The Importance of Reading

By Donna Boam

Our Wednesday briefing on 23 September focused on the importance of instilling a need to read. In the briefing I went through some of the key statistics from The Reading Agency, which can be found here if you want to take a look at them.

The reality is that the benefits of reading are well documented. However, the other reality is that for many of us - children and adults alike - reading is not prioritised as something important in the 21st century. After a long day, the easy option is often just to veg out in front of Netflix rather than curl up with a good book. 

So what can we do about this? As I mentioned in my briefing, by framing the way you ask students about their reading, we can create a culture of expectation. "What are you reading at the moment?" will invite a more positive response than "Why aren't you reading?" Additionally, we as teachers can and should be positive role models. Read with your tutor group at the same time as them. Tell them what you are reading.

Remember that reading can also come in many forms; we want students to be reading books in the morning but outside of school you should also encourage them to read the news through apps such as BBC News or Apple News. 

And in lessons, reading is obviously a key way of learning. You should always consider your pre- and post-reading activities, to firstly, get students "fired up" in what you are about to read, and then secondly, to check their understanding and ascertain their reactions to what you have read. Some pre-reading suggested activities can be found here and some post-reading suggestions can be found here.

Happy Reading!