, 2010). > > Children with less exposure to books and talk may face learning challenges in school and beyond (AAP, 2014; Dickinson, McCabe, and Essex, 2006; Neuman and Celano, 2012). > > Literacy development is less about a limited critical period and more about “windows of opportunity” that extend across early childhood, culminating perhaps around the age of 10 (Dickinson and Neuman, 2006). > > Educators and parents alike should feel a sense of urgency, as experiences with books and reading aloud strengthen the neural systems. These systems, which underlie auditory perceptions, attention, and language, develop rapidly during the first five years of life (AAP, 2014; Dickinson, McCabe, and Essex, 2006; Mol and Bus, 2011; Cunningham and Zibulsky, 2014). > > Phonemic awareness and letter knowledge are the two best school-entry predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first two years of instruction (National Reading Panel).
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KEY FINDINGS
> > To implement systematic phonics instruction, educators must keep the end in mind and ensure that children understand the purpose of learning letter sounds and that they are able to apply these skills accurately and fluently in their daily reading and writing activities. (NRP, 2000). > > Reading is superficially visual. “Visually perceived sequences of letters are translated by the brain into sounds, syllables, and words that link encoded language with oral language, so that the words that are read are ‘heard’ in the mind and connected to their meanings” (Liberman 1999). > > To break the code for reading a child must become “phonologically aware” that words can be broken down into smaller units of sounds (phonemes) and that it is these sounds that the letters represent (Tallal, 2012).
More to Know: The Miracle of Early Reading Experiences
Earl Martin Phalen is the CEO of Reach Out and Read, a program that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Phalen explains both the advantages of early reading experiences, as well as what is lost when children are deprived: The brain develops faster than any other time between the ages of zero and three. Because of this, it’s important to foster literacy during the early stages of life. There’s real opportunity in providing parents with books and encouragement to read to their children regularly, sing with their children, and engage their children in conversation— all of which prepares our next generation to be successful in school (2011). Literacy development is less about a specific critical period and more about windows of opportunity that extend across early childhood. So even if a child has limited access to language and literacy experiences in the home, there’s much ground to be gained through literacy-rich preschool programs, extended day programs, cross-age literacy partners, and the like. During late infancy to late childhood, synaptic density reaches a plateau—this is the period of maximal responsiveness to environmental input (Huttenlocker et al., 2002; Mol and Bus, 2011). Pam Schiller (2010), an early childhood curriculum specialist, lists six key findings from the imaging technology used in neurobiology and early brain development research:
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EARLY READERS
• The brain of a three-year-old is two and a half times more active than that of an adult. • Brain development is contingent on a complex interplay between genes and the environment. • Experiences wire the brain.
• Repetition strengthens the wiring. • Brain development is nonlinear. • Early relationships affect wiring.
Again, the “windows of opportunity” suggest especially fertile times when the developing brain is most susceptible to environmental input and most able to “wire skills at an optimal level.” Increasingly, we understand that an early, frequent exposure to print has benefits that last a lifetime, including academic success and the prevention of reading challenges later in a child’s life (Dickinson, McCabe, and Essex, 2006; Phillips, Norris, and Anderson, 2008). The Mol and Bus (2011) comprehensive meta-analysis of print exposure lends scientific support for the widespread belief that a deep engagement with books and repeated exposure to print have a “long-lasting impact on academic success.” Mol and Bus explain: Reading development starts before formal instruction, with book sharing as one of the facets of a stimulating home literacy environment. Books provide a meaningful context for learning to read, not only as a way of stimulating reading comprehension but also as a means of developing technical reading skills even in early childhood. In pre- conventional readers, we found that print exposure was associatedmoderately with oral language and basic knowledge about reading. Reading books remained important for children in school who were conventional readers… Reading routines, which are part of the child’s leisure time activities, offer substantial advantages for oral language growth. Interestingly, independent reading of books also enables readers to store specific words from knowledge and become better spellers. Finally, college and university students who read for pleasure may also be more successful academically. How Literacy Develops and Predicts Later Academic Success In 2008, the National Institute of Literacy issued a report, Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel , and, among its many findings, stated that the foundational reading and writing skills that develop from birth to age five have a clear and consistently strong relationship with later conventional literacy skills. Our understanding of the power of early immersion in literacy has only grown. The state of Michigan—guided by Nell Duke’s early literacy research (2016)—recommends 10 essential literacy practices that prekindergarten children should experience every day. These include: 1. Intentional use of literacy artifacts in dramatic play throughout the classroom. Reading and writingmaterials are not only present but used throughout the classroom environment. 2. Read-aloud with reference to print. Daily read-alouds include verbal and nonverbal strategies for drawing children’s attention to print.
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3. Interactive read-alouds with a comprehension and vocabulary focus. The teacher reads aloud age-appropriate books and other materials, print or digital, including sets of texts that are thematically and conceptually related and texts that are read multiple times. 4. Play with sounds inside words. Teachers help children develop phonological awareness of sounds within language and especially phonemic awareness , which involves the ability to segment and blend individual phonemes within words. 5. Brief, clear, explicit instruction in letter names, the sound(s) associated with the letters, and how letters are shaped and formed. Instruction that is effective in fostering development of letter-sound knowledge is supported by tools such as cards with the children’s names, alphabet books, and references throughout the day to letters and sounds in the environment. 6. Interactions around writing. Adults engage in deliberate interactions with children around writing. Opportunities for children to write their name as well as informational, narrative, and other texts that are personally meaningful to them are at the heart of writing experiences. These deliberate interactions include interactive writing and scaffolded writing techniques. 7. Extended conversation. Adults initiate open-ended conversations with children, sharing stories of past events and discussing future events. 8. Provision of abundant reading material in the classroom. The classroom includes: a wide range of books and other materials connected to children’s interests that reflect their backgrounds and cultural experiences, including class- and child-made books, recorded books, books that children can borrow to bring home and/or access digitally at home, and comfortable places to look at books, frequently visited by the teacher(s) and by adult volunteers recruited to the classroom. 9. Ongoing observation and assessment of children’s language and literacy development that informs their education. Closing Thoughts Even very young children acquire complex understandings about print when they have been involved with innumerable print encounters and interactions—noticing print in the environment, talking with adults about the functional print they use every day (e.g., the print on kitchen appliances, on food products, on electronic gadgets, and so on), listening to and discussing stories that are read aloud to them from a favorite storybook, playing with language through riddles, rhymes, songs, and so forth (MacPhee, 2018; Cunningham and Zibulsky, 2014; Bennett-Armistead, Duke, and Moses, 2005; Harwayne, 2009). And as they engage with print, young children are not only learning about written language and how it works, they are also learning about the world and how it works. The conceptual knowledge they acquire and the background knowledge they build is cumulative and invaluable.
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EARLY READERS
References American Academy of Pediatricians. (2014). Policy Statement. Bennett-Armistead, S., Duke, N., and Moses, A. (2005). Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to 5. New York: Scholastic. Bernstein, H. (2010). “The Importance of Reading to Your Child.” A Parent’s Life . Cambridge, MA: Harvard School of Medicine Cunningham, A. and Zibulsky, J. (2014). Book Smart. How to Develop and Support Successful, Motivated Readers. New York: Oxford University Press. Dickinson, D. and Neuman, S., (Eds.) (2006). Handbook of Early Literacy Research, 2. New York: Guilford. Dickinson, D., McCabe, A., and Essex, M. (2006). “Cognitive and Linguistic Building Blocks of Early Literacy.” in D. Dickinson and S. Neuman, (Eds.), Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2. New York: Guilford. Harwayne, S. (2009). Look Who’s Learning to Read . New York: Scholastic. Huttenlocker, P. R., et al. (2002). Neural Plasticity: The Effects of Environment on the Development of the Cerebral Cortex. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. MacPhee, K. (2018). See: www.scholastic.com/ education/ookaisland/#/research Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators General Education Leadership Network Early Literacy Task Force (2016). Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy: Prekindergarten . Lansing, MI. Mol, S. and Bus, A. (2011). “To Read or Not to Read: A Meta-Analysis of Print Exposure from Infancy to Early Adolescence.” Psychological Bulletin . Vol. 137(2). National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). “Developing Early Literacy.” Jessup, MD: National Institute of Literacy. Retrieved from: www.nifl.gov
Needlman, R. (2014). “A Doctor Discovers Reading.” In L. Bridges (Ed.), Open a World of Possible: Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading . New York: Scholastic. Needlman, R., Klass, P., and Zukerman, B. (2006). “A Pediatric Approach to Early Literacy.” In D. Dickinson, and S. Neuman (Eds.), Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2 . New York: Guilford. Neuman, S. and Celano, D. (2012). “Worlds Apart: One City, Two Libraries and Ten Years of Watching Inequality Grow.” American Educator . Phalen, E. (2011). Reach Out and Read. Retrieved from: www.reachoutandread.org/about-us/ our-organization/national-center-leadership Phillips, L. M., Norris, S. P., and Anderson, J. (2008). “Unlocking the Door: Is Parents’ Reading to Children the Key to Early Literacy Development?” Canadian Psychology: Canadian Psychological Association. Pinnell, G. (2018). “Oral Language as a Foundation for Literacy Learning.” In P. Scharer (Ed.), Responsive Literacy: A Comprehensive Framework . New York: Scholastic. Pinnell, G. S, and Fountas, I. (2011). Literacy Beginnings: A Prekindergarten Handbook . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Rohde, L. (2015). “The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model: Early Literacy in Context.” SAGE Open , January-March: 1–11 Schiller, P. (2010). “Early Brain Development
Research: Review and Update.” Brain Development Exchange . November/ December, 26-30.
Sénéchal, M. and LeFevre, J. A. (2002), “Parental Involvement in the Development of Children’s Reading Skill: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study, Child Development . Vol. 73. Snow, C. and Juel, C. (2005). “Teaching Children to Read: What Do We Know About How to Do
It?” The Science of Teaching Reading: A Handbook . Malden, MA: Blackwell.
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ADOLESCENT READERS “Teenagers want to read—if we let them. Students become committed, passionate readers given the right books, time to read, and regular responses to their reading.” —Penny Kittle, Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers
KEY FINDINGS
> > Young people do more reading and writing today—on paper and online—than ever before, although they may not always read the kind of texts that adults value (International Literacy Association, 2012; Wilhelm and Smith, 2016; Moje et al., 2008). > > Teens are reading a wide variety of texts including traditional print text and digital (multimodal) text (International Reading Association, 2014, Moje et al., 2008; Burke, 2013). > > Youth use print texts in the context of other activities in their lives—often with social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual purposes (Wilhelm and Smith, 2013; Ivey and Johnston, 2013; Moje et al., 2008). > > Adolescent reading and writing practices “foster communication, relationships, and self-expression among peers and family members; support their economic and psychological health; and allow them to construct … identities that offer them power in their everyday lives” (Moje et al., 2008). > > Jeff Wilhelm and Michael Smith’s research (2013) on the nature and variety of the pleasure avid adolescent readers take from their out-of-school reading demonstrates that pleasure is not incidental to reading—it’s essential. The authors explain, “We found that the young people with whom we worked spoke of their reading pleasure with remarkable sophistication—and their pleasure supported the intense and high-level engagement with texts that schools seek to foster.” > > Effective teachers understand the importance of adolescent choice and ownership, as well as the aim to help teens develop a sense of their own reading lives (Atwell and Merkel, 2016; Wilhelm and Smith, 2016; Kittle, 2013; Miller, 2009; Tatum, 2013; Guthrie, 2008; Gallagher, 2009).
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ADOLESCENT READERS
More to Know: Adolescents Crave Social Connection Early adolescence and the shift to middle school represent a significant milestone for most students. In addition to encountering more demanding literacy challenges across the disciplines, middle school students experience a multi-faceted relationship with reading and writing—both at school and at home. Adolescents crave social connection. For young teens, literacy is shaped by popular culture, family influences, and relationships with their peers (Ivey and Johnston, 2013; Moje, 2007; Gruwell, 2014). Their texts include logos, music, magazines, websites, and popular and classical literature—as well as the ubiquitous social media. Engagement is a central force in adolescent literacy learning. It’s simple cause and effect: adolescents who see something of value in school reading, read and enjoy academic success. And those who don’t, don’t read and typically fall behind. John Guthrie, education psychologist and literacy researcher, has been at the forefront of research on reading engagement (2008). From his research and that of others, we know that reading disengagement is more often than not the root cause of school failure and dropouts. Today’s adolescents, given their 24/7 plugged-in status, texting, tweeting, and tinkering with their digital profiles, might claim, “reading is my life.” A study by the Pew Research Center (Lenhart, 2015) reports that a “typical teen sends and receives 30 texts per day. For older girls, 15-17, the number climbs to 50 texts a day.” What’s more, aided by the convenience of smartphones, “92% of teens report going online daily—including 24% who say they go online ‘almost constantly.’” As Krashen (2011) reminds us, all that digital reading and writing represents self-selected “narrow reading,” which maximizes language and literacy development. Krashen explains that “narrow reading means focusing on one topic, author, or genre according to the reader’s interests.” Inviting kids to zero in on texts that hold the greatest interest nearly “guarantees interest and comprehensibility because of the reader’s greater background knowledge.” Series books represent a kind of narrow reading and often, for this reason, offer a great source of pleasure for young or challenged readers. Over time, narrow readers expand their interests. What Adolescents Need In 2012, the International Reading Association (IRA) issued a position paper on adolescent literacy, defining it as “the ability to read, write, understand and interpret, and discuss multiple texts across multiple contexts.” The IRA recognizes literacy as flexible and multiple-dimensional; it may manifest as traditional print or fluid digital and appear as a book, instant message, text, video game, or social media, “all of which can be used as tools for understanding content as well as forming social relationships.”
Our 21st-century expansive world of literacy requires dynamic instruction to match. The IRA
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position paper lists the following eight instructional supports that adolescents deserve: • Content-area teachers who provide instruction in the multiple literacy strategies needed to meet the demands of the specific discipline • A culture of literacy in their schools with a systematic and comprehensive programmatic approach to increasing literacy achievement for all • Access to and instruction with multimodal texts • Differentiated literacy instruction specific to their individual needs • Opportunities to participate in oral communication when they engage in literacy activities
• Opportunities to use literacy in the pursuit of civic engagement • Assessments that highlight their strengths and challenges • Access to a wide variety of print and non-print materials Closing Thoughts
As the world around us becomes ever more interconnected and complex, the demands on literacy increase. Today’s new tools and technologies demand ever-higher levels of processing and performance. Access to high-level literacy is more important than ever. In 2014, Common Sense Media issued “Children, Teens, and Reading,” a report suggesting that teens are pulling away from reading. In 1984, 70 percent of 13-year-olds read weekly, compared with 53 percent now. Forty-eight percent of 17-year-olds say they have read for pleasure only once or twice in the last year, according to another study cited in the report. New Yorker writer David Denby, musing over the demise of teen reading, offers this humorous spectacle: A common sight in malls, in pizza parlors, in Starbucks, and wherever else American teens hang out: three or four kids, hooded, gathered around a table, leaning over like monks or druids, their eyes fastened to the smartphones held in front of them. The phones, converging at the center of the table, come close to touching. The teens are making a communion of a sort. Looking at them, you can envy their happiness. You can also find yourself wishing them immersed in a different kind of happiness— in a superb book or a series of books, in the reading obsession itself! You should probably keep on wishing. Yes, wish for a teacher like Nancie Atwell, Anne Merkel, Michael Smith, or Jeff Wilhelm, all who know teens, know books, and understand the essential role of pleasurable, self- selected reading—and the difference it makes for all readers. High school teachers Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle (2018) sum up their teaching goals for their students: We want to show our students the beauty that reading and writing can bring to their lives. We do not want them to be indifferent; we want them to be empowered and independent, curious, and passionate.
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References
Atwell, N. and Merkel, A. (2016). The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers , Second Edition . New York: Scholastic. Burke, J. (2013). The English Teacher’s Companion , Fourth Edition . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Retrieved from: http://englishcompanion.com Common Sense Media (2014). “Children, Teens, and Reading.” www.commonsensemedia.org Denby, D. (2016). “Do Teens Read Seriously Anymore?” New Yorker . Gallagher, K. and Kittle, P. (2018). 180 Days. Two
Kittle, P. (2013). Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Retrieved from: booklovefoundation.org Krashen, S. (2011). Free Voluntary Reading . Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. Lenhart, A. (2015). Teens, Social Media
and Technology Overview. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/ teens-social-media-technology-2015.
Miller, D. (2009). The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Moje, E, Overby, M., Tysvaer, N., and Morris, K. (2008). “The Complex World of Adolescent Literacy: Myths, Motivations, and Mysteries.” Harvard Education Review. Vol. 78. National Council Teachers of English (NCTE). (2007) Adolescent Literacy. A policy research brief produced by the National Council Teachers of English. Retrieved from: pewinternet.org/Press- Releases/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones. aspx Tatum, A. (2013). Fearless Voices: Engaging a New Generation of African American Adolescent Male Writers. New York: Scholastic. Tatum, A. (2009). Reading for Their Life. (Re)building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wilhelm, J. and Smith, M. (2016). “The Power of Pleasure Reading: What We Can Learn from the Secret Reading Lives of Teens.” English Journal. Vol. 105. Wilhelm, J., and Smith, M. (2014). “The Most Important Lesson Schools Can Teach Kids About Reading: It’s Fun.” The Atlantic. Wilhelm, J., and Smith, M. (2013). Reading Unbound: Why Kids Need to Read What They Want and Why We Should Let Them . New York: Scholastic.
Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Gruell, E. (2014). “A Legacy Lives On.” In L. Bridges (Ed.), Open a World of Possible: Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading. New York: Scholastic. Guthrie, J. (2008). Engaging Adolescents in Reading. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. IRA Adolescent Task Force. (2012). “Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement of the International Reading Association.” Delaware: International Reading Association. Ivey, G. and Johnston, P. (2013). “Engagement with Young Adult Literature: Outcomes and Processes.” Reading Research Quarterly . Vol. 48(3). Kamil, M. L., Borman, G. D., Dole, J., Kral, C. C., Salinger, T., and Torgesen, J. (2008). Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices: A Practice Guide, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc.
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STUDENT ENGAGEMENT “The data from our study of boys and reading, in fact, challenge us to rethink our answers to the most fundamental questions we ask as teachers: Why do we teach? What do we teach? How do we teach?” —Dr. Michael W. Smith and Dr. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys
KEY FINDINGS
> > Scholastic’s 2016 Kid and Family Reading Report surveyed more than 2,500 U.S. children, aged 6-17, and found that only 52% of boys (versus 72% of girls) said they liked reading books over the summer, while only 27% of boys (versus 37% of girls) said they read books for fun at least five days a week. Forty-five percent of boys (versus only 36% of girls) said they often have trouble finding books they like. > > Though these numbers are based on averages—there are boys, of course, who love to read and may be reading above grade level—in general, in elementary school, girls tend to be more verbal and get off to a faster start with reading than boys. > > What’s more, some boys seem to regard reading as a “feminine activity” and may lack strong male reading models. This is a pattern that persists into adulthood, as according to a 2016 Pew Research Study, “women are more likely to read books than men.” Indeed, 32% of men (versus only 23% of women) surveyed said that they hadn’t read a single book in the past year. > > The standardized NAEP test, known as the nation’s report card, indicates that by the senior year of high school, boys have fallen nearly 20 points behind their female peers in reading (Von Drehle, 2007). > > However, new evidence suggests that when boys are told that a reading achievement test is a “game” (versus a test of their reading achievement) they actually outscore the girls (Lukits, 2016). > > Eighty percent of high-school dropouts are boys, and fewer than 45% of students enrolled in college are young men (Tyre, 2005). > > Seventy percent of children diagnosed with learning disabilities are male (Tyre, 2005). This means that boys are more than twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with learning disabilities.
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KEY FINDINGS
> > In elementary school, boys are twice as likely to be placed in special education classes as girls (Tyre, 2006). > > “More boys than girls are in special education classes. More boys than girls are prescribed mood-managing drugs. This suggests that today’s schools are built for girls, and boys are becoming misfits” (Von Drehle, 2007). > > Compared to 2010, in 2012 boys were more likely to think reading books for fun was important (39% in 2010 vs. 47% in 2012), but they still lagged behind girls on this measure (47% for boys in 2012 vs. 56% for girls in 2012) (Scholastic, 2013). > > Among children who have read an e-book, one in five says he or she is reading more books for fun; boys are more likely to agree than girls (26% vs. 16%) (Scholastic, 2013). More to Know: Boys Lag Academically When it comes to reading, girls seem to have the jump on boys. According to a 2010 study by the Center on Education Policy, boys are lagging behind girls on standardized reading tests in all 50 states, and in some states, boys are trailing girls by as much as 10 percentage points (although note Lukits’s 2016 research and the achievement surge boys demonstrated when they were told that the reading test was a “game”—then they outscored the girls!). In Virginia and New Hampshire, for example, middle school girls did better than boys in reading proficiency by 15 percentage points. In New York, girls were 13 percentage points ahead. Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, notes, “In the past, boys did not do better in the first couple years of school. Girls did better. But then boys caught up. The difference now is we’re finding that boys are not catching up.” Of course, like most things in life, the reason for the reading achievement gap between boys and girls is multifaceted. In Teenage Boys and High School English , Bruce Pirie (2002) reminds readers of biological differences—for example, boys tend to develop language skills more slowly than girls. And socially, female teachers and librarians typically shape school reading. For some students, reading may be regarded as a “feminine, passive activity,” with boys favoring more rugged and active pastimes such as sports or other outdoor activities. Also, boys may not feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings about the books they read. No question it’s complicated, and in fact, Pirie cautions that the challenge is best viewed as a gender continuum: “We must be prepared for the likelihood that strategies intended to help boys will also benefit many girls” (2002).
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Additionally, the acceleration of formal academic learning has hurt boys far more than girls: Boys are far more likely to be held back a grade in fourth grade and then again in ninth grade, an action that promotes a suspension rate for boys that is twice as high as that of girls. This in turn leads to a male dropout rate of 32 percent compared to 25 percent for females (Lamm, 2010). Closing Thoughts Pam Allyn, author of Best Books for Boys , notes that neither boys nor girls thrive with a lack of engaging instruction and curriculum innovation. She suggests: Let’s pay attention to the way our children learn best, at home, at school, and in the world. Let’s embrace unique learning styles and use them to inform our teaching. Let’s give our children options that intrigue them and tap into their natural curiosity. Together we can help every child feel empowered in the classroom and beyond. Finally, as children’s author Jon Scieszka reminds us, “The good news is that research also shows that boys will read—if they are given reading that interests them.”
References
Allyn, P. (2011). Pam Allyn’s Best Books for Boys . New York: Scholastic. Lamm, D. (2010). “Our Boys Are Falling Behind in Education.” Denver Post . Retrieved from: www.denverpost.com/opinion/ ci_14893585#ixzz1Mbtk6ame Lukits, A. (2016) Can Boys Beat Girls in Reading? New York: Wall Street Journal . Pew Research Center. (2016). Book Reading. Pew Research Center. Pirie, B. (2002). Teenage Boys and High School English. Portsmouth, NH. Heinemann. Scieszka, J. (2014). Guys Read: www.guysread.com Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report. (2016).
Tyre, P. (2008). The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do. New York: Crown. Tyre, P. (2005). “Boy Brains, Girl Brains.” Newsweek . September 19. Retrieved from: www.newsweek. com/2005/09/18/boy-brains-girl-brains.html Von Drehle, D. (2007). “The Myth About Boys.” Time . Wilhelm, J., and Smith, M. (2002). Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
New York: Scholastic. Retrieved from: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/kfrr
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LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS AN ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE (EAL) “Reading in two languages allowed me to fall in love with a different symphony of sounds and rhythms, landscapes, characters, and behaviors. When I began to read in English, I noticed not only a different grammar order, but different life perspectives, too.” —Dr. F. Isabel Campoy, award-winning language scholar and author
KEY FINDINGS
> > Free voluntary reading or independent reading is one of the most powerful tools we have in language education. Research suggests that the acquisition of English as a second language is enhanced by native language use. Thus, effective teachers, to the extent possible, provide emerging bilinguals with trade books in both languages (Krashen, 2011; Goldenberg, 2011; Freeman et al. 2016). > > “Krashen, Lee, and McQuillan (2006) reported that more access to school libraries of at least 500 books was associated with higher reading scores for 10-year-olds in 40 countries, tested in their own language. This result held even when SES was controlled” (Krashen, 2011) > > “Educational linguists have developed a theory of bilingualism that has significant implications for teaching emergent bilingual students. The centerpiece of this perspective is that bilingualism is no longer viewed as a mastery of two discrete languages but instead as the ability to strategically and continuously weave in and out of languages depending on the context and audience—a skill linguists call translanguaging” (Garcia and Wei, 2014; Flores, nd). > > “Translanguaging is the discursive norm in bilingual families and communities” (Garcia and Wei, 2014). In other words, bilinguals have one linguistic repertoire, and when expressing themselves, draw from all the languages that they possess in order to communicate. > > Learning to read in their native language capitalizes on what children already know before their schooling begins. “When children enter school, they are equipped with a working vocabulary and a general ability to communicate in
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