There’s an unsettling trend: 100 per cent of kids in Kindergarten read for pleasure. By Grade 4, only 54 per cent say they do; 30 per cent in Grade 8 and just 19 per cent are choosing to read for enjoyment by Grade 12. Something happens to the reading experience of young people to make it seem a lot less enjoyable as they move from elementary to middle school to high school.
Certainly young children must get off to a good start in reading, but it is not sufficient for producing confident readers. It’s actually during the middle school years that most students (ideally) refine their reading preferences; become sophisticated readers of informational text; and lay the groundwork for lifelong habits they will use in their personal, professional and civic lives.
How do we keep our kids reading?
Certainly teachers must provide continuous reading instruction where students have access to a variety of print and non-print resources. Middle and high school students need guidance to acquire deep knowledge of concepts, demonstrate their ability to problem-solve, collaborate, analyze, synthesize and show critical-thinking skills.
And, as parents, we want our children to become independent and take responsibility for their own thoughts, emotions and actions. During the middle school years, young adolescents can use reading to help answer profound questions about themselves and the world.
When we read, particularly when we lose ourselves in fiction, we’re exposed to people we haven’t met. We sample ways of being, thinking and feeling that may never have occurred to us before. Books can speak to tweens and teens and share experiences, viewpoints and open up new worlds. Our young people enter into a dialogue with the author and through this experience, begin to evolve their own unique personality. And they will develop as an independent reader - someone who chooses and values reading for pleasure and purpose.
Allowing children and young adults to make their own choice of reading material is critical. If school-assigned reading is playing any part in ‘turning them off,’ then pleasure reading is best driven by free will. Friends, popular culture or hobbies may influence them; whatever they choose has value, and the potential to keep them reading.
Perhaps surprisingly, tweens and teens still prefer to read actual books rather than via technology. A study found 37 per cent of teens choose print, 29 per cent prefer e-Readers and 34 per cent have no preference. More than 40 per cent didn’t expect their preference to change during the next year.
Parents and caregivers can help create an optimum environment that fosters reading
Simply model reading! If books and reading are commonplace in your home, it’s more likely your children will be independent readers too. Talk about ideas and value different viewpoints. Find books the whole family can read together and even if they cringe initially, consider the idea of reading aloud a shared book over several weeks. Take turns as you gather in the kitchen and prep dinner. Pick something intriguing or challenging. It’s okay; tweens and teens are equipped to encounter difficult text, to say: ‘I can do this,’ to preserve, be curious, understand, question... and push back even more!
Websites for your tweens and teens (maybe just leave them a note on their pillow):
teenink.com
Top Reads for Tweens and Teens
Provided by the Calgary Public Library
I’ll Give You the Sun (Fiction) by Jandy Nelson. At 13, twins Jude and Noah are incredibly close, but at 16, they’re barely speaking to each other. Each twin knows half of the story; neither realizes that finding their way back to each other might be the only way to make themselves whole again.
Challenger Deep (Fiction) by Neal Shusterman. Caden Bosch is a normal high school student. Caden is trapped on a sailing ship headed for the deepest part of the sea, with a mad captain and a mutinous parrot. He has two worlds inside his head, and he can’t quite tell what’s real anymore. A haunting, powerful story of mental illness based on the author’s own experience with his son.
Nimona (Graphic Novel) by Noelle Stevenson. A shape-shifting monster girl, a kindhearted villain and a villainous hero. In this epic fantasy, first appearances never reveal the truth.
Steelheart (Fiction)by Brandon Sanderson (+Reckoners series). Years ago, a mysterious red light appeared in the sky and gave some people superpowers. It’s true what they say, though: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In a world full of supervillains, can ordinary people find the strength to be heroes?
Calgary Public Library 2016 Teen Reading Guide. Read whatever you want! Grab a magazine, book, Manga or graphic novel. It does not matter what you read, as long as it is fun! To download the Teen Reading Guide, visit calgarylibrary.ca/reading-guides.
Calgary Reads innovates and inspires the reading revival, because we all have a role to play in creating a thriving community where all children can read with confidence and joy! Visit calgaryreads.com for videos, resources and games to help you build the joy of reading in your child.
Calgary’s Child Magazine © 2024 Calgary’s Child
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