You may have heard of ‘the million-word gap’. It is the idea that if you read five picture books a day to a young child, they will enter kindergarten with exposure to about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to.
Let’s extrapolate that out. What if you keep reading to kids for years after kindergarten? What if they read a book a fortnight themselves in primary school? A novel a month in high school?
It won’t just be words they learn. They will develop comprehension skills, internalise grammar, learn new facts, and explore new ideas. They will visit other worlds in their imaginations and learn that other people live different lives but may feel the same way they do. All that reading will help your child build a better brain and a warmer heart.
Unfortunately, the 2023 Progress In International Reading Literacy Report (PIRLS) shows there is a significant and ongoing decline in recreational reading and reading achievement among Australian school-aged children. It is also born out in two decades of NAPLAN data that our boys are consistently achieving lower reading results than our girls.
We NEED our boys to read. Not only for academic progression, but for the emotional learning and sense of wellbeing it offers. There are very few silver bullets in education, but reading is one of them.
“Among children, reading for pleasure is more popular
among girls (77%) than boys (68%) and is higher among children
aged 5–8 (76%) and 9–11 (78%) than those aged 12–14 (63%)”
How do we encourage our boys to read?
1. Role modelling
If you tell kids how important reading is, but you never do it yourself, why should they listen? Boys in particular respond well to seeing the adults they value reading. Unfortunately, research tells us that the rate of adults reading has dropped by even more than student reading. So, you need to ask yourself, are you practising what you preach? If you are serious about getting your boys to read… you first!
2. Find the right book.
Finding the right book is key to beginning your son’s love of reading. Enlist the help of library staff and English teachers as well as other parents. Remember though, ‘the rule of cool’ applies with books as much as anything else. If someone your son considers ‘cool’ can recommend a book, there is much more chance of him reading.
Be open to your son trying different genres. Boys at the school where I work, Aquinas College, love graphic novels and so we have invested in a large collection. Some boys prefer non-fiction, some fiction, and some love magazines. Meet boys where they are and then work from there.
3. Have books in your home
The things you keep in your home signal to your children what you value. Show them that you value reading. Research shows that just having books in your home has a positive correlation with reading and attitudes to learning. A library of just 80 books in the home has more impact than a parent’s own education level!
4. Build reading into their daily routine
Creating a habit takes time. If you can build reading into your son’s routine, there is much more chance of the new habit sticking. Many people like to read before going to sleep. This has the added benefit of ensuring screens are put away well before it’s time to sleep, limiting that blue light exposure that works against sleep.
5. Never stop reading with your boys
When your boys were very young, they loved it when you read to them. They associated books with spending time with you, and your attention being firmly on them. As your son grows older, keep that bond by talking about what he is reading, even if it is not something you would ever read yourself. You can also spend time reading together. Think side by side on holidays or on a rainy Sunday.
6. Visit your local library
Local libraries are great. They are well-resourced community hubs, and they offer a space where our boys can read and study away from school and home. They are a stepping stone towards the wider world and for our older boys they are a great place to find more adult-level books. The state library and university libraries are also great places to visit if you want a wow factor for boys.
7. Don’t fall into gender traps
Think about the subtle cues you may give about reading and gender. Culturally, and perhaps unconsciously, we tend to steer girls towards activities that involve language and are indoors, whereas we promote outdoor, physical activities for boys. Don’t fall into this trap. Reading is important for all kids. Just as playing outside is important for all kids.
8. Promote reading for fun.
One of the problems with reading is that kids associate it with schoolwork. As much as possible, promote reading for fun by following your son’s own tastes and interests. If he gives a book a decent go and he hates it, don’t make him finish it. Find one he does like. Google tells me there are 29,864,880 different books on Earth (oddly specific), and life is too short for books we don’t enjoy.
9. Follow along with audiobooks.
In an ideal world our kids would all be reading at a high level and for enjoyment. However, here in the real world, some kids really struggle with reading due to learning differences or a lack of skills and engagement. One easy solution is to allow them to listen to audiobooks whilst reading along with the written text.
When they see the written text, they internalise and recognise spelling and grammar patterns, but an audiobook can provide a sense of fluency that builds confidence and the motivation of enjoying the experience.
10. Link reading to viewing
If your boys love a movie, a tv series, or a game, why not encourage them to read the book? More and more Netflix content is coming straight from the world of books, so capitalise on that. There are also popular influencer pages on social media that recommend books, like BookTok.
11. Promote series
Working in the library of a boys’ school, it is hard not to notice the power of fiction series for students. Boys seem to really enjoy digging into the characters and worlds developed through book series. The bonus of this is, once you have found the right Book 1 of a series, Book 2 chooses itself!
Final thought…
There are very few silver bullets in education, or life, but when one exists it is important to exploit it. If we can encourage our boys to exercise their reading muscles regularly, we can grow their wellbeing and achievement.
