Ask every Primary and Secondary teacher in the country what the most important subject in education is, and Reading and Literacy would come up an awful lot. To back this up, studies show that weaker readers struggle as much in Maths, Science and Arts assessments as they do in English. Being a competent reader enables students to access their current subjects and to develop the independence and autonomy they need in higher education.

This heightened importance makes it challenging for schools to foster a love of reading through exploration and autonomy. The curriculum is so packed that any time given to reading needs to be effective, efficient, worthwhile, and impactful. Reading for pleasure doesn’t immediately sound like it fits this mould.

The idea that some of this time would be devoted to letting children read whatever they want, however they want, with whoever they want, goes against everything we know about the benefits of adult-led instruction.

Often, schools balance this by ‘letting’ stronger readers have some Free Reading time while running interventions and adult-led sessions for weaker readers. Although this sounds beneficial, it can mean denying key children and young people the time, space and autonomy they need to develop a love of reading.

Even for dyslexic students, it is important to create a pressure-free environment where engaging in books and stories becomes a pleasure-filled experience. In one example shared with us, a dyslexic child described free reading as their favourite moment of the day, as it was free of the usual pain and pressure associated with reading. It was social, and they experienced success in an area they found challenging at other times. If these moments are filled with additional interventions, their only relationship with reading and books can become a difficult one, potentially preventing the opportunity to build a positive connection.

Studies show that Emotional Intelligence has a greater impact on career success, stress management, and relationships than academic intelligence. So, if this still feels counterintuitive or if it doesn’t fit with current school policy, as discussed in Motional’s Reading for Pleasure blog, consider that following the 5 key elements listed here can have a significant impact on students’ emotional intelligence.

Reflection

There are 5 key elements to a successful reading-for-pleasure setup. Consider your current practice and whether these suggestions feel suitable or achievable within your class or setting.

  1. Space / Environment - The environment needs to be relaxed. Whether sitting on the floor or on bean bags, heading outside in warmer weather, or using the library space, it should feel different from more structured reading sessions. If Free Reading is held at the same time across the school, there could be quiet classrooms for independent readers, mixed-age classrooms for peer reading, and spaces set up for groups of children who wish to look at books together and discuss them aloud. There could also be an audiobook station and a space where an adult reads a book aloud for children to listen to.
  2. Time - Two or three Free Reading sessions each week, lasting at least 10 minutes each, will be frequent enough to develop a love of reading over time and long enough for students to get into whatever they are reading in that session.
  3. Pressure - It needs to be clear, through actions and language, that this is a time just to look at books, with no hidden agenda. Some students may want to use the time to read with an adult or focus on a particular text they’re learning in class, but this should be child-led.
  4. Autonomy - When autonomy is first introduced in an area students aren’t used to, they may push boundaries. Letting a group head off to look at a book together and watching them appear to mess around or be ‘off topic’ can feel challenging at first. Whilst maintaining expectations around respect, allowing this to play out is important. If they’re giggling, moving around and making comments, it shows they are interacting through the book. They are socialising and making positive connections with reading and books. The novelty of autonomy will wear off over time, and their interactions will shift - allowing the time needed for this to happen is key.
  5. Variety - The medium of these sessions can be anything. Fiction, non-fiction, comics, biographies, audiobooks, wordless books, pictureless books, newspapers, blogs - anything. Students can read above or below their level, and books from home or a local library.