Reading
‘A room without books is a body without a soul.’
Cicero.
Reading?
or Gaming?
Which do you do more of? Reading or Gaming? Reading's boring right? ... WRONG!
The riches provided by reading are very real. In fact, neurological researchers have spent years studying the impact of reading on the brain and the results are compelling.
Reading for pleasure:
- regularly provides mental stimulation;
- improves your memory;
- reduces stress;
- boosts knowledge;
- expands your vocabulary;
- promotes stronger analytical thinking skills;
- improves your ability to focus and concentrate;
- improves your writing skills;
- and perhaps, more interestingly, reading increases our aptitude for compassion and imagination.
Besides all of these obvious benefits, it is really enjoyable. I accept that it might not be perceived as an enjoyable pastime for everyone but the truth is that we all have the capacity to be avid readers. Read for half an hour every day and you will soon find that the time will stretch to double the length without you even noticing.
Once you have developed a reading habit – retreating into a book becomes effortless and thoroughly relaxing. Reading does not have to be a solitary act. Read and then share what you read with your friends and family. Find time to talk about the characters and the world they inhabit whilst offering your own opinions on what you have read.
Do you want better grades? Then quite simply, do more reading ...
Social Consequences
As well as improving academic attainment, international evidence also suggests reading fiction for pleasure has social consequences. It has been shown to be associated with empathy and increased social support. One study found teenagers used reading for pleasure to help them make sense of the world, mature relationships and cultural identity.
Widen your vocab
A wide vocabulary is an important tool for both understanding new subject matter and for being to express yourself clearly. As your understanding of a subject grows, so does your ability to work out new words you come across. What do you do when you come across a word you do not understand? Before you look it up, see if there are any clues to its meaning. Does it look or sound like a word you already know? Rupture, interruption and eruption, for example, all share the Latin root word 'Rupt' meaning to break. Read the sentence and see if you can guess it's meaning. Try learning some of the most common root words, prefixes and suffixes; it will help you decode unfamiliar words. This will also help you spell more accurately.
Work out who you are
If you choose and read books independently as you move through school, you will discover writing that interests you, makes you think or makes you laugh. As you age, this will help you to discover your identity and make you a stronger more robust person.
your best future self
Those who have all the riches that reading affords are more likely to enjoy gainful employment, acquire new skills very rapidly, and quickly move from learning to read to reading to learn. If you read for pleasure habitually, you provide yourself with self-generated learning opportunities that are equivalent to several years of education. The very act of reading demonstrates a certain habit of mind that is conducive to the levels of focus required for challenging work.
Reading for Pleasure recommended by your peers ...
‘The Hunger Games Trilogy’
by Suzanne Collins
‘The Fault in Our Stars’
by John Green
‘Wonder’
by R J Palacio
‘Face’
by Benjamin Zephaniah
‘The Divergent Series’
by Veronica Roth
‘The Lightening Thief’
by Rick Riordan
'The Book Thief’
by Markus Zusak
'Harry Potter Series'
by JK Rowling
Follow @CHSEngDep on twitter for more advice on reading ...
the textbook challenge!
Reading a textbook for School can be a very different experience from reading for pleasure. Find out more about how you can navigate and enjoy this new challenge here.
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