Why is reading for pleasure important?

Reading is an essential skill part of everyday life and is not just a classroom activity. Reading is a skill that becomes better with practice. It is important to develop skills when reading for pleasure at a young age as it can have a distinct impact on your later educational pursuits. It is necessary to continue to develop reading skills, even when a child is beginning to read simple books it helps with their speech and language development.

Our research report specifically shows that the benefits of reading are more likely to be felt when reading takes place through free choice. The outcomes of reading will occur more often and more strongly if reading is enjoyable in the first instance.

What is reading for pleasure?

Reading for pleasure is choosing to read without being set a task of reading, it is making the choice independently because it is something you enjoy rather than something you need to do. Choosing to read, gives the child ownership and their own of direction and sense of achievement when they have finished a book. It encompasses a wide range of genres and publications, and includes both fiction and non-fiction. For example, gardening or cookery books can be read as instructional texts in order to carry out specific tasks, but can also be read purely for pleasure. Similarly, fiction is often considered to be read for pleasure – but may also be read for academic study. Skillswise, 2019

Benefits of reading for pleasure include: increased sense of emotion, improved relationships with others, becoming enthralled by a book, it widens horizons, you can do it anywhere it prevents boredom and promotes relaxation. A growing number of studies show that promoting reading can have a major impact on children and adults and their future. Upon reviewing the research literature, Clark and Rumbold (2006) identify several main areas of the benefits to reading for pleasure: Reading attainment and writing ability; Text comprehension and grammar; Breadth of vocabulary; Positive reading attitudes; Greater self-confidence as a reader; Pleasure in reading in later life; General knowledge; A better understanding of other cultures; Community participation; and A greater insight into human nature and decision-making.

Different authors all use ways of engaging their audience by using different methods. Dahl uses storytelling techniques that have been linked to traditional oral storytelling devices (Adams, 2016) He presents these devices under the acronym ‘HMMMM’ Here, Mind, Music, Magic, Mystery which are all ways of capturing the attention of children when storytelling.

How can you promote reading for pleasure in a classroom?

It is important within a primary school to have reading displayed on doors and in classrooms.  As a teacher you could introduce book of the month or have a reading wall that gets changed regularly, within most primary school classrooms teachers have an interactive book corner which is important for students to have the opportunity to go and have a quiet five minutes to calm down or relax. This can be taken as a reward so children want to enter the book corner and therefore then this promotes good behaviour as well as encouraging reading for pleasure. Within a school it is important to have a library that children have the option to attend on a regular basis and take out a book  that they find interesting and that they are intrigued to read.

References:

The reading agency (2015) Why is reading for pleasure important? online at: https://readingagency.org.uk/news/blog/why-is-reading-for-pleasure-important.html [Accessed 13/4/19]

Skillswise, (2019) Reading for pleasure to support the engagement and motivation of learners. Online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/tutors/using-skillswise-as-a-tutor/reading-for-pleasure [Accessed:13/4/19] BBC

Clark, C. & Rumbold, K. (2006). Reading for Pleasure a research overview. The National Literacy Trust.