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The interviewees and guests on RIF Exchange 206: "Reading Beyond Classroom" answer the commonly asked questions: Q: Why do children need to read beyond the classroom? A: Most schools teach children reading skills and strategies and provide some time to practice these skills through independent reading. There is not enough time during the school day or year, however, for children to become strong independent readers. Children need to read beyond the classroom and engage in independent reading outside of school; they need to be motivated. Becoming an engaged reader—someone who reads for pleasure, to seek information, and to learn skills—relies on both the skill and the will to read. — Dr. Linda Gambrell “... an out-of-school-time [program] can provide children with an opportunity to use skills they learned in school to read, to write, to speak about issues that have significance and meaning to them in ways that they may not be able to do much of in the school program itself.” — David Alexander Q: How is motivation related to reading? A: Reading is a skill, and like all skills, the more children use it, the better they get at it. On the other hand, the less time children spend reading, the more difficulties they will have becoming readers. When children are motivated to read on their own, they read more often and their reading skills improve. As their reading skills improve, children see themselves as competent and able and want to read more and more. “... motivation and attitude are clearly linked. We want children to have a positive attitude and to approach literacy tasks with enthusiasm. We want them to read with pleasure and ease.” — Dr. Linda Gambrell Q: How can we motivate reluctant or nonreaders to read? A: It’s important for parents and teachers to find out what motivates each child and include the child in setting individual goals for reading. If extrinsic rewards are needed, let the child decide what he or she wants to work toward. At the same time, parents and educators can help increase children’s intrinsic motivation. For example, they can involve children in tasks that stimulate curiosity, which is an intrinsic motivator, set short-term, achievable goals so children can associate effort with success, and introduce children to the many ways they can use reading and writing in the real world. “... some of the ways we have to get them motivated to read is to dictate ... they will dictate a story to us, we’ll write it down ... and they can go on and read that to a friend because it’s their words and they feel very comfortable with reading that.” — Betty Lynch “... during after-school hours it’s more relaxed, it’s more informal, more social. So children will be willing to take some risks and try out new materials they might not be able to feel very comfortable about during the in-school time.” — Ellen Gannett Q: How can we motivate children to read? A: Reading motivation is influenced by four, interrelated factors:
Families and community groups can provide opportunities for children to see adults read and write, practice reading and writing, have access to a variety of fiction and nonfiction reading materials, and use literacy skills in meaningful ways. “I think once you’re freed from the expectations of a particular skill your reading grows by leaps and bounds, just from the sheer experience and the motivation behind it. If you can read whatever you please, whenever you please, then you read with much more confidence, a lot less stress.” — Marion Dewar Q: How can we make sure children have many experiences with books? A: The primary way to give children book experiences is to read aloud—early and often. Children who are read to often learn to enjoy books and reading; children who enjoy reading are likely to read more often; and children who read more often are likely to build reading skills and become engaged readers. Jim Trelease says, "Reading aloud is a commercial for the pleasures of books." He also points out that reading aloud nurtures listening skills and introduces new words. If a child has not heard a word, he or she can’t say it, read it, or write it. Reading aloud builds the child’s vocabulary and contributes to reading comprehension. “... each time I leave here I only need to have one vision. It might be a dad reading a book to a child ... It might be sitting next to a child who can’t speak one word of English. Yet, when he leaves he’s at least got two words.” — Joan Connery “... there are no walls in this classroom, but when they go back to the classroom, hopefully, through some of the fun they’ve had with reading and learning they can realize ... I’ll get a book out of the library at school, find a tree somewhere to sit under, and read it.” — Ed Covert Q: How can we make sure children have access to books? A: Children need access to books so they can have "prior experiences." Adults can provide books at home, in child care and school classrooms, and in the community, through libraries and other settings. Researchers and teachers know that when a classroom has a library, children tend to spend more time with books, have more positive attitudes toward reading, and have higher levels of reading achievement. “We make books seem fun. We pull up in a van that is brightly colored. It’s almost like an ice cream truck. We have stories. We let them get in the van and pick out any book that they want to. We go to places like parks and we have programs that accompany the van. So we’re just trying to make books seem as fun as possible.” — Emily Zollo Q: How can we make sure children have social interactions about books? A: When children talk about books—what they liked and didn’t like, what the characters were like, how the story twisted and turned, how the book made them feel, and so on—they build their own understanding and encourage peers to read the same book. We should provide plenty of time for children to engage in animated discussions about what they are reading, with a little coaching from a teacher or other adult. Book clubs are another way to give children opportunities to talk about their reading. Parents can organize clubs, with each child bringing a parent and both parents and children reading and discussing the same book. Libraries and book stores might also sponsor them. “... we want to provide children with opportunities to talk with others about what they’ve read, to sort of gather information from texts and then put it in their own words as they share with others. One of things that we know is that what children talk about is what they are most likely to learn and remember best.” — Dr. Linda Gambrell Q: How can we make sure children can make choices about what to read? A: Children are more likely to have prior experiences with books when they can choose what to read. They need access to books to make choices and talking about books helps them discover what kinds of books they enjoy. Allowing children to choose their own books, is a key principle of RIF book distributions. Parents and educators need to "advertise" books and then give children enough time to explore what’s available. They also need to respect children’s choices, even when children choose to read "lite" materials, such as comic books, magazines, books based on television and movie characters, or contemporary series books. “One of the most powerful factors in motivation is choice. Research study after research study demonstrates that choice is a key factor in motivation and that’s true for literacy motivation as well.” — Dr. Linda Gambrell
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