Contents

• Introduction
• Choosing texts to support comprehension
• Choosing texts to support decoding
• Choosing texts to support fluent reading
• Choosing texts for teacher Read Aloud
• Choosing texts to support struggling readers
• Texts that support Independent Reading (IR)
• In summary
• References

In this paper we discuss text choice as it impacts a number of pedagogical  approaches used to teach reading. 

Introduction

Text selection plays an important role in the teaching of Reading (and Writing) and the choices teachers make are determined by: knowledge of the reading process, instructional practices and available texts, students’ needs and interests, and the purpose for using the text (teaching, practice or pleasure). In this paper we discuss text choice as it impacts a number of pedagogical approaches used to teach reading. The texts considered in this paper include those used for: teaching reading comprehension, teaching students to decode, teaching fluency, independent reading, and teaching struggling readers. The use of rich quality literature for teacher Read Aloud is also discussed.

Authentic texts are defined by ACARA as texts or materials produced for 'real-life' purposes and contexts as opposed to being created specifically for learning tasks or language practice. They are meaning focused; written to entertain, explain, persuade or inform. Authentic texts contain rich language and vocabulary, particular to the genre and content. Well-chosen authentic texts are good for building vocabulary and familiarity with written language structures and text features such as plot and characterisation. Authentic texts are ideal for teaching fluency and comprehension as well as for pure enjoyment of story. Authentic texts are also used for Read Aloud and independent reading for pleasure. Poetry, rhymes and verse novels are also authentic texts that should feature in classrooms of all ages and stages. These offer rhythm and rhyme as well as unique structures that often support fluent reading.

In the current era, decodable texts are included in curricula and widely used for teaching students how to apply phonics knowledge to decode unknown words. While decodable texts can play an important role in teaching students how to decode, they vary in quality, do not always promote reading for meaning and are usually not suited for teaching students how to read fluently. Decodable texts can be useful at the very beginning of the reading process, but . . . the transition to other text forms needs to be made very early (Bommarito, 2024; Mesmer, 2009; Shanahan, 2024).

Predictable texts may form part of a school's wider reading. “Once students can consistently use phonic knowledge to decode words, the use of decodable texts does not need to continue. At this point, students should be reading a wide range of texts of increasing complexity and varied topics" (NESA, 2022 K-10, p. 9). Predictable texts usually provide repetition and are often controlled in terms of the length and complexity of sentences, vocabulary, the amount of text on a page, text layout and the relationship between illustrations and text. "The selection of texts should provide opportunities for students to engage with features of texts that provide appropriate levels of challenge" (NESA, 2022, K-10, p.14). Predictable texts may provide grade level appropriate reading content for comprehension instruction, fluency development (Shanahan, 2019), vocabulary development and content knowledge. The reason for using predictable, or other types of levelled texts, and authentic texts is to ensure children are supported to read complex texts with support and scaffolding rather than being limited to simple texts at the level of their decoding ability (Shanahan, 2019).

Readable, or accessible texts are sometimes used with older students who may be finding reading difficult. These do not fit neatly into any of the categories mentioned so far, but are more closely aligned with authentic texts. We explain more about these texts in the struggling readers section of this paper. 

What follows are some suggestions for you to think about as you select texts to support your approach to teaching the readers in your classroom. 

 

 School Members Only: Download our Staff Discussion Guide for this paper - includes recommended discussion questions and group activities. 

Choosing texts to support comprehension

What is comprehension?

Comprehension is an active process that involves a reader understanding and interpreting what is being read as they read. The process begins with the first sentence of a text (or even the title, the blurb, the front cover, an introduction or a recommendation) and the reader continues to build understanding throughout the reading. Readers construct semantic connections between successive words, phrases, and sentences in order to understand. No two readers will understand a text in quite the same way, as comprehension depends on prior knowledge and experience. 

What impacts reading comprehension?

Comprehension is largely impacted by decoding ability, oral language competency (including vocabulary), fluency and knowledge and/or experience with the topic and type of text being used. Efficient decoding is a comprehension enabler, but not a guarantee.

“Even if the pronunciation of all the letter strings in a passage are correctly decoded, the text will not be comprehended if the child (1) does not know the words in their spoken form, (2) cannot parse the syntactic and semantic relationships among the words, or (3) lacks the critical background knowledge or inferential skills to interpret the text appropriately and ‘read between the lines’” (Scarborough, 2001, p. 98).   

Reading comprehension is also impacted by the particular text being read and the purpose for reading. The degree of difficulty similarly impacts comprehension. Difficulty may be determined by the vocabulary in the text and ratio of known and unknown words. Having knowledge of what is being read, that is, background knowledge, facilitates comprehension. Familiarity with the genre and interest in the topic also make a big difference to a reader. Reading texts in a series can facilitate comprehension, as the reader can draw on knowledge from earlier reading. Engaging in discussions about texts and analysing texts has shown to impact positively on comprehension, as has providing opportunities for children to write (and draw) in response to texts (Duke, Ward & Pearson, 2021).

Fluency is an important factor in facilitating text comprehension (Kim et al, 2021).  While fluent reading does not necessarily guarantee comprehension (Kim et al, 2014), it has been shown as a contributing factor (see fluency section). 

Dirt by Sea by Michael Wagner and Tom Jellet, a fantastic mentor text. Download PETAA's curriculum unit based on the book.

Why promote comprehension?

The ultimate goal of reading should always be meaning making. Readers need to be able to gain literal meaning from texts, be able to infer, drawing on knowledge of the text content, and make connections using background knowledge.  Readers also need to engage in evaluative practices when reading, including thinking about the purpose of the text and thinking critically about the text’s messages.

Luke and Freebody’s Four Resources model (1999) highlights the importance of code-breaking, meaning making, text use and reading critically.

You can teach students to engage critically with texts to support comprehension. One question that can be asked to support students with reading critically is: “Whose voices are heard and whose voices are silent in a text and why?”. 

Thinking about the choices authors and illustrators make can assist students with thinking about texts more deeply. Even young students can engage with thinking critically when reading. 

For example, think of the text This is not my hat by Jon Klassen that tells a simple story of a little fish  that steals the hat of a very big sleeping fish. The little fish is narrating the story, and we do not get to hear from the big fish, even when he wakes up.  Thinking critically, you could ask students what we think the big fish might say when he wakes up and realises his hat is missing,  or why did the author decide not to mention the big fish in the text? A follow up activity might involve giving the big fish a voice and narrating  the story from his perspective.

This is not my hat by Jon Klassen

Who should learn to comprehend?

All students learning to read need to experience success with decoding (see section on decoding) to facilitate comprehension; therefore it is important that comprehension is taught simultaneously with code breaking. Reading for meaning promotes reading engagement and enjoyment. 

Comprehension is always the goal of reading. “Given the absolute necessity of foundational word-reading skills, it is tempting to think that instruction should begin with a focus on developing those and later turn to comprehension. However, research has supported a simultaneous, rather than sequential, model of reading instruction” (Duke and colleagues, 2021, p.665). 

Which texts should we use to teach reading comprehension?

Most authentic texts can be used to focus on comprehension. It is important to teach comprehension using a range of high-quality texts. High-quality texts are those that offer diverse representations, are of interest to students, and vary in format, length, and genre (Smith and colleagues, 2023). The choice will be determined by a range of factors, such as who is doing the reading? What is the purpose of the text? 

Texts that have a clear narrative or message, or factual information that is relevant and can be checked, will support comprehension. As demonstrated above, even texts with minimal words can be used to teach comprehension.

How do you teach reading comprehension?

Most students will need to be explicitly taught strategies that facilitate comprehension, e.g. visualising, inferring, making connections and summarising. However, such strategies are only effective insofar as the reader has the requisite background knowledge, highlighting the importance of text selection and building the field to support students to comprehend the text they are reading. A dialogic approach in which students engage in rich discussions about texts has been shown to improve comprehension (McKeown et al, 2009).

Reading aloud to students provides one of the best opportunities to talk about the thinking that occurs while reading, articulating the strategies that a skilled reader will use to facilitate comprehension. (See Read Aloud section below.)

The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia’s First Peoples by Corey Tutt. Download PETAA's curriculum unit of work based on the text.

Dialogic reading (Corhssen et al, 2016) is also a powerful strategy that involves the teacher and student/s having an interactive dialogue (or conversation) based upon a shared text. Sometimes the text is a large text (Big Book) which allows the students to see the text as well as the illustrations. The process can promote listening comprehension.

Close reading is another approach that supports students with reading complex texts. It usually involves four elements:

• Repeated reading of a text extract or short text
• Text annotations to illustrate thinking
• Teacher facilitating a discussion to promote text analysis
• Student discussion and analysis

This process needs to be modelled to students and then explicit steps provided. PETAA has provided numerous examples of how to teach close reading in their Curriculum Units of Work. See for example, the  curriculum unit based on Book of Curious Birds by Jennifer Cossins as outlined below:

 

Close reading with information texts Pages 22—23 (Blue-Footed Booby) will be used for Close Reading. The structure and layout of this text makes it ideal for analysing the tools that authors use when creating a text to inform. While pp. 22—23 have been chosen for analysis the same process could be adapted to any of the other birds featured in the book. Book of Curious Birds by Jennifer Cossins. Download the full PETAA curriculum unit based on this text. Whole text layout: Support students to notice and identify the function of the parts of the text including: Heading – identifies and names the bird Subtitle – highlights a unique feature of the bird  Data summary – provides a quick overview Text paragraphs – provides additional information about the appearance and habits of the bird Highlighted text – breaks up the text with an interesting fact (you might like to discuss how this supports readers who may be skim reading the book to find information of interest).  Compare the identified features to another entry in the book so that students can see how this structure can be adapted. How does this predictable structure support readers to make meaning from the text? AC9E3LY04, AC9E3LY05

 

 

Text examples

PETAA’s Curriculum Units of Work all provide examples of explicit teaching of comprehension and close reading.

For example, explore the curriculum unit based on Dirt By Sea by Michael Wagner and Tom Jellett.

You may also refer to the PETAA text Teaching with intent 2: Literature-based literacy teaching and learning, by Dr Bronwyn Parkin and Dr Helen Harper. 

 School Members Only: Download our Staff Discussion Guide for this paper - includes recommended discussion questions and group activities. 

Choosing texts to support decoding  

What is decoding?

Decoding is the process of translating a written word into speech. Decoding is commonly understood as the process of sounding out, using grapheme-phoneme information.

What impacts decoding?

1. An understanding of the alphabetic principle supports decoding. Phonological and phonemic awareness both impact decoding.

The English alphabet has 26 letters (graphemes) and 44 or more sounds (phonemes). However, the English language is a morphophonemic language, where words are constructed through representations of both their sounds and meaning (see Rastle, 2019; Adoniou, 2022). 

2. Vocabulary knowledge is also critical to decoding, enabling a reader to know which pronunciation is correct and to monitor whether the text with that word in it makes sense. 

“These kinds of links among phonology, orthography, and words’ meanings (i.e., vocabulary) are at the heart of orthographic mapping: the linking of words’ spellings, pronunciations, and meanings in memory” (Duke and Cartwright, 2020). 

The complexity of decoding is illustrated by homophones, for example, knowing how to pronounce the word ‘minute’ requires phonetic knowledge, knowledge of possible meanings and semantic and syntactical knowledge of the sentence in which the word sits (see AC9EFLY04).

Why teach decoding?

All readers need to know how to decode in order to read for meaning. As well as phoneme/grapheme correspondence, they must increasingly learn to apply text knowledge, grammar and word knowledge, including etymology and morphology, in order to decode more complex texts. It is up to the teacher to determine the decoding needs of each student in their class. Most students will not need explicit phonics instruction past the early years of schooling. “For learners, cracking the code by the end of grade 1 is a realistic goal.” [However] “There isn’t an abrupt shift from explicit instruction to no explicit instruction, and the shift in emphasis doesn’t occur at the same time for everyone” (Seidenberg, 2024, p. 8).  Additionally, with exposure to more complex vocabulary, students will need explicit instruction in morphological and orthographic knowledge into the upper primary years. 

Who can learn to decode?

All students can be taught to decode, although some students learn to crack the code more easily than others. 

Which texts should we use to teach decoding?

Different types of texts support the various elements that make up decoding. 

Decodable texts use a high percentage of phonetically regular words that consist of letter-sound correspondences that have been systematically taught. Decodable texts allow students the opportunity to practise reading the grapheme-phoneme combinations that have been taught in phonics lessons. Decodables may be supportive for beginning readers, who are still learning to map spoken sounds to written words. Once students demonstrate that they are efficient at decoding using phonemic information, the continued use of decodable texts is not required. 

It is “okay to use decodable texts as part of phonics instruction, but such practice should be limited, and even beginning readers should be reading (not just listening to) more than decodable texts” (Shanahan, June 1, 2024).

Authentic texts and readable texts also support decoding. These texts teach students how to use multiple sources of information to problem solve unknown words: phonological information, grammatical structures (understanding how words go together in written language) and meaning (understanding text should make sense). To help identify authentic texts that will support you in systematically teaching phonics using your existing program, PETAA has created an Authentic Texts Phonics Progression, available freely to all!

“Contextual information helps determine the accuracy of initial attempts at word solving, and when initial attempts fail to yield a real word that fits the context, contextual information supports subsequent attempts, in a recursive fashion, thus raising the likelihood that the correct word will be identified. This process supports orthographic mapping (Ehri, 2014) and helps students build their sight vocabularies” (Scanlon & Anderson, 2020, p. S20). 

 

How do we use texts to support the teaching of decoding?

There are different approaches to teaching students how to decode. We prefer a differentiated approach based on the needs of the students. Ongoing monitoring and assessment are required to ensure that the teaching is meeting the needs of all students. Some students will need more explicit teaching than others. However, what we discuss here is the use of texts to support your teaching, rather than suggesting one method for teaching decoding over another. These suggestions will be used in conjunction with the systematic and explicit teaching of phonics. 

Enlarged texts, including Big Books, allow for a focus on print and explicit teaching of decoding. You can draw students’ attention to the grapheme(s) and phoneme(s) that are being taught in phonics lessons, in addition to reading the book for enjoyment and focusing on the meaning in the text. 

Small group instruction also provides opportunities for teaching students about graphemes and phonemes and how to draw on different sources of information to problem solve on unknown words within a text. Some examples include Eleanor Curtain’s Flying Start, At Grandpa’s House and Cakes for Sale, where phonemes and graphemes can be discussed within the context of the stories.

Shared reading, for example, using the book Snap! by Anna Walker provides an opportunity to focus on changing the middle vowel sound in words —  snap changes to snip, drop changes to drip. The book also allows for an exploration of onomatopoeia. There are many rhyming words in the book including tap/snap, tip/snip and many consonant, vowel, and consonant words that could be focused upon such as tap, tip, nap. 

 

 School Members Only: Download our Staff Discussion Guide for this paper - includes recommended discussion questions and group activities. 

Choosing texts to support reading fluency

What is reading fluency?

Reading fluency has variously been defined as reading accuracy, efficiency, automaticity or rate. Oral reading prosody and expression are indicators of reading fluency.  Fluent reading is sometimes described as ‘phrased and fluent’ because fluent readers group words together in phrases, rather than reading individual words quickly.

Fluent reading is not just about reading quickly, although fluent readers can, and do, read quickly where and when appropriate. Their pace changes to suit the text. 

“Text reading fluency is a multidimensional construct, and it acts as a predictor, mediating the relations of word reading and listening comprehension to reading comprehension” (Kim et al, 2014, p. 718). 

Fluent reading requires Executive Function (EF), or “the ability to hold onto chunks of information (working memory) semantically, morpho-syntactically, phonologically, pragmatically, and orthographically while shifting attention during the sequential process of reading” (Kieffer & Christodoulou, 2019, p. 148). 

What impacts fluent reading?

The following may impact fluent reading: 

• accuracy and efficiency in word decoding, often referred to as competency in phonics 
• automaticity in word recognition
• appropriate use of prosodic features (oral expression) such as stress, pitch and suitable phrasing (Rasinski et al, 2016)
• level of difficulty of text – if a book requires too much problem solving (e.g. slow decoding, too many miscues etc) the reading will not be fluent. Books that are easy to read are the best place to start and then the fluency can carry into slightly more difficult texts.

N.B. A reader may read parts of a text fluently and quickly but slow down to self-monitor, problem solve and even self-correct but will then return to fluent reading.

Why promote fluency?

Reading fluently is enjoyable and promotes the desire to read more and different texts. Fluency supports, but does not guarantee, comprehension. Fluent reading also supports phonological awareness.

Who should learn to read fluently?

All students, at all levels of learning, can be taught how to read some texts fluently. Fluency instruction should start early with short, familiar texts, poems, rhymes and songs.

Which texts should we use to teach fluency?

Any text can be read fluently if the language is well structured, and the reader does not have to do too much problem solving. Initially texts may be short, familiar texts that have rhythm and rhyme. Poetry and rhymes are perfect for teaching fluency. 

Prior knowledge of a topic, language used, and the text style all support fluent reading. 

Text layout may impact fluency (e.g. text location changing from page to page to accommodate images, tables, diagrams). 

N.B. Decodable (phonologically controlled) texts are sometimes very difficult to read fluently.

PETAA’s Year of Texts, Year 2 can be used to support reading fluency. Download this teaching scope and sequence.

 

How do you teach fluent reading?

 1. Modelling: 
Teacher Read Aloud provides the opportunity to model fluent reading but also provides a space to discuss fluent reading. You can take students back to a page or paragraph after a Read Aloud and ask them to identify and discuss how you read and why. Discuss how you read some words together quite quickly, how you used punctuation (knowing where to pause etc.), and how the volume or pitch of your voice may have changed. 

2. Explicit instruction: 
Using a short text that all can see, show students where you would pause; that is, how you would ‘read the punctuation’, which words you would read as a phrase, and how you would use expression. Have them join in as you read fluently. 

• Primary students may read a passage silently and work out where they will pause, and so on, before reading aloud.
• Have student pairs ‘mark-up’ a copy of a short passage, taking turns to read and listen to each other. Adjust where necessary to get the best interpretations.

3. Practice: 

• Repeated oral reading of appropriate texts (e.g., speeches, songs, scripts, and poetry) supports fluency. 
• Choral reading of poems or favourite passages for performance work well. 
• Readers’ Theatre – learning how to read your part (repeated reading) can be powerful. 
• Promoting and providing opportunities for wide, independent reading every day. 
• Practice on familiar texts and then apply to unfamiliar texts. 
• Reading to a partner and/or younger students provides purpose and audience.

Text examples

Refer to PETAA’s Year of Texts to find great texts aligned with curriculum requirements.

Poetry books: Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose by Sally Murphy (PETAA), which features the above poem; The Treasury of Aussie Nursery Rhymes by Matt Shanks; Poems to Perform by Julia Donaldson; Michael Rosen’s Book of Very Silly Poems by Michael Rosen, A Boat of Stars edited by Margaret Connolly & Natalie Jane Prior.

Choosing texts for teacher Read Aloud

What is teacher Read Aloud?

Read Aloud is one of the most powerful reading lessons you can give. Read Aloud as a teaching strategy involves reading well-chosen, high quality books to students – preferably books that the students could not read for themselves: fiction, non-fiction, traditional literature, new literature, poetry, songs or speeches. 

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to share worthwhile books – that will stretch their imaginations, help them make sense of their worlds and lives – and encourage them to reach out to people who are different to themselves – who lead different lives” (Katherine Patterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia).

What is teacher Read Aloud?

Comprehension is an active process that involves a reader understanding and interpreting what is being read as they read. The process begins with the first sentence of a text (or even the title, the blurb, the front cover, an introduction or a recommendation) and the reader continues to build understanding throughout the reading.  Readers construct semantic connections between successive words, phrases, and sentences in order to understand. No two readers will understand a text in quite the same way, as comprehension depends on prior knowledge and experience. 

How to use teacher Read Aloud as a powerful teaching strategy

• Carefully select texts that will interest students in your class and develop their vocabulary and knowledge (content and conceptual). 
Teach your students the routines of Read Aloud appropriate for their age. The seating arrangements vary according to the age and space. Students need to understand that they should not interrupt you as you read or distract other students. 
• You must be familiar with (and like) the book, having read it before and have made the decision that reading this book aloud is the best choice at this point in time for your class. 
• Before beginning to read, do a quick orientation to the text, just to make sure that all students have enough background knowledge to be able to engage with it easily.
• Read Aloud is a performance task. It takes practice – give yourself time to develop your skill.
• Keep the flow! It is important not to break the flow with too much talk during the reading. 
• Always stop at a logical point in the book. Questions can be saved until the end of the session. 
• In an early-years classroom you may choose to have no interaction until the end of the first read of a picture book. With a chapter book you may save discussion to the end of a chapter or section. Don’t be tempted to ask a lot of questions at the end of a book or chapter. 
• Don’t expect all students to respond to a Read Aloud in the same way. Some students will not want to say anything, others will have lots to say – that is OK. 
• We advise that you aim for five Read Aloud sessions each day in the first year of school (Foundation, Kindergarten, Pre-Primary, Reception and Prep) – two familiar picture books, two new books and a poem or rhyme. Information texts or sections should account for at least one of the texts. 
• In Years 1 and 2 the books will gradually get longer and so aim for 20-30 minutes per day, stopping where appropriate (usually the end of a chapter).
• A chapter book needs more time to get started: 30-40 minutes to ‘launch the book’, (Layne, 2015) and then the time may be anywhere from 15-30 minutes according to the length of chapters. Launching a book refers to starting a new chapter book and hooking the listeners in – winning them over, getting them to the point where they are really interested and don’t want you to stop. You need to be careful where you stop – you want them to leave this first read wanting more. 

Extra opportunities

Audio books. StoryBox Library is an Australian resource that provides opportunities for students (as individuals or small groups) to hear books read aloud fluently by actors and authors. It can work well during independent reading time for those students not yet able to independently read texts that are motivating.

Examples

The books you read need to be appropriate to your class. One of the best ways to keep up with new books is via the school and/or local librarian, or PETAA. Refer to PETAA’s Year of Texts to find great texts aligned with curriculum requirements. You can also try sites like Finding good books and Reading Australia.

A great TED Talk to share with staff and/or parents

Why we should all be reading aloud to children by Rebecca Bellingham.

 

 School Members Only: Download our Staff Discussion Guide for this paper - includes recommended discussion questions and group activities. 

Choosing texts to support struggling readers

What we need to consider about texts for struggling readers and why

Many readers who struggle with decoding or word recognition have difficulty achieving a point of automaticity and fluency that enables them to focus on comprehension(Northrop & Kelly, 2019). Careful choice of texts is even more important for these students. Students who are struggling need texts chosen to meet their specific needs. They will need explicit teaching or they will continue to fall behind their peers. Well-chosen books can make all the difference.

Who are these students?

In any classroom there will be students who are struggling to keep or catch up. 

• For some of our youngest students the reasons may be simply lack of exposure to books and reading prior to starting school.
• For other students there may be physical issues that need to be attended to, including hearing and vision. 
• Some students may have complex learning difficulties, including dyslexia. 

How do we use texts to support struggling readers?

1. Find out why they are struggling: The reason the student is struggling needs to be determined first. This may involve systematic observations of the child engaging in reading tasks and/or assessments conducted by a qualified specialist. Once the reasons the student is struggling have been identified an intervention should be designed and implemented, with plans for regular review. Careful text selection will be part of this process.
2.  Motivation will be critical: Texts for students who are struggling in Years 3-6 need to be carefully considered to avoid the perception that they are reading ‘baby’ books. It may be best to ask the students what they want to be able to read – offer choice and support. Texts should have unpatronising content matched to the age of the reader, not their reading level.
3.  Familiarity: If students have prior knowledge of the content or experience with the text-type they may find the texts more accessible.
4. Some older students prefer information texts over fiction. 
5. Good quality audio books can work well with students who are struggling to read. These are supplementary to the books they themselves are reading during reading lessons. Audio books help students build their understanding of book language, expand their vocabulary and build listening comprehension skills without the effort of decoding. These skills can then be accessed when they read. 

 

Resist by Tom Palmer

 

Examples of readable or accessible texts for struggling readers in Years 4-6 

Barrington Stoke books are designed to support struggling students. This series has been created to connect with students’ actual age, not their reading age. They are described as ‘super-readable, dyslexia friendly’. For example, Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke, Meg and Merlin by Tanya Landman, and Resist by Tom Palmer. (See also Audio books in Read Aloud section).  

Texts that support Independent reading

What is Independent reading?

Independent reading (IR) occurs when students read self-selected material within their current reading competence. Guidance in selection will assist choice. This may be silent reading or taking turns to read aloud to a partner, adult or younger student. The process should be carefully monitored to ensure students are able to read with understanding and enjoyment. IR should be reading for pleasure. 

IR allows opportunity for implicit learning.  “Leaving implicit learning out of the picture has resulted in overreliance on explicit instruction and learning via the slower, conscious system. That creates a problem of ‘too much to teach, too little time’. Bringing explicit instruction and implicit learning into better alignment is the solution” (Seidenberg, 2024, p. 7).

Why should we make time for IR in the classroom?

"Compelling international evidence illustrates the potential of reading for pleasure for enhancing student reading achievement along with other learning and wellbeing outcomes” (Cremin & Scholes, 2024). 

• Reading regularly is associated with academic gains in vocabulary and math achievement (McQuillan, 2019; Sullivan & Brown, 2015), reduced stress levels (Levine et al., 2022), and even longer life expectancy (Bavishi et al., 2016). 
• “IR can satisfy personal pleasure, enhance ‘overall narrative and descriptive writing quality’ as well as supporting the mechanics of writing: spelling accuracy, content, grammatical accuracy, and text organization” (Jouhar & Rupley, 2021). IR has also been found to increase world knowledge and vocabulary. 
• Practice leads to a shift from explicit to implicit teaching.

“Beginning readers need a heavy dose of explicit instruction, plus activities that allow them to practice, consolidate knowledge (implicit learning with feedback. As the child gains skill, the mix shifts to greater reliance on implicit learning” (Seidenberg, Accelerated Literacy Conference, 2024). 

Seidenberg (2024) writes about students achieving ‘escape velocity’ where they no longer need reading instruction, but may still need to be introduced to new topics and text forms and receive explicit feedback on how they are going. Clay (1991) called this a ‘self-extending system’ whereby learners get better at reading through reading (and better at writing through writing). 

Who should engage with IR?

All students. The process of IR will shift from looking through picture books when students first start school, to reading self-chosen texts independently once they have the skills to select appropriate texts, decode with reasonable level of accuracy to maintain meaning, self-monitor and problem solve where necessary. 

NB. Self-monitoring is the ‘in the head’ process of checking that what you are reading is making sense – knowing when to go back and check – to keep reading

How do you organise for IR?

• Having a choice of what to read leads to intrinsic motivation and being intrinsically motivated to read for its own rewards. In contrast, extrinsic motivation refers to reading for external rewards (Cubillos & Rousseau, 2024).  Choice gives students agency over their reading journey and allows for differentiation of text types, level of difficulty, topics and lets all students engage with texts that are of interest. 
• Younger readers can be provided with personal book boxes that include a selection of books to choose from during Independent reading time. These would often be books they have read during previous reading lessons or picture books read during Read Aloud.  
• 20 minutes per day is recommended, although this is up to the teacher and varies according to age.
• Older students (Years 3 +) should be given the opportunity to read when other work has been completed. This would be in addition to planned IR time.
• Audio books may be used for students experiencing difficulties with learning to read. 
• Students must know they can participate in IR. Establishing early routines and supervising text selection is essential.
• Providing an audience for some readers may help them to stay on track. The audience may include volunteer parents, grandparents, teaching support staff, a Reading Buddy or even the school wellness dog. 
• Providing accountability through monitoring of reading is essential. Students may draw, write or talk to an interested party following IR. 

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

Which texts should you use? 

Texts may come from the school or class library, or students could bring books or magazines from home.

The possibilities are endless.

Readable books of the kind described in the supporting struggling readers section should be considered for older readers who are struggling. 

Tornado by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley 

 School Members Only: Download our Staff Discussion Guide for this paper - includes recommended discussion questions and group activities. 

In summary

Reading should bring joy. Joy comes from experiencing success as a reader and engaging with wonderful books. As a teacher, you model text selection and reading strategies by reading aloud to your students every day. You explicitly teach students how to read, as well as teaching them how to select texts for specific purposes (e.g. reading for information, reading for pleasure).

Importantly, you show the value you place on reading by the decisions you make about reading every day; what to teach explicitly and what to leave for implicit learning. To promote successful reading, you need to draw on a repertoire of teaching approaches and have access to a range of texts. Knowing the needs of students is paramount, including their interests, their experiences and their reading histories. Student need should always inform the teaching of reading. You gather this information through a robust approach to assessment, which includes formal and informal assessment processes. We acknowledge that careful text selection to meet the needs of diverse students takes time, but this is time well spent.