What are the benefits of reading at home?
According to the Academy of Early Education, reading helps children develop language, communication, and critical thinking skills.
Northbridge students’ reading habits
Recently, we conducted a survey to gauge our Northbridge students’ reading habits. This survey is a snapshot of Grade 6-11 students’ reading habits. Here are some key questions and results:
Do you read for pleasure?
- 22% of the students read at home
- 52% read occasionally
Do you remember being read to when you were younger?
- 45% of the students remember being read to at school and at home
If you enjoy reading, what form of reading do you choose?
- 140 students prefer physical books to digital or audio books!
- 33% of our students recognise that reading contributes to their wellbeing whereas 34% of the students realise that reading boosts their academic grades
- 58% of our students use the school library to select novels for reading
Key insights gained?
Whilst some of the data is promising and shows that we are starting to develop a reading culture, a reading habit certainly has not been established.
The question is how do we as a Northbridge community nurture a regular reading habit?
How to strengthen reading at home.
Oxford Learning offers some useful suggestions to try at home:
1. Lead by example, and read books yourself!
2. Read a book together and have a conversation about it
3. Create a quiet reading space in your home with quick access to various books
4. Visit libraries or bookshops
5. Provide autonomy by letting them pick what they want to read
6. Don’t focus on just books! Allow your child to choose a variety of reading materials
The upcoming two-week Khmer New Year holiday is the perfect opportunity to try out these reading strategies, then Northbridge will be celebrating our annual Book Week first week back: from 22-26 April.
Happy reading!
