{"id":2745,"date":"2023-06-09T17:41:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T17:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/literacyengine.co.uk\/?p=2745"},"modified":"2024-08-09T09:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T08:19:24","slug":"time-to-put-reading-back-to-the-top-of-the-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/literacyengine.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/06\/09\/time-to-put-reading-back-to-the-top-of-the-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to put reading back to the top of the class"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Time to put reading back to the top of the class<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Time\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

There has been much discussion recently about the effects of reading at pace to students, most recently <\/span>this in TES<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 More and more schools are adding teacher-led reading of novels to their curriculum in an attempt to shift away <\/span>from the deeply flawed practice of sustained silent reading<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0 The gains can be several years of progress in one term for some students and several months in a matter of weeks for most.<\/span><\/p>

But then <\/span>this article appeared on TES<\/a><\/strong> this week about the reported drop in concentration levels among primary aged children resulting in them complaining about school being \u201cboring\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure those of us that work in secondary schools recognise similar issues with our students too, so it isn\u2019t just a primary phase issue.\u00a0 When the article was published, the Tweets emerged about banning social media and mobile phones for children.\u00a0 But they also called for things like a more interesting curriculum, a change in pedagogy to \u201cmeet them where they are\u201d, and a whole range of Tweets about the mystical element of \u201cengagement\u201d in lessons.<\/span><\/p>

Image and Video Based Social Media<\/u><\/b><\/p>

Social media and even the internet itself used to be a predominantly text driven medium.\u00a0 There was a rapid shift towards image and video based media and with it a decrease in the amount of concentration needed to engage with the platform.\u00a0 Ask a young person whether they are on either Twitter or TikTok and they will tell you exactly what is wrong with some social media platforms and why they are on one but not another.\u00a0 Part of the problem is the medium used in some social media platforms and how this translates into the classroom.<\/span><\/p>

The Erosion of Reading in Lessons<\/u><\/b><\/p>

Over the past 15-20 years have we shot ourselves in the foot over the solution?\u00a0 We have eroded the role of reading in the curriculum to the point where some traditionally text based subjects can now teach whole units without students reading any more than a couple of short paragraphs.\u00a0 We have replaced reading as the primary method of delivering new information with things like YouTube videos and bullet pointed PowerPoint slides with oral transmission of extended information.\u00a0 By removing reading from lessons, we send the message that reading is less important than watching or listening.\u00a0 There is no wonder students struggle to concentrate for any more than a couple of minutes when they aren\u2019t taught how to do it and given regular opportunities to practise.\u00a0 The solution is to reclaim reading as the primary method a student will encounter new information, wherever appropriate, across the curriculum.<\/span><\/p>

What can we do about it?<\/u><\/b><\/p>

The first thing to establish is a purposeful common structure for reading to students that is used consistently across a setting.\u00a0 The successes of teacher-led reading are in part due to the removal of certain barriers to accessing texts that an adult can facilitate when reading to a student.\u00a0 They bring their expert level reading skills to help the novice reader navigate a more difficult text than they would be able to access independently.\u00a0 And because the novice is then reading, engaging with, and discussing advanced language, their own knowledge increases.\u00a0 Memory, and knowledge are the residue of thought.<\/span><\/p>

\u2018In listening to and following a text read aloud by a more capable reader, who provides scaffolding, a less fluent reader can experience autonomy and fluency and bypass frustrating \u2018sticking points\u2019 at phonemic, semantic or word level to focus on comprehension.\u2019 – Wood et al 1976, Kuhn et al 2010<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Analysis by Kirsch comparing the engaged reading time of 2.2 million students found that \u2013<\/span><\/p>