How to create reading opportunities for high school students.

Finding time for reading can be difficult for even those of us who are hand on heart obsessed with it. There are nights where everything takes a little too long, or days that take a little too much out of you; or probably the worst scenario, which is that you’ve read so much during your day you just can’t bear to look at another word. Probably the equivalent of eating too many brussels sprouts and not having any room for dessert. 

One of the age groups that has been flagged again and again for having poor reading habits are teens. Understandably so, as this group are not only going through extreme physiological changes but are also juggling the expectations of their schooling, extra-curricular hobbies and changing identity - all while being constantly prepped for their next stage of life, 'adulthood’. 

Teenagers will already have a LOT to read from their subjects at school; unfortunately these materials are rarely their own choice and are often linked to homework or assessments. Although it might be difficult for them to find the time on their own to read for pleasure, I have some quick tips for creating these moments in your household so that everyone might get a small squeeze of time to settle down into a great read. 

Identify a time in the household schedule where everyone can engage in reading and commit to this time. To minimise interruptions you can switch the Wi-Fi off, turn on some chilled out tunes, and have the kettle ready to pour out something in a mug. It helps if this time has nothing proceeding it e.g. one evening a week. If your TV room is the only comfortable place for this you can play one of the free to air radio stations or get YouTube or Spotify up on a smart TV.

Read something together like a series of books or a book that has become a movie. Any text that has an offshoot text like a podcast, TV series, fan fiction or music will help build engagement. Having mutual conversation and being up to the same parts of the text can create great debates and engagement for future reading sessions. It can also form the basis of the next text selection.

Give them a voice and a choice. Have a session in a bookstore where they have time to browse, or let them loose in an online bookstore so they have something delivered to them at home which they can open and enjoy. 

There is little merit in forcing the Penguin Classics down the throat of any teenager, especially when these texts may have already come up in a high stakes classroom setting. Reading should be pleasurable, not a punishment - so look find those moments to create, participate and celebrate all the awesome facets of a great read. 

 Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash