There is a considerable amount of research to demonstrate that children
and adolescents who engage more often in reading activities have better
literacy skills (Anderson, Wilson & Fielding, 1988; Cunningham &
Stanovich, 1991; Leppanen, Aunola & Nurmi, 2005; Mol & Bus, 2011). In addition, frequency of reading has been
associated with the development of other abilities such as general knowledge,
oral language, spelling, vocabulary and verbal fluency (Cunningham &
Stanovich, 1991; Echols, West, Stanovich & Zehr, 1996; Senechal &
Cornell, 1993; Senechal, LaFevre, Hudson & Lawson, 1996). Therefore encouraging children to read is
advantageous to both reading and language outcomes.
That said, some types of reading activities have been more consistently
associated with reading skill than others.
For example, Anderson et al. (1988) reported that time spent reading
books was more strongly associated with reading comprehension and reading speed
than other text types (e.g., comics, newspapers and magazines). Similarly, Spear-Swerling, Brucker and Alfano
(2010) found that fiction book reading was more closely associated with various
reading-related skills (i.e., word reading, oral comprehension, vocabulary and
reading comprehension) compared to other reading habits.
Therefore book reading, but particularly fiction book reading, does
appear to be a stronger correlate with reading outcomes compared to shorter
paper based texts. It is possible that
the composition and extended nature of these text types, in addition to the
wider and more varied vocabulary that books introduce children and adolescents
to, means that this type of reading activity is more closely associated with
positive reading outcomes.
However, over the last decade or so, there
has been a steep and steady increase in the diversity of text types available
to children and adolescents, more specifically, an increase in the availability
and ubiquity of digital texts (e.g., text messages, emails, websites, ebooks,
blogs, facebook, etc). These text types
are as varied (or arguably more varied) than their paper based equivalents and
children and adolescents now have opportunities to engage in a much wider range
of reading activities than ever before.
Large scale research by Clark (2011) shows that digital texts are among
children’s and adolescents’ most popular reading activities, highlighting a
need to understand more about the relationship between these different reading
activities and reading outcomes.
In a recent research study (McGeown et al., 2015),
we examined the extent to which adolescents’ reported time spent engaging with different
text types: fiction book reading, factual book reading, school book reading,
short traditional texts (comprising of: magazine, comic, newspaper, song
lyrics, instructions/manual, poetry) and short
digital texts (comprising of: text messages/email, social networking
site, computer game, factual website, Twitter)
predicted a number of reading outcomes (word reading, reading comprehension,
reading summarisation skills and reading fluency).
We found that fiction book reading was the only
consistent positive predictor of all reading outcomes (even after controlling
for other variables). In additional statistical
analyses (not included in the paper), we examined the relationship between each
of the text types in turn. As expected,
fiction book reading was the most consistent and strongest correlate with all
reading outcomes. The second most
consistent and strongest correlate was time reported using Twitter; this
statistically inversely related with most reading outcomes (i.e., greater use
of Twitter was associated with poorer reading scores).
However, we need to consider that the association between reading skills
and choice of reading material is likely to be reciprocal -although different text types may differ in their ability to develop reading skills, children and
adolescents’ choice of text types is also likely to be influenced by their
reading skills; students with better reading skills may be more likely to seek
out more difficult texts (e.g. books), thereby further developing their reading
skills. That said, the research to
date suggests that encouraging children and adolescents to spend more time
reading books (but particularly fiction books) is the safest advice to promote reading
development.
References
Anderson,
R. C., Wilson, P. T., & Fielding, L. G.
(1988). Growth in reading and how
children
spend their time outside of school. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 285-303.
doi: 10.1598/RRQ.23.3.2
Clark, C.,
(2011). Setting the Baseline. The
National Literacy Trust’s first annual survey
into
young people’s reading – 2010.
National Literacy Trust.
Coiro, J., & Dobler, E. (2007).
Exploring the online reading comprehension strategies used
by sixth-grade skilled readers to search for and
locate information on the Internet. Reading Research Quarterly, 42, 214-257.
doi: 10.1598/RRQ.42.2.2
Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (1991).
Tracking the unique effects of print
exposure in children: Associations with vocabulary,
general knowledge, and spelling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 264-274. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.83.2.264
Echols, L. D., West,
R. F., Stanovich, K. E., & Zehr, K. S.
(1996). Using children’s literacy
activities to
predict growth in verbal cognitive skills: A longitudinal
investigation. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 88, 296-304. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.88.2.296
Leppanen, U., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J-E. (2005).
Beginning readers’ reading performance
and
reading habits. Journal of Research in Reading, 28, 383-399. doi:
10.1111/j.1467-9817.2005.00281.x
Mol,
S. E., & Bus, A. G. (2011). To read or not to read: A meta-analysis of
print exposure
from infancy
to early adulthood. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 267-296. doi:10.1037/a0021890
McGeown, S. P., Duncan, L. G., Griffiths, Y., &
Stothard, S. E. (2015). Exploring the relationship
between adolescents’
reading skills, reading motivation and reading habits. Reading
andWriting: An Interdisciplinary Journal. doi: 10.1007/s11145-014-9537-9
Pitcher,
S. M., Albright, L. K., DeLaney, C. J., Walker, N. T., Seunarinesingh, K.,
Mogge, S.,
Headley, K.
N., Ridgeway, V., Peck, S., Hunt, R., & Dunston, P. J. (2007).
Assessing adolescents’ motivation to reading. Journal
of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 50, 378-396. doi:10.1598/JAAL.50.5.5
Senechal, M., &
Cornell, E. H. (1993). Vocabulary
acquisition through shared reading experiences.
Reading Research Quarterly, 28,
360-364.
Senechal, M.,
LeFevre, J-A., Hudson, E., & Lawson, E. P. (1996). Knowledge of storybooks as a
predictor of
young children’s vocabulary. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88,
520-536.
doi:
10.1037/0022-0663.88.3.520
ReplyDeleteReading Makes Your Child Smarter
Reading is known to have numerous benefits. It increases your world knowledge, enhances your vocabulary, and works to improve your reading comprehension abilities.
But did you know that reading can actually make you smarter?
In fact, reading not only can make a child smarter, the very act of reading can even help to compensate for modest levels of cognitive ability in children by building their vocabulary and general knowledge! This is a finding reported by researchers Cunningham and Stanovich in a report titled "What Reading Does For the Mind".
The simple fact here is that reading can make your child smarter, and that learning to read early on is directly linked to later success in life.
1) Did you know that your child's vocabulary at 3 years old predicts his or her grade one reading success? [1]
2) Did you know that vocabulary and reading ability in first grade strongly predicts grade 11 outcomes? [2]
3) Did you know that your child's reading skill in grade 3 directly influences high school graduation? Studies have found that children who cannot read proficiently by grade 3 are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers! [3]
>> Give your child the best possible head start. Teach your child to read today. Click here to learn how.
But how do you teach a young child to read, and isn't that the job of the school and teachers?
You can't be more wrong...
With the right tools, knowledge, and techniques, teaching young children to read can be a simple and effective process. I'd like to introduce you to a fantastic reading program called Children Learning Reading, a super effective method for teaching children to read - even children as young as just 2 or 3 years old.
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I can understand if you find that hard to believe... In fact, I had a difficult time believing it myself as well... that is, until I saw the videos they posted documenting the reading progress of the their children - not to mention all the videos other parents have sent in showcasing their children's reading progress after using the Children Learning Program. After learning more about their methods and techniques, it became clear how it's possible to teach young children to read effectively.
It is truly within your ability to teach your child to read in a relatively short period of time spending just 10 to 15 minutes each day.
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1. Vocabulary Development and Instruction: A Prerequisite for School Learning
Andrew Biemiller, University of Toronto
2. Early reading acquisition and its relation to reading experience and ability 10 years later.
Cunningham AE, Stanovich KE.
3. Double Jeopardy How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation
Donald J. Hernandez, Hunter College and the Graduate Center,