Prioritising Reading Pleasure

PRIORITISING READING PLEASURE

Reading Immersion in St Margaret’s English (RISE)

Helen Philp Secondary English Teacher

The importance of reading to young people’s successful outcomes and participation, both in and beyond school, is undeniable. Reading’s significance is affirmed within the Australian F–10 Curriculum, where word recognition and phonic knowledge are taught from foundation years, and literacy, a General Capability encompassing reading, must be prioritised across all subject areas to enable ‘learning and communicating in and out of school and for participating effectively in society’ (ACARA 2020).

Thus, the value of reading as a skill is well-established. But what of reading for pleasure? In her article Reclaiming Pleasure in the Teaching of Reading (2012), Sharon Murphy notes an increasing ‘preoccupation with standards and literacy skills’ in educational policy documents over the past 100 years and less explicit discourse about the role of pleasure in reading. Terms such as

‘delight’, ‘glow’ and ‘love’ are sidelined by a focus on functionality in reading instruction, reflecting the need for schools to ensure student achievement in text-based tests and to support students’ ability to participate in societies and economies where ‘literacy and the “knowledge economy” [are] driving forces’ (Murphy 2012, p. 321).

However, the English teachers at St Margaret’s, for whom a passion for reading comes not only from its operation as a functional skill of literacy and academic performance, but also from its potential for imaginative escape, empathic engagement, aesthetic quality, and joy, recognise the importance of pleasure if students are to read actively, widely, and on into adulthood. Indeed, as Murphy (2012, p. 325) suggests: ‘When pleasure and reading are companions, we know very well that children become engaged readers and are likely

to continue to read throughout their lives.’ Moreover, we know that pleasure and function are inextricably linked; our experience repeatedly affirms the association between the enjoyment of reading and reading achievement.

It is from this context that Reading Immersion in St Margaret’s English, or RISE, was introduced in 2022. Beginning with Year 8 and extending to Years 7 and 9 in 2023, RISE complements the already rich reading culture of the English and Literacy Boost programs at St Margaret’s. Pleasure is paramount, as is a desire to inspire a lifelong love of reading in all students. To achieve our ambitious ends, the department identified several priorities that shaped RISE’s content and structure: firstly, the need to activate pre-requisite knowledge before reading to ensure baseline comprehension; secondly, exposure to a wide range of voices and genres; and

finally, opportunities for student-choice that afford self-differentiated levels of challenge and perceptions of ownership in students’ relationship with reading.

The activation phase

Prior to reading each text in the RISE booklet, the teacher leads the class through activities designed to activate pre-requisite knowledge. UK Assistant Principal and English Teacher Jennifer Webb explains on her web log how these tasks ‘contextualise the text’, and, through associated discussion, teachers ‘ensure that students have the baseline understanding they need in order to access what is coming in a meaningful way’ (Webb 2022). While the explicit teaching of comprehension skills is prioritised elsewhere in the English and Literacy Boost curriculums and not the core focus in RISE, we understand the absence of meaningful understanding to be a barrier to enjoyment when reading.

For example, before reading two poems from Joseph Coehlo’s book The Girl Who Became a Tree, students read a brief synopsis of the Greek myth of Daphne, a girl who transformed herself into a tree to escape the god Apollo. Students infer what can be learned about Daphne from the ancient myth to understand how Coehlo has adapted it into a modern story of a girl who seeks privacy and solace in her local library.

Another activation task takes a morphological approach before reading the crime and mystery text The Outlaws Scarlett and Brown, by Jonathon Stroud. Students list words beginning with the prefix ‘out’, then use that list to determine what the prefix denotes, and finally define the word ‘outlaw’, hypothesising what qualities an outlaw might possess. One component of proficient comprehension is the ability to cope with any unfamiliar words encountered

during reading (RAND & Snow 2002, p. 37), and proficient comprehension is a foundational component of pleasurable reading.

Textual range in RISE

In contributing ideas for the RISE program, one St Margaret’s English teacher said:

There are so many great middle years novels that we could be exploring. Maybe just exposure might be a good way to go – to different kinds of stories to balance and complement the subject matter explored in the [existing English] programs.

Indeed, the amount of quality text-options can be a challenge for teachers designing English programs constrained by time and by the desire to include canonical texts alongside the contemporary, and to ensure representation of diverse voices and

cultures. Some of our eager readers enjoy specific authors, genres, or book series so much that their wider reading becomes bounded within these preferences. Conversely, some students don’t know where to start with their self-selection of texts for independent reading, so abundant are the available choices or limited their reading of texts that they actually enjoy.

Thus, textual range and exposure emerged as priorities for RISE. The program includes excerpts and activities from twelve different genres, including Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Inspirational Women and Girls, Australian First Nations Voices, Memoir, and Hybrid or Graphic texts. The scope for pleasure and reading inspiration is maximised through this variety, offering ‘something for everyone’ and the opportunity for students to empathically engage with experiences both like and unlike their own. In these ways, RISE creates ‘a quilting of voices so that our students will be able to “hear” and “see” multiple possibilities’ (Pierce-Baker 1990, p. 159).

Student choice – taking ownership of the reading journey

We have already characterised our current educational climate as dominated by standardisation and testing. Within this context, if students are to feel empowered and motivated, it is particularly important for teachers to give them voice and choice (Simmons & Page 2010, p. 65). With its focus on reading pleasure and participation in the now, and a love of reading that endures into the future, such student choice is fundamental within RISE. Its format respects students as readers capable of selecting texts and associated activities that align with their capabilities and interests. Indeed, as Murphy (2012, p. 35) states: ‘Offering choice or some degree of autonomy, a characteristic associated with enjoyment and pleasure, can do much on its own.’

Choice is embedded in RISE in two ways. Firstly, students can choose from different creative activities that further explore the lesson’s reading. For example,

after reading the historical fiction extract from When the Guns Fall Silent by James Riordan, students choose one of the text’s sentences as a prompt for imaginative writing. Their options are ‘It was so peaceful’, ‘How can you explain fear?’, or ‘How could they understand?’.

After reading an extract from Ahn Do’s memoir, The Happiest Refugee, which describes his family’s perilous escape by boat from Vietnam to Australia, students choose whether to write imaginatively about a memorable journey they have taken, or to write empathically in the form of a diary entry from Ahn Do’s mother’s perspective, recounting the journey described in the text.

Secondly, students can choose from a suggested reading list to extend their exposure to each text and its genre. The ‘Extend’ step at the end of each RISE lesson’s activities encourages students to either read the whole book from which the extract was drawn, or to select from a recommended wider reading list at the back of the booklet. The books are categorised by genre, with three or four suggestions provided for each. The St Margaret’s Senior Library stocks copies of all texts referenced in the RISE booklet, either in physical, eBook or audio format.

Measuring impact

Encouraging reading for pleasure, maximising reading motivation and inspiring a lifelong love of reading are admirable and valuable aims. But the St Margaret’s English Department must now address the question of how to measure whether RISE is fit-for-purpose. Pleasure and motivation are abstract concepts, so how are we to know if the program has been a success?

This year, we will gather qualitative feedback from students and staff, using questionnaire responses, teacher observations, and class discussions to glean enjoyment and the extent to which the program has encouraged more pleasurable, regular, or more varied reading practices. Year 8 teachers will participate in reflective conversations about the strengths and weaknesses of

RISE’s format and collaborate to identify opportunities for future growth and modification, reshaping the program to maximise its potential as it expands to Years 7 and 9 in 2023. Parents are also well-placed to gauge our success; they may observe more reading at home, or perhaps their daughter will initiate or participate more enthusiastically in conversations about books with explicit reference to reading in RISE.

Ultimately, while measuring impact and the improvement of pedagogical approaches to reading are important, RISE offers respite from formal curriculum and the focus on functional skills. Through an approach that empowers and respects students’ autonomy and individuality as readers, we hope that ‘delight’, ‘glow’ and ‘love’ will come to characterise their relationship with reading at St Margaret’s and beyond.

References

ACARA 2020, Australian F-10 Curriculum Version 8.4, viewed 30 March 2022, https:// www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10- curriculum/learning-areas/

Coehlo, J 2020, The Girl Who Became a Tree, Otter-Barry Books, Herefordshire, UK.

Do, A 2010, The Happiest Refugee, Allen and Unwin, Australia.

McGraw, A and Mason, M 2017, ‘Reading as an imaginative act: Strategies for reading’, English in Australia, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 9-19.

Murphy, S 2012, ‘Reclaiming Pleasure in the Teaching of Reading’, Language Arts, vol. 89, no. 5, pp. 318-328.

Pierce-Baker, C 1990, ‘A Quilting of Voices: Diversifying the Curriculum/Canon in the Traditional Humanities’, College Literature, vol. 17, pp. 152-161.

RAND Reading Study Group & Snow, C 2002, ‘A Research Agenda for Improving Reading Comprehension’, Reading for Understanding, pp. 29-59.

Riordan, J 2000, When the Guns Fall Silent, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Simmons, A & Page, M 2010, ‘Motivating Students through Power and Choice’, The English Journal, vol. 100, pp. 65-69.

Stroud, J 2021, The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, Walker Books, Australia.

Webb, J 2022, ‘A Literacy post…’, Funky Pedagogy, web log post, viewed 28 January 2022, https://funkypedagogy.com/aliteracy-post/