From Reading Promotion to Literary Education: Reading in Three Dimensions

This article, 'Reading in Three Dimensions: How Children's Books Grow with the Learner', looks at how we teach reading in schools. We'll explore new ideas for reading education, moving from just getting kids to read more to really teaching them about books and stories. It's all about making reading a bigger, more meaningful part of school life for every student. This is particularly important as we move from simply encouraging reading to a more complete literary education.

Key Insights

• The way teachers work with reading materials is changing, with new ideas coming up for how to teach reading effectively.
• There's a shift happening from just getting students to read to a more in-depth approach to literary education, using tools like the School Library app.
• Children's books are super important for getting students excited about reading, and they play a big part in helping students improve their reading skills.

A New Vision for Reading Education

The Relationship Between Teacher and Method

It's no secret that being a teacher is a tough job. You're shaping young minds, passing on knowledge, and trying to make it all engaging. But how do you do that effectively? Successful teaching boils down to two things: connecting with your students and knowing your stuff. 'Connecting with students' means understanding each child, seeing their strengths and weaknesses, knowing what makes them tick, and understanding their place in the group. It's about having that 'teacher's eye' — a pedagogical foundation for effective teaching. 'Knowing your stuff' means having a solid grasp of the subject matter. A true professional understands the learning objectives and how they fit together. The trick is to present the required knowledge and skills in a way that makes sense to the students. That calls for a good teaching approach for efficient instruction. The challenge for every teacher is finding the right balance between effective and efficient teaching. When it comes to reading, the role of reading promotion is often overlooked. The terms 'effective' and 'efficient' seem to apply only to using a method, and teachers don't think about reading promotion.

Teachers' basic methods, like reading aloud and storytelling, are sometimes in the manual but not in the student book. As a result, they are in danger of disappearing from education, leaving little time for the teacher's own input. Methods fail to motivate students. Children's books do. They appeal to reading pleasure or reading interest. That's what methods want to respond to. This is done by using fragments from children's books, highlighting authors, referring to children's books based on the theme, and having well-known children's book authors write texts.

All attempts to include elements from children's books and youth literature in methods are doomed to fail. Even with the newest methods that support the importance of reading promotion. Methods explain what goals they are pursuing and how they work, but they miss inspiring and enthusing the teacher for a different way of working. So, a teacher habitually picks up text fragments from a children's book as a colourless exercise text, the context of the book disappears, so no reading pleasure can arise. For that, the teacher needs to make the children's book their own and become enthusiastic about it themselves. No one gets excited about a method text, not even if it comes from a children's book. That's not because of the book or the intention of the method, but because of the teacher's attitude. Methods and children's books can never have a fruitful relationship. This is partly because students' interest in children's books is subject to fashion. The development time of a method is too far removed from the current range of children's books. Three-quarters of title lists are already sold out when a method is published. For similar reasons, a separate method for reading promotion, Good Read, Appreciative Reading (in addition to the versions for Technical Reading and Comprehending Reading) has completely failed. The teacher's ownership of a method may also play an underestimated role of significance. Children's books can provide reading motivation, methods cannot.

Changes on the Horizon

There's a growing sense that the way we approach reading education needs a shake-up. Lack of lesson time and the difficulty of promoting reading with children's books within methods mean that a different vision of (reading) education is needed. Both in terms of educational content and reading education, problems are emerging from various sides that need a solution. They offer interesting starting points to be included in the Open Book vision on reading. There's work being done, initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, to revise the curriculum (the content of education) from 2006 to better align it with society, the labour market, and education itself. Under the title 'Curriculum 2030', work is being done on the following problems:

• a better balance between knowledge, personal development, and learning to live together;
• better alignment between primary, secondary, and further education;
• preventing an overly full curriculum; coherence of educational content within and between subjects and learning areas;
• more clarity and room for own choices for schools and teachers.

Many of the problems were already identified from a different angle in 'The relationship between teacher and methods'. As for Dutch, the following proposals are made: "There is explicit attention for high-quality interaction to promote students' language and thinking development. Students work on their language awareness and language learning skills, so that they can communicate purposefully and continue to develop their language use. How do you get your message across, how can you say or write something in a different way? Students learn to ask for help and feedback on their language use and approach. They learn to use the feedback in new situations and they develop their speaking and writing courage." New proposals fit in perfectly with our vision on language and reading education: "Students work with literary and factual texts that are related in content, have a challenging content, and are of good language quality. In this way, they can expand their knowledge of the world, their language knowledge, and their vocabulary."

From Reading Promotion to Literary Education

The School Library App

Okay, so picture this: the school library, but on your tablet. That's basically what we're talking about with a school library app. It's not just about having ebooks available; it's about making reading accessible and, dare I say, cool for kids. Think about it — no more overdue fines, instant access to thousands of books, and personalised recommendations.

• Easy access to a wide range of titles.
• Personalised reading suggestions based on interests.
• Interactive features like quizzes and author interviews.

It's a game-changer, really. It can help kids find books they actually want to read, which is half the battle, isn't it? Plus, it frees up the librarian to focus on more important things, like helping kids with research and running reading groups. It's a win-win.

The Role of Children's Books

Children's books are more than just stories; they're tools for shaping young minds. They introduce kids to new ideas, cultures, and perspectives, helping them develop empathy and critical thinking skills. But here's the thing: it's not enough to just hand a kid a book and hope for the best. We need to actively engage them with the text, encouraging them to think about what they're reading and how it relates to their own lives. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee can help with this.

• Developing empathy and understanding of different cultures.
• Expanding vocabulary and improving language skills.
• Stimulating imagination and creativity.

It's about creating a generation of readers who don't just see books as homework, but as a source of joy, knowledge, and connection.

And let's be honest, a good children's book can be just as enjoyable for adults as it is for kids. There's something magical about revisiting those stories from our own childhoods and sharing them with a new generation. It's a way of keeping those memories alive and passing on a love of reading to the next generation. It's about making reading a family affair, something that everyone can enjoy together. It's about creating a culture of reading in our homes and schools, where books are valued and celebrated. It's about making reading a part of our everyday lives, something that we do for pleasure, not just for work. It's about making reading a habit, something that we do without even thinking about it. It's about making reading a lifelong pursuit, something that we continue to do long after we've left school. It's about making reading a passion, something that we can't imagine living without. It's about making reading a part of who we are, something that defines us as individuals and as a society. It's about making reading a force for good in the world, something that can help us to create a better future for ourselves and for generations to come. It's about making reading the best thing ever, something that we can all agree on.

Moving beyond simply getting kids to read, we're now focused on helping them truly understand and love books. It's about teaching them how to pick books they'll enjoy and learn from, not just checking a box. Want to see how we make reading a real adventure for every student? Discover more about our approach to literary education on our website.

Conclusion

So, what's the big takeaway from all this? It's pretty clear that getting kids into reading isn't just about giving them a book and hoping for the best. It's about making reading a living, breathing thing that changes and grows with them. Think about it: a child's world gets bigger every day, and their books should too. When we help them find stories that really speak to them, at every stage, we're not just teaching them to read words. We're helping them discover whole new worlds, and that's a pretty cool thing to be a part of. It's about building a love for reading that sticks around, long after they've left school.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is the School Library app and how does it help?

The School Library app is a super helpful digital tool for school libraries. It helps teachers easily manage all their books and resources. At the same time, it gets students excited about reading and helps them get better at it. Think of it as a smart helper that makes reading fun and easy for everyone.

Are there new ideas for teaching reading?

Yes, definitely! The way we teach reading is changing. There are some problems with the old ways, like how teachers and textbooks work together, and how to get kids truly interested in reading. But these problems are actually good because they show us where we need to make things better. New ideas are coming up to make reading education more exciting and effective for all students.

Why are children's books so important for encouraging reading?

Children's books are really important because they make reading enjoyable. Textbooks often try to use parts of children's books, but it doesn't always work because they don't capture the fun of the whole story. The best way to get kids to love reading is for teachers to be excited about the books themselves. When a teacher loves a book, that excitement spreads to the students, making reading a much better experience.

Continue Your Reading Journey

This article is part of a larger series on building a comprehensive approach to reading promotion in the classroom.

• Start with the foundation: A Different Vision for Reading Education Exploring
• Read next: → Why Methods Kill Reading Pleasure (and What We Can Do About It)