Literacy


Motivating struggling readers


The problem of how to help struggling readers is always at the educational fore. Deputy headteacher Marc Bowen talks us through what, in his experience, can really make a difference to reading standards in primary education


However it is at this stage that you start to see the reluctant readers emerging, who are at risk of slipping further behind. It is very common for pupils who fall behind in reading, usually at


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the age of fi ve or six, to be given daily one-on-one reading sessions with a teacher or classroom assistant. But a recent report from the National Association of Head Teachers revealed that many schools are moving away from the highly acclaimed Reading Recovery Project due to its relatively high cost.


Why do some students struggle? The recent national SATs results showed that one in six children left primary school last summer without reaching national standards in reading and that one in 10 boys aged 11 had reading skills no better than a seven-year-old. Forcing yourself to sit down and concentrate on a task which is


diffi cult and laborious is hard for even the most disciplined of adults. So, understandably, encouraging a child who has lost confidence and interest in reading to settle down and read with their peers is a challenge. Faced with a short reading session, reluctant readers will do almost anything to avoid it, from fi dgeting and playing to claiming they feel ill. Teachers and teaching assistants across the country will recognise these symptoms of avoidance and disruption as a desperate attempt to delay reading for as long as possible. Displacement behaviours such as these should come as no surprise;


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ike the majority of teachers, I recognise the issues with reading between key stage 1 and 2. Children are taught to read at key stage 1 but by year 3 the focus has switched to consolidation.


but engaging pupils in reading once they have reached this stage is a signifi cant challenge for any teacher. They have already lost their love of reading. The fi rst problem is what to give these students to read? We need to


give them books that they can read successfully but because they have fallen behind, suitable books at their level will have been written for key stage 1 students, and they know it. Something that will undoubtedly demotivate these struggling readers further.


“Faced with a short reading session,


reluctant readers will do almost anything to avoid it, from fi dgeting and playing to claiming they feel ill.”


One-to-one tuition may raise their reading standard but will it make


them love reading? The pressure placed on schools today, along with SATs testing, has caused many to forget this intrinsic aspect of literacy. In my view, the best route to solving the issues is to re-engage them in the love of reading fi rst and then their reading skills will improve naturally.


Learning to love reading If possible, involve parents. If reading can carry on at home, children are more likely to succeed. Ideally resources should allows students to


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