|
|
|
The Importance of Reading for Pleasure |
|
Reading research underscores
why it’s important to encourage reading for pleasure outside of tutoring
or teaching sessions. Some insights from research are:
•People learn to read by reading. Skill building is important, but without practice putting all the skills together, learning is slowed down. Quantity and intensity matter. •Frequent practice reading for longer periods of time pays off in fluency and ability to use skills automatically. •Increasing competence is motivating and increased motivation leads to more reading. When students can see their own progress, they want to read more. •Pleasure reading has cognitive benefits. It improves skill and strategy use, builds fluency, enlarges vocabulary, and builds a student’s knowledge of the world. •An in-class focus on outside reading can help students to read more outside of class. When tutors and teachers set aside time for pleasure reading as part of their instruction time, students are more likely to read for pleasure on their own. -Adapted from Laubach LitScape, a publication of Laubach Literacy Action, Winter 2002.
|
|