5 Reading at home: mirroring RfP pedagogies

In Session 5, you read about the RfP pedagogy, which encompasses reading aloud, reading time and book talk in a social reading environment. This is also key, as Figure 1 denotes, for supporting readers at home.

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Figure 1 Supporting readers at home

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Supporting readers at home poster including the covers of the books: A Kind of Spark, Lubna and Pebble, Julian is a Mermaid, Here We Are, and the magazine Beano.

Open University research suggests there are three important ways to support readers and a love of reading:

• Read aloud - reading aloud to your children shows them reading is a pleasure, not chore. Older children can read to younger ones too.
• Family reading time – making time to read alongside one another helps develop children’s stamina and interest. Let them choose what they want to read and relax together.
• Book chat – book chats encourage readers. Invite them to make connections and share their views. Join in with your thoughts too!
  • I wonder if … why … what … who.

Children who read, and are supported as readers, develop strong reading skills and do better at school.

Figure 1 Supporting readers at home

In Session 5, you also read about the RfP pedagogy checkLIST which can help teachers ensure their practice is planned with the goal of developing children’s desire and motivation to read (Cremin, 2019). Pedagogies and practices in school that are learner-led, informal, social and with texts that tempt (LIST), have been found to be effective in motivating young readers by promoting positive attitudes and inspiring children to read more frequently.

It is noteworthy that the checkLIST model that is promoted in the classroom, is often implicitly discernible in children’s Reading for Pleasure at home. Their reading might involve a hobby magazine, a recipe, a video game blog or a novel, but it is clear that children’s home reading tends to be learner-led, informal, social and with texts that tempt.

Activity 2 Reflecting on reading at home

Timing: Allow approximately 15 minutes for this activity

Listen to Audio 1 of an adult–child book chat in which 10-year-old Bruce talks about his reading at home. As you listen, make a note of the ways in which the reading Bruce describes is learner led, informal, social and with texts that tempt this young reader.

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Transcript: Audio 1

ADULT:

So tell me about the sorts of books that you like.

BRUCE:

I like the Bear Grylls Survival Camp and Marcus Rashford books.

ADULT:

And why do you like those?

BRUCE:

Because I've read the first chapter of Marcus Rashford, and I really like it. And it's amazing he writes about everything that he's done as well.

ADULT:

And what do you like about the Bear Grylls book?

BRUCE:

I like how it can change how you think about the jungle and everything. And it tells you how to survive if you're out. I would take it if you're going on a journey.

ADULT:

And what sort books don't you like?

BRUCE:

I don't really like sci-fi books. So I don't really read sci-fi. But I'd read fiction and non-fiction but just not sci-fi.

ADULT:

I see. And when do you read when you're at home then?

BRUCE:

I read at night when I'm probably going to bed. Sometimes I'll read with my dad. And most of that I read at home with my dad and sometimes just on my own.

ADULT:

What have you read recently that you really like?

BRUCE:

I'm reading the Marcus Rashford, You are a Champion book and also the Tom Gates, Excellent Excuses. And I'm halfway through that. And the Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different books and even the Bear Grylls.

ADULT:

Excellent. And what would you recommend me to read?

BRUCE:

The Marcus Rashford and the Bear Grylls. The Marcus Rashford book just tells you everything he does in his childhood and how he became to be a really good person and a footballer. And also the Bear Grylls gives you a feeling of how to tame a camel, how to make a boat, how to ice fish. It just tells you everything he does that he wants to share with you with everything.

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Discussion

You might have noticed that Bruce has a clear understanding of his own reading preferences and explains why Marcus Rashford and Bear Grylls’ books appeal to him so much. At this point in time, he seems to prefer non-fiction and is motivated by books that might not be available to him at school. So, Bruce’s reading at home is clearly ‘learner -led’ and with ‘texts that tempt’. His motivation to read these books appears to be intrinsic, in that his personal interest in the subject matter is evident. He is not reading for the purposes of an assessed piece of work or a book report, this is ‘informal’ Reading for Pleasure. Bruce talks about reading with his dad at home and his enthusiasm in this book chat is clearly apparent, exemplifying the social nature of reading.