Reading to Understand

As I observe many classrooms in grade levels 6-12, I notice that although students can handle more abstract information, most will struggle with reading. Many students will say that they dislike reading, or that it isn’t their forte, but what are the real reasons as to why students feel this way? Nobody dislikes something for no reason, so as a future English teacher, I feel that there is a need to explore the realm of nonreaders, and find out how to make reading a little more enjoyable.

In an article titled “10 Reasons Nonreaders Don’t Read –And How to Change Their Minds,” Louanne Johnson, who is an English teacher herself, asked her students why they hated reading and they came up with ten of the following reasons:

 

1.      Reading gives them a headache or makes their eyes hurt.

2.      They can’t read as fast as their peers (and get left behind.)

3.      They fear they’ll have to read out loud and others will laugh.

4.      They expect to be tested on what they read –and to fail the test.

5.      They believe they have to finish every reading selection, no matter how long or difficult.

6.      They fear their opinions will be wrong.

7.      They always get put into the “slow” group, which makes them feel stupid.

8.      They believe they are too far behind to ever catch up.

9.      They have no interest in the material they are required to read.

10.  They get lost and can’t remember what they have just read (1).

Under every reason, Johnson provides a few tips to hopefully resolve the problems, but I would like to focus on reason number ten. Most of the reasons listed had to do with students fearing some part of classroom reading, but number ten actually focuses on the lack of a skill (reading comprehension) which reading requires.

It is most important to first and foremost remind your students that they are readers, and that struggling with reading is not an abnormal thing. We readers have all come across a reading that we have a hard time understanding, but the difference is that we don’t give up on it. Even if we’re lost within the reading, we make the best out of it. So why not teach our students or nonreaders to do the same? Johnson advises her readers to “First, explain that when we read, we create a mental picture of what we are reading. As we add details, the picture becomes clearer or changes to adjust to new or different information. If you lose the picture when you are reading, you are starting to lose your comprehension. Back up until you can see the picture again, and continue reading” (1). She also urges her readers to start with a short reading and stop at every paragraph to ask students what they see, and “discuss their different visions” (Johnson 1).

 

Not very many people will purchase a book to read outside of class, but for those who do, we do it because books take us into worlds that don’t even exist. We get the chance to explore, imagine, and walk alongside fictional characters and it’s incredibly fun. So let’s help our students and nonreaders out there to see that side of reading that they may not have seen yet. Let’s help them learn to transform words into images so that they can love reading! 

Works Cited

Johnson, Louanne. "10 Reasons Nonreaders Don't Read - And How to Change Their Minds.” Scholastic Teachers. Web. 31 Aug. 2015. <http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/10-reasons-nonreaders-dont-read-%E2%80%94-and-how-change-their-minds>.