Barking for Books

Research has shown that READING ALOUD TO A DOG increases a child’s motivation to continue reading.

What activity is not improved when shared with your canine friend? Research shows that the calming effect of a dog can improve young readers’s attitude towards reading— encouraging them to read more.

The study, published in Early Childhood Education Journal, looked at 28 second graders from public school classrooms, all with average literacy levels for their grade. It found that students assigned to a six-week after-school canine-assisted reading program had a significantly higher score on positive recreational reading attitudes compared to students with a standard classroom curriculum. The after-school program consisted of a 30-minute session in which the students were assigned to read to a registered therapy dog.

The students provided feedback on their attitudes about reading before and after each session, and their reading skills were assessed biweekly.

Though reading skills were the same between the groups, the students that read to the dogs were shown to feel more engagement and motivation to continue reading. They were more excited about reading and had significantly more positive attitudes toward reading than their counterparts that followed the standard curriculum. The researchers reasoned that this motivation might come from a lower stress level. Who wouldn’t be happier to engage in reading aloud with some floppy ears listening?

“Even though reading skills did not change significantly, I would still endorse animal-assisted intervention for child literacy because attitudes about reading can be a stepping stone to improved reading skills,” study co-author Deborah Linder told an interviewer for the news and media website, Inverse. “Additionally, with a longer program or more frequent visits, we may have seen skill improvements, so future studies are needed.”