Reading for Pleasure:

power and science

with Nicola Morgan

Current science,

classroom materials,

free advice, events,

books and more:

www.nicolamorgan.com

More information:

• My website: nicolamorgan.com

• My blog: links to research + this Powerpoint

• Classroom resources: –Brain Sticks; Stress Well for

Schools–Discount on blog now

Consider today:

• How can this inform my work?

• How can it improve my own life?

• What would students benefit from knowing?

• How can I share it with them?

Why does it have to be pleasure?

1. We need children to become expert readers: opportunities + socio-economic benefits

2. To be expert, 1000s of hours of practice

3. “Good for you” doesn’t work with children

4. R4P has huge and evidenced benefits

Reluctant readers need these benefits, too

R4P benefits: with evidence

Reading Agency Literature Review 2015 – huge meta-study (see my website)

• Self-esteem; greater life satisfaction

• Increased vocab and general knowledge

• Increased empathy + self-understanding

• Better mood + relationships

• Better results at end of school

• Reduced stress better wellbeing

How does R4P reduce stress?

• Permission to escape external pressures

– Can forget worries for a while

– Brilliant sanctuary for introverts

• “Engagement/flow”: focus on one thing

• Aids sleep

So, growing book-lovers is crucial

Does it matter what we read?

If it’s for pleasure, free, unjudged choice is essential

But there are different effects

• Simple/complex?

• Fiction/non-fiction?

• Digital/print?

We “read”* far more than in 1980

1. More simple texts

2. More non-fiction

3. More online/screen

*See The Organized Mind by Daniel Levitin and my website

1. Simple/complex

• “Obscurantism” – we may remember more?

• Research with Wordsworth/Shakespeare:

– Remember/comprehend more

– More brain activity in language AND autobiographical memory + emotional areas

• Our brains like to be woken up?

• If text looks hard, our brain prepares?

2. Fiction/non-fiction

• Should value all reading choices, but…

• Research suggests fiction develops empathy

– Keith Oatley + Raymond Marr’s work

• BUT I challenge this (blogpost reference on website):

– Research only shows that story is important, not fiction – true stories do the same job

3. Digital/print

1. Online:

• Mostly information / non-fiction

• Shorter texts; shallower reading

• Competition for attention:

– on the “screen”

– trying to multi-task; occupying brain bandwidth

– exhausting

• Affects sleep

Suggested positives?

• Getting better at those things? (No)

• Getting better at finding info? (Yes, but not remembering)

• Better at avoiding distractions? (No)

• Better at multi-tasking? (No)

2. Offline: ebook readers?

• Growing evidence: digital slightly impairs comprehension + recall

• Many references on my website

• Some/many find harder to be fully “engaged”

Back to R4P

How do we encourage it?

1. Know what it is

Definition of R4P: “Reading that we do of our own freewill, anticipating the satisfaction that we will get from the act of reading.” (NLT 2006)

2. Remember: it’s not spinach!

Like 5-a-day / exercise?

• What can we learn from those?

– Need to notice benefit – quickly

– It works if it makes us consciously feel good

– We must not assume everyone likes the same

• Must find exercise that suits personality and ability

• Same with any campaign to increase time spent reading

3. Use intrinsic motivation

• Intrinsic motivation: expectation and experience of benefit

• Victor Nell (1988) The psychology of reading for pleasure: Needs and gratifications. “Unless people experience reading as a pleasurable activity, they will stop reading and choose more enjoyable alternatives.”

VICTOR NELL’s MOTIVATIONAL

FLOWCHART

Nell’s “Motivational Flowchart”

If Adequate skills + Correct book selection + Expectation of benefit =>

Will try pleasure reading

If they experience physiological + cognitive benefits:

will do more pleasure reading.

If not, will do other activity.

So, must consciously experiencebenefits

• Discuss which benefits they’d like

– Discuss any worries/fears

– It HAS to be fun

• This creates sense of positivity and autonomy

Benefits for young readers

You can:• feel excited, happy or any emotion you choose• laugh if you want to• read about amazing things and people• meet people like you or different from you• go on adventures without being in danger• learn amazing facts – be cleverer• learn something your parents don’t know• forget your worries• be alone if you want to be – peace!

4. Get reading

• Positive + safe mindset: no judging’; no competition; FREE choice

– Accommodating ALL equally

– Book box in the classroom?

• Whole group session

– Whole school/class reading times: DEAR, ERIC

– Adults, too… Model from the top

• Cross-curricular – all subject teachers

5. Discuss experience of benefit

“How do you feel now?”

“How did you feel?”

Use my “readaxation diary”?

Reading for Pleasure:

power and science

with Nicola Morgan

Current science,

classroom materials,

free advice, events,

books and more:

www.nicolamorgan.com

What about those who dislike fiction?

• Little, often and easy

• Audio

• Narrative non-fiction

• Fact-based novels (eg historical)

• Facts about/behind fiction

• Expectation/experience of benefit (see later)