Leisure reading (but not any kind) helps children develop reading skills

Let’s talk leisure reading!

There is a link between leisure reading and reading skills. Put simply, the more children read on their own outside of school the better their reading becomes. However, there are several recent studies that indicate that not all reading is created equal. Let's go through one such article.

What the authors did

Authors followed 2,525 students from ages 7-16. They assessed reading comprehension (understanding what you read) and reading fluency (can read accurately) in Grades 1,2,3,4,6,7, and 9. (Not sure why they skipped 8) Around 1,700 students made it through the entire study, so it was a nice size study with many assessment points.

In grades 1-4, parents were asked to report the amount of leisure time spent reading and what type of reading (books, magazines, novels, books with informational content, etc.). In grades 6,7, and 9, students self-reported their leisure reading (books, magazines, etc.) as well as digital texts such as emails, text messages, and blogs. It might seem odd that parents recorded items for younger children but this has been shown to be more rigorous technique than self-reporting in younger children.

What the authors found

Authors found that leisure reading in grades 1-4 was associated with leisure reading in grades 6-9. In other words, if kids were reading when they were younger, they read more when they were older. Also, reading comprehension (how much kids understood) in grades 1-4 was associated with more reading in grades 6-9 i.e., if kids have strong comprehension when younger, they read more when older.

Provocatively, reading newspapers, comics, or magazines had inconsistent results indicating that these sources of leisure reading in young children did not predict reading when older. Further, there was a negative association with digital texts (emails, text messages) and reading comprehension. Thus, children who spent more time reading digital texts had worse reading comprehension. Leisure reading and reading fluency had weak associations in all categories.

Bottom line from the paper

Reading print texts in grades 1-4 increases leisure reading and reading comprehension in grades 6-9. The impact of reading magazines, comics, newspapers was inconclusive - indicating it was not a strong impact. Reading digital media (emails, texts, blogs) decreased reading comprehension in grades 6-9.

What does this mean for us?

If you're like me, this article left you with additional questions. The first, why does reading magazines or comics not improve reading and reading comprehension? Why is reading digital media associated with worse reading comprehension? Children are still reading so why does this not translate to better reading?

I propose three hypotheses:

1. Digital media exposure alters brain development

2. Digital media tested here (email, text), is conversational in nature

3. Time spent reading online media is time NOT spent reading books

Let's go through each of these ideas.

1. Studies show that screen exposure in the younger ages results in changes in the way the brain develops. Specifically, fewer regions of the brain (the cerebral cortex) are connected to each other. The long term consequences of this aren't understood but is it possible that that reading comprehension could be impacted. While possible, this isn't the most likely explanation of the three to me.

2. This study only evaluated "communication" style digital information like emails or text messages. These modalities are conversational. The average American reads at a 7-8th grade level and typically speaks at a 5-6th grade level. Thus, exposure to communication language is not pushing the student to be able to read more complex language. Further, communication is different from fiction or nonfiction in terms of complexity and style. This might also explain why comics, which are predominately communication based (though not exclusively), show an inconsistent effect on reading comprehension.

3. Finally, is it simply that children are spending less time reading books? Just 30 years ago, books didn't have to compete with the internet. Books used to be a primary source of entertainment. Thus, more time online results in less time reading books. Further, children today are not able to gather and play nearly as often as they did in the past. Thus, online forms of communication are critical to their mental health and sense of community. This should be considered when determining how to make changes based on the results of this paper. 

All three of these may be at play but my personal opinion is that numbers 2 and 3 in combination play the biggest role. It is also important to note that authors of this study did NOT evaluate reading books online. If they did, it would help us know how big, if any, role #1 is playing.

Takeaway

Not all reading is created equal in the quest to create life-long learners and readers. Books are best, magazines/comics are second, and online, communication style writing actually makes reading comprehension worse. PS. I let my kids read comics and don’t plan to stop but this information will certainly inform how I talk about reading with my kids.

What are your thoughts? Which hypothesis do you think is correct and why? Did I miss something? Leave a comment below and share this article to encourage discussion.

Happy Reading!

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