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WHY IS READING FOR PLEASURE IMPORTANT IN PRIMARY EDUCATION?
In this blog I will be discussing the importance of reading for pleasure, especially at primary school. I will explore the benefits of reading and also acknowledge the work of others.
Reading has always been a great way to get children to improve their language and literacy skills. Their use of literal techniques shines in comparison to their peers who perhaps do not read, when writing at school. Considering we are living in a world where technology is becoming more and more of a part in our everyday lives, reading can be used as a stimulation activity, and gives the child a break from bright screens. Reading is an important part of a child’s school life at primary school, where they are assessed by their teacher/ practitioner, and are encouraged to progress by reading as much as they can at home- although some children enjoy reading more than others, the support of parents is always beneficial. The ‘Understood’ organisation offers support to children who have attention issues, which can be frustrating for them. Their website offers online activities for parents and practitioners to do, so that they can see how reading can be difficult for some children who suffer with dyslexia. The aim of the task is to identify which letters are ‘wrong’, to create the correct sentence, for example, “Ha sew e big brown baer” turns into “he saw a big brown bear”
I thought that this was a brilliant activity, as it allows children to develop their reading and writing skills, to be able to read independently.
Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy, and is best known for his theories on education.
“we see how reading is a matter of studying reality that is alive, reality that we are living inside of, reality as history being made and also making us. We can also see how it is impossible to read texts without reading the context of the text, without establishing the relationships” He believed that reading gave us the skill to be able to fully understand the world around us, and that we become aware of our realities. Whether this be in a newspaper or a book, we learn so much from literature and reading for pleasure.
“reading is not simple. Reading mediates knowing and is also knowing, because language is knowledge and not just mediation of knowledge.” This follows up on my earlier discussion on how reading can be difficult for many people. There are two parts to this, which is that reading helps children become aware of words on a page, and how to spell and write, but also that they fully comprehend and understand the context of the material. Comprehending and ‘reading between the lines’ is a massive skill that children learn and develop at primary school. National tests give comprehension tasks, where children must read a text, and then answer the questions based on their abilities to understand the context and also understand which information is relevant and important to the task.
Video
Below I have provided a link to a YouTube video by the Oxford University Press, which is titled ‘Oxford Big Read- The benefits of reading for pleasure’. In the video, the tutor explains how reading will make children confident about learning, and how it can create friendships, and encourage children to discuss their thoughts with others about their books. “Reading is the most useful tool a student can have in order to learn more, and to learn better”
“Reading for pleasure and engagement needs to be distinguished from reading skills… learning to read is different from becoming a reader and fostering engagement in reading is part of the teacher’s role in helping children become lifelong committed readers” (Bearne and Reedy, 2017) Reading is a valuable skill that many children learn at school. They are engaging themselves with literature, and hopefully gaining a broad vocabulary range. The first years of a person’s life is where they develop the most, so learning to have a love for reading should enable that person to carry those literacy skills forward into adulthood.
REFERENCES
1. Chapter 6, Reading for pleasure. Teaching primary English: subject knowledge and classroom practice by Eve Bearne and David Reedy. 2017.
2. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/graham-donaldson-interview-wales-curriculum-13812153
3. The Oxford University Press ELT (2013) ‘Oxford Big Read – The benefits of reading for pleasure’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsUzW6xuruY
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