Want Children To Read For Pleasure? Become a Reading Teacher (or Parent)
The National Literacy Trust recently published their latest research, and the findings are stark. Despite what has felt like a recent push on reading for pleasure in schools they found that "in 2024, the percentage of children and young people who told us they enjoyed reading was its lowest since we started asking about this in 2005."
Now, I know we are up against screens and other forms of entertainment, but we cannot let this deterioration continue, and we must improve it. The benefits of reading for pleasure are too much to sacrifice.
And there is one way I wholeheartedly believe teachers and parents can make a difference.
Way back when in 2016 I came to a decision. A decision which has actually changed my life for the better.
What was that decision? To become a reader (again).
A Reading for Pleasure Journey
I cannot remember learning to read (other than the flash cards my mum did with me pre-school) - I imagine I've always been able to read! As a child, thanks largely to Roald Dahl and later The Hardy Boys series, I was a fairly avid reader - the torch-under-the-covers type. Later in my teens, aside from 'Moonfleet' (still one of my favourite books which I re-read at the beginning of this year) and car, music and skating magazines (which are perfectly good things to read) I read very little.
Studying English at GCSE didn't do much to encourage me to read increasingly complex or canonical texts - we covered Jane Eyre but cannot recall actually having to read the whole book. By the time I was at uni I scraped my 2:1 by skimming through library books for the underlinings and highlightings of more diligent students who preceded me, without ever having to read a book in its entirety. And by that age I certainly wasn't reading fiction. After uni, Ian Rankin rescued me when I picked up a copy of 'The Falls' in a holiday cottage - I spent the next couple of years scouring charity shops and buying new releases; I'm now well versed in Rebus' career.
On one hand I regret that I fell out of love with reading - think of all the books I could have read during my 'dark ages'. But, on the other hand, I get to read them all now of my own volition, now that I'm a (mostly) sensible adult. I'm not one for those '100 books to read before you die' lists but I have begun to try out some of the books that feature on those lists: To Kill A Mockingbird, Brave New World, Candide, Of Mice and Men, Slaughterhouse Five, The Old Man and the Sea. I can honestly say I've enjoyed each one - probably wouldn't have if I'd have been made to read them as a teen.
The benefits of me, as a teacher and parent, reigniting my own passion for reading have been many fold. And consequently, I have come to be of the opinion that every teacher should be a reader - and more than someone who just reads the odd bestseller. And this isn't just my opinion, there is research to back it up.
Reading Children's Books for Pleasure
I'm not ashamed to say that when I got back into reading I read a lot of books intended for children or young adults. Two series of books particularly grabbed me as a teacher: Philip Reeves' 'Mortal Engines' books and Rosemary Sutcliff's trilogy of books about Roman Britain (beginning with 'The Eagle of the Ninth'). Out of all those books I only read one to my class yet it was the start of something good for me.
At the school where I was assistant head and year 6 teacher, we invested heavily in class sets of 'real' books and, as such, the beginning of that academic year saw me and my class reading the excellent 'Noah Barleywater Runs Away' by John Boyne. 'Noah...' was a triumph ("sick book, innit, sir?"). After reading one magical novel my class were hooked ("What we reading next, sir? I bet it's not as good as 'Noah Barleywater'"). We picked up 'Tom's Midnight Garden' which they couldn't get into (I think largely on account of the fact as city-dwellers they didn't understand the concept of having a garden) so we exercised our right as readers not to finish a book - something I have done myself ('We Need To Talk About Kevin', Jo Nesbo's 'The Redeemer').
Then, after reading it myself (in an evening, no less), we started 'Hitler's Canary' by Sandi Toksvig, and once again they were captivated (I caught them trying smuggle copies home, and even worse, trying to skip to the end); it was their new favourite book. I read 'Carrie's War', and whilst I love the book, I didn't think it was for that class - they needed their next favourite book, not just the next book. As teachers we need to make wise choices (which to pick up, which to put down) and to do that we need to know the kids in our class(es).
The children in that class, after years of disinterest, were in the initial stages of what I hope has turned out to be a life-long relationship with books. They discovered new words, new worlds, new ideas, new people and old history. I saw it clearly impact on their writing; vocabulary, idioms and other turns-of-phrase magpied and used as their own.
Children's books were the magic ingredient.
And, although I stopped reviewing children's books in 2021 in order to focus my time more on my work as a consultant, I haven't stopped reading them - I'll always have some fresh new ideas of books to recommend to children. You can view my backlog of book reviews here.
Reading to Children for Pleasure
I've seen similar success in my own children too - two out of three of them have read and loved so many of the books I've read and recommended, and things are slowly improving with my youngest who is a more reluctant reader (although she can read very well). But there was a step before that which I think unlocked their love of reading.
If we want children to love reading, then the first step in my experience is to read to them - speak aloud the thoughts and questions you have, the links you're making and the delight you find in particular phrasings. Read with expression; bring the book alive. Starting the day in this way does as much for me as it does the kids: win/win.
But there are further ways in which teachers who are readers (i.e. those who make a habit of reading) will see benefits in the classroom:
Reading About Reading
Back in 2016 when I read 'Reading Reconsidered' by Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs, and Erica Woolway, it dawned on me just how complex the reading comprehension process is. The authors of the book insightfully break down how to go about establishing and analysing meaning as well as outlining where difficulties lie. They reference many novels by way of giving supporting examples - because I had recently read some of the books mentioned I was able to understand the concepts put forward in the book much more comprehensively than I would if I'd have read it before deciding to become a reader again. But greater than that, as the book discussed plot type and narrator techniques I was able to recall examples from my own reading: 'Oh! Slaughterhouse Five has a non-linear time sequence!' and lo and behold, a page later it's mentioned as an example.
It was following several similar moments as I read that I realised teachers must read for themselves. Yes, we should pre-read the texts we read and teach to our class, and we should read to help us make decisions on book selection but we should also read for our own enjoyment, at our own level.
Why? Because it makes us into readers and it is the only thing that will give us deep insight into what books are like - the varying ways they are narrated, the different plot types, the similarities between two texts, the complexities of older texts, the devices used by authors. Having a continually growing understanding of what books are like is essential if we want to help children to learn how to gain meaningful understanding of a variety of texts. If we aren't readers then we will struggle to model what it is like to be a reader. We will find it difficult to identify why an author has chosen a particular word or why the narrator has left certain pieces of key information out. And if we can't model reading in this way due to a lack of our own experience, are we really teaching reading?
And read about how to teach reading, too. Helpful books like 'Reading Reconsidered' and Chris Such's 'The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading' will open your eyes further to what you are reading in your own novels, as well as what is present in the books you read at school with the children.
Being able to read does not make one a reader. Reading one age-appropriate class novel each half term hardly makes one a reader either. By skimping on one's literary intake (and I have learned this from experience) no matter how you 'push' for the children to enjoy reading, no matter how well you 'do the voices', no matter how Pinterest-worthy your beautiful book corner is, you will probably struggle to effectively teach reading. To reiterate: it comes down to knowing what books (in general, not individual books, although being able to recommend individual books is so important) are like.
Becoming A Reading Teacher
And the encouragement comes in this form: it is an easy change to make. All you do is pick up a book and read it. And repeat. I find bedtime to be the best time - 30 minutes or so each night and I enjoy around 40 books a year and I then get to sleep really easily!
To be a reading teacher you won't need to go into too much deep analysis of your own reading - with half a mind on teaching reading you will start to naturally identify text features and literary devices and similarities between books. The very (continuous) act of being a reader will prepare you far better for being a teacher of reading than if you are not a reader.
Re-read something you've loved before. Find things by the same author. Ask for recommendations based on what you know you like. Visit a bookshop and explore what's available. Go to the library and have a browse. Borrow some books from your kids. There will be something out there for you, and if you're not already a reader, there will be something out there that sparks your passion for reading.
So, if you wouldn't consider yourself a reader, why not set yourself a challenge? Be realistic perhaps - don't aim to read too many too soon, or don't aim to read the heavier, more archaic classics just yet. I'd recommend using Good Reads (app or website or both) to track your achievements and I'd recommend first and foremost that you read for YOU - not even so you'll become a better teacher of reading, and definitely not so you can feel good about having ploughed your way through the James Joyce that everyone says is 'an absolute must read'.
To be a teacher of reading, and one who shows children that reading can be done for pleasure, you should be a reading teacher.
A version of this article was published in the TES magazine entitled 'Throw The Book At Yourself'. It can be read online, with a subscription, here: https://www.tes.com/magazine/archived/throw-book-yourself
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