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During our wider reading sessions I often get asked whether the students can read the newspaper. The answer is "no". Newspaper reading is fragmented, disjointed and doesn't offer the cognitive benefits that reading a novel has.
There are distinct advantages to reading an ongoing novel or short story. A research report done on the effect of ongoing reading on the brain (Bergland 2014) showed:
- "becoming engrossed in a novel enhances connectivity in the brain and improves brain function"
- "enhanced connectivity included the students' left temporal cortex, an area of the brain associated with language comprehension"
The challenge we have is allowing our students to read. Giving them permission to read and to steal those moments of 10 or 15 minutes to read their novel. Before dinner, while waiting at the bus stop, at the end of a class.
We know that at the start of puberty, there is a tremendous growth in brain development. We also know that during the teenage years you either "lose it or you lose it"
Further Reading:
Bergland, C. (2014). Reading Fiction Improves Brain Connectivity and Function. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-athletes-way/201401/reading-fiction-improves-brain-connectivity-and-function [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].
Coghlan, A. (2016). Revealed: the teenage brain upgrades that occur before adulthood. [online] New Scientist. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2098557-revealed-the-teenage-brain-upgrades-that-occur-before-adulthood/ [Accessed 30 Jul. 2019].
Siegel, D. (2014). Pruning, Myelination, and the Remodeling Adolescent Brain. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/inspire-rewire/201402/pruning-myelination-and-the-remodeling-adolescent-brain [Accessed 30 Jul. 2019].
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