It’s not uncommon for children who have been avid readers all through primary school, to become completely reluctant readers when they become teenagers. English teachers often report that, at parent teacher interviews, parents bemoan the fact their child ‘never reads any more’.

Part of this is most certainly due to some of the more obvious factors that come with the onset of adolescence – emotional changes, the need to fit in with their peer group, the increased use of social media and time spent online, and the increased academic workload.

However, Dr Margaret Merga, from Curtin University, argues there is also another factor: a phenomenon known as ‘expired expectation’. That is, the idea that once the skill of reading has been acquired, there is a withdrawal of expectation that it is something you would do simply for pleasure.

We’re all aware of the benefits of reading, particularly the benefits of reading for pleasure. Increased literacy, improved educational outcomes, an increase in empathy and a greater sense of general wellbeing. Indeed, many students report feeling calm and less anxious when reading a book they love.

But if the desire for reading has been lost, how do we get it back? Dr Merga believes there are five things parents can do to encourage their children to read:

1. Keep reading aloud to your kids – until they tell you to stop!
2. Choose books they like – don’t dismiss what they like as shallow
3. Limit access to electronics – interestingly, this includes ebooks
4. Make time and space to read – get a reading routine going
5. Be a role model – make the time to read yourself

Read the full story here.

And what are we doing? The St Catherine’s Library Service is lucky to have two qualified teacher librarians on hand who work every day to put the right book in the right child’s hands.

We are also genrefying our fiction collection, making it easier for students to pursue titles in the genre they love. Often book selection at a library can be a daunting process – there is a lot of choice! We have found that marking certain titles (both physically and on our digital catalogue) as belonging to a certain genre or style of book, can make a world of difference to the book selection process.

The Barbreck Library will again be celebrating National Simultaneous Storytime on 23 May, with buddy reading sessions planned for ELC and Year 4 students. It’s exciting for the students to know they will be reading and sharing stories at the same time as many people in libraries all around the nation.

Our super enthusiastic Thursday Morning Book Club participants!

This year, the Nicholas Library has been host to the Thursday Morning Book Club. A group of 10 students from Years 7 to 9 have been keenly discussing books, genres, characters and narrative structures. These are robust discussions – it is so fantastic to see such keen readers so passionate about books and reading! These students are some of our best readers, and are hugely influential in terms of titles purchased for the library.

We’re looking forward to the opening of the new Junior School next term, in particular the new Library space.