"We read to discover we are not alone."
C.S.Lewis
Why read?
The right to read is fundamental to a free and humane society. Reading provides expression for an individual and cultural diversity.
Reading is integral to all formal learning. Its purpose is to inform students' knowledge of themselves, the world and to enhance their ability to communicate that knowledge. It allows for the promotion of a student's cognitive development as well as social, spiritual, emotional, moral and mental well-being.
What is reading?
Reading begins with decoding and involves the comprehension, appreciation and understanding of the cultural implications of a text. Texts may be written, spoken, visual, graphic or multimedia.
Because meaning is influenced by subjectivity, situational and cultural contexts, it is important that the reading process also involve the critical questioning and evaluation of a text.
Contexts for reading
To address the diversity of student needs and interests, reading needs to take place in many contexts in the school, ranging from individual reading for pleasure to highly structured classroom reading tasks. Students should be encouraged to read in the home and discuss their reading with others.
Students' experience of reading should allow for
- Curiosity, the pleasure of the senses and the stimulation of the imagination
- exploration and risk taking within the safe limits of the text and the classroom.
- opportunities for questioning and the critical evaluation of the text itself and of individual values and value systems.
The teacher's role is to
- provide opportunities for reading
- encourage and model reading
- advise students on what to read
- address any difficulties in reading that may emerge and
- facilitate the various processes of reading in a range of contexts.
Range of texts
The reading options of students must reflect the diversity of the society in which we live. Students' should read texts which address their interests and needs and encourage their potential. For these reasons, the range of material available to students must be broad and will necessarily include texts which raise the controversial issues which a free society frequently debates. The language and images of texts need to be expressions which reflect a wide range of experiences in order to help students come to an understanding of themselves and their world.
Text selection in the classroom can be done in various ways. Students can select texts for reading or study freely or by consultation with the teacher. Teacher text selection should be based on the interests, educational and emotional needs of students. This is most readily gauged by teachers' professional understanding of the individuals in their own classes. In the case of texts prescribed for the purposes of external assessment, ETA supports the proper process of selection of texts by representative groups formally instituted by the NSW Board of Studies.