The article, “The Importance of Real Reading for Resistant Reader”, by Meaghan Hanrahan Dobson emphasizes on students who don’t read regularly and often fail standardized tests which lead them into intensive remedial classes in which all they do is learn test taking strategies to earn a high school diploma.
Most of these students have weak understanding and vocabulary. Instead of teaching the students how to have more meaningful reading experiences they are taught to pass exams. However, we need to teach these students to develop a love of reading, so that they can become real readers. Some of the best approaches that can help the resistant or struggling student become a better reader are:
Require only one thing: reading material that is appealing.
The only requirement for reading material should be that the student take pleasure in what they are reading. It could be a book, short stories, current articles, graphic novel, verse, magazine articles, etc. Whatever the student finds interesting, and wants to learn about, should be used for reading material.
Let them be able to change their minds.
If they begin reading a book and don’t like it, give them the consent to stop. Just think of yourself, if you begin to read something and you do not like it, you stop reading it. Give that same opportunity to your students.
Give an opportunity to read in class everyday.
Assign time in your daily plan for reading time. Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, that helps to form a habit.
As teachers, let us make use every reading approach at our disposal. Let us not forget, that we all became better readers by actually finding reading material that we enjoyed reading. The most exciting motivator for reading is to desire to learn something from your reading material. Therefore, the material should be motivating to the reader. “It’s a false choice to say we don’t have time to encourage real reading because we have to teach strategies for passing tests. We can and should do both.” Although passing standardized tests is an obvious short term goal, the more important longer term goal is “fostering true literacy”. With true literacy, the reader has a better opportunity of not only passing the standardized test but essentially becoming a real reader.