The Power of Reading
My five year old son, Pierce, has just begun his reading journey. Each night, we sit down with a few books that he and I have chosen and read together. The books that are helping him learn are short and simple. He was delighted to read aloud to his grandparents “Mat sat on Pat”, and there was a look of sheer excitement when he was successful highlighted his learning. He was progressing and felt confident about reading.
Of course, not every night is like this. Some nights, he is wildly distracted, and refuses to play the game I have created. Sometimes, he hates reading, preferring that Dad would read the snake book to him. For Pierce, reading is hard. He is learning to decode the letters, recognise patterns and sounds, and put it together into speech, and all of this takes its toll on his admittedly poor attention span. Yet we continue in this pattern, some days successful and other days not. The routine helps, as he knows it is just part of what we do. We continue because I know the value of reading, and want to instil this in Pierce.
“For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath”. Matthew 25: 29
The Matthew Effect
One of the most interesting concepts in modern day education is “The Matthew Effect” based on the Gospel reading above. A psychologist, Keith Stanovich, coined the term to describe the widening gap between those who can read, and those who cannot.
The principle is simple: those who find reading difficult, read less, have less exposure to vocabulary, less fluency, and less ability to comprehend text. The difficulty the student faces when attending school is then exacerbated, as their motivation and attitude towards reading drops. Good readers read more, improving their vocabulary, fluency, and ability to comprehend text, thus causing them to become better readers.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Literacy
This year at Marist, literacy will be one of our major focuses. In the Junior School, students will now have their literacy lessons coordinated at the same time, offering opportunities for enrichment and support. In the Senior School, we are investigating the power of vocabulary, and its importance in the comprehension process. Alongside this is a focus on reading, with House Groups dedicating time to develop the reading of our students.
What can parents do to instil a love of reading amongst their sons?
I am only just beginning to realise the enormity of the role of parents in the reading process. It is a difficult task to motivate, engage, and enthuse our sons to read, especially when they come home tired and exhausted.
Below are a few tips on how you can help instil a love of reading amongst your sons. Happy reading!
Liam Stakelum
Assistant Head of School - Learning and Teaching
Read more at home
One of the simplest methods of improving your son’s ability to read, is to have them read more. All our boys are encouraged to have a fiction book up their sleeve, and our fantastic libraries have novels to cater for every niche. Encourage your boy to visit and speak to a librarian if they do not have a book, and they will gladly recommend one based on your son’s interests. Students in the Senior School will have access to subject specific readings on their Class Canvas page, meaning they will always have something to read, even if they “don’t have any homework”.
Have them read aloud to you or read aloud to them
When was the last time you asked your son to read to you? Or you to them? Do you sit down with your son, like I do with my 5 year old, and take time to listen or read together? Reading aloud is one of the foundations of literacy development. It helps students establish the relationship between the words on the text and the meaning the author is trying to convey. Reading aloud helps with fluency of reading, sentence structure, and other grammatical rules. It also helps students understand when their writing needs work, identifying key words, issues with grammar or sentence structure. A simple tip is to get your son to read their essay or homework to you, before they submit it.
Encourage a love of vocabulary
Reading involves making sense of the written text, and understanding the relationship between the words on the page. A boy may be able to speak a word they find in a sentence aloud, but do they know what it means? Can they define it for you? Can they use it in another sentence? Our work in the Senior School on vocabulary has identified key terms and vocabulary for each subject. Encourage your boy to introduce some vocabulary activities into their regular study routine and revise them regularly.
Read yourself!
One of the strongest factors in a student’s literacy level is the exposure to books at home. Boys instinctively look to their parents and guardians as role models. If you demonstrate the importance of reading by reading regularly yourself, boys are much more likely to build their own love of learning.