Saving Up Smiles for a Rainy Day by Sheila Andreana Sewall

Thus, if children do not enjoy reading when they are young, then they are unlikely to do so when they get older.Ĭan we use incentives to get our kids to read more? Unfortunately, no. Several studies have shown that incentives do not significantly affect motivation to read. Research has repeatedly shown that motivation to read decreases with age, especially if pupils’ attitudes towards reading become less positive (McKenna, Ellsworth & Kear, 1995). (Sheldrick-Ross, McKechnie & Rothbauer, 2005).Ģ) Parents are one of the most important literacy teachers 85)Īlthough the cornerstone for lifelong reading is laid in the early years, we also know that it is never too late to start reading for pleasure. Without it, I suspect that children simply do not have a chance. Although free voluntary reading alone will not ensure attainment of the highest levels of literacy, it will at least ensure an acceptable level.

When children read for pleasure, when they get “hooked on books”, they acquire, involuntarily and without conscious effort, nearly all of the so-called “language skills” many people are so concerned about: they will become adequate readers, acquire a large vocabulary, develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions, develop a good writing style, and become good (but not necessarily perfect) spellers. Research from the National Literacy Trust has boiled down decades of literacy research into two big takeaways for parents:ġ) Importance of reading for pleasure for kids The path of a reader is not a runway but more a hack through a forest, with individual twists and turns, entanglements and moments of surprise. Getting Kids Reading and Why It’s Critical

Saving Up Smiles for a Rainy Day by Sheila Andreana Sewall