{"id":17059,"date":"2021-04-20T06:57:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T10:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/?p=17059"},"modified":"2021-04-20T09:34:13","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T13:34:13","slug":"is-the-future-of-student-reading-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/is-the-future-of-student-reading-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Future of Student Reading Digital?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our recent annual study of student reading habits found that digital reading doubled in 2020, but will the trend continue, or is it an artifact of remote learning during a pandemic?<\/em><\/h4>\n

For more than a decade, Renaissance has published the What Kids Are Reading<\/em><\/a> report to help educators guide students to books they will love. Based on a sample of more than 7 million students across 26,000 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the report is one of the largest survey of student reading habits in the world.<\/p>\n

Before I share some of the key findings of What Kids Are Reading, it is worth taking a moment to answer the question: \u201cWhy does it matter what kids are reading outside of classwork?\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s No Substitute for Independent Reading<\/h2>\n

Educators have known for years that students who read a lot outside of school perform well academically, and there is an emerging body of research that\u2019s beginning to explain why. At the simplest level, as students read more, they gain the ability to recognize more words instantly, which leads to more fluent reading. But it continues to build from there. Each book provides more vocabulary, more background knowledge, and even sharper critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n

An anecdote will illustrate this effect: a colleague recently told me about the first time she saw the word \u201cfa\u00e7ade.\u201d She had only heard it before and had assumed it would start with a \u201cph,\u201d like \u201cphalanx\u201d or \u201cpharaoh.\u201d Of course, it starts with an \u201cf,\u201d so when she saw the word for the first time, she had to sound it out and decode it. Each time she saw it after that, it got easier and faster for her to recognize the word.<\/p>\n

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7 million students. 255 million books. Explore the world\u2019s largest annual study of K\u201312 student reading habits: https:\/\/t.co\/CRD9QHmgYQ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iUO0TKQ96E<\/a><\/p>\n

— Renaissance Learning US (@RenLearnUS) April 5, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n