Houston’s tweens should read for fun

As we think about New Year’s resolutions, and our communities look for ways to make Houston stronger, together we must resolve this year to set our middle-graders on the path of becoming lifelong readers — by encouraging them to read what they wish.

Unfortunately, Houston is behind the rest of the nation in reading for children 8 to 12 years old, the vital middle-grade years. According to The Nation’s Report Card, Texas ranks 38th nationally on reading test scores for 4th graders, and in HISD only 23 percent of 4th graders tested at or above grade-level proficiency in 2015.

The importance of a love of reading — separate and apart from what one does at school — cannot be overestimated. As Bernice E. Cullinan of New York University outlines in her article, “Independent Reading and School Achievement,” studies from the past 60 years have found a direct relationship between academic achievement and independent reading, showing that free reading done outside of school consistently leads to growth in vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal fluency and increased general information. The National Endowment for the Arts report, “To Read or Not to Read,” also details a strong positive correlation between time students spend reading for pleasure with higher test scores in both writing and reading comprehension.

The British Cohort Study — following the lives of 17,000 people over a period of decades — has found that reading for pleasure outside of school has a significant impact on young people’s educational attainment and social mobility because it actually increases “cognitive progress over time.” They’ve also found that recreational reading has more than triple the positive impact on student achievement than the parents’ level of education, previously thought to be a leading factor in student success.

How can we help middle-graders cultivate the habit of independent reading and find good books they’re not only willing to read, but can get excited about?

Organizations like Inprint — Houston’s premier literary arts nonprofit — have worked for years to arrange free family events that put beloved middle-grade books and writers in the spotlight. At Cool Brains! Inprint Readings for Young People, young readers can meet their favorite writers — a potentially lifechanging experience — and sometimes go home with a free book.

Presentations from popular award-winning authors like Nathan Hale, whose comic-book hybrids offer both original fiction and retellings of significant historical events; Kate DiCamillo, author of the novels “Because of Winn-Dixie” and “The Tale of Despereaux;” Christopher Paul Curtis, author of “Bud, Not Buddy” and many other great books; R. J. Palacio, author of the bestselling “Wonder” — now a major motion picture; and most recently the legendary Katherine Paterson, author of “Bridge to Terabithia,” attract hundreds of children and their families, as well as teachers and librarians.

Students listen riveted as the writers talk about the fictional worlds they create, what it takes to be a writer and answer the students’ questions. The writers stay afterwards to greet fans and sign books. This kind of relationship-building encourages young readers to think of reading as a cherished part of their lives, not just homework.

This is an important distinction. Reading for pleasure is better for developing minds than assigned books, according to authors Jeffrey Wilhelm and Michael Smith.

The authors surveyed a number of eighth-graders, including “Heather,” who told them, “[W]hen you really admire a character in a book who’s really brave [...], you can kind of idolize them and become more like them. So [reading] is not really learning about yourself, it’s learning about what you could become.” This is exactly what middle-grade literature offers young readers.

The NEA report “To Read or Not to Read” agrees with Heather, and goes a little further: It shows that independent readers are more likely to be good citizens — to volunteer, vote, exercise, attend sporting events and support local arts. These are the exact sort of citizens we should want growing up in Houston.

Samuels, Ed.D., is a retired educator.