Students and book choice

Paradox of choice 

Limiting the offering to 4 books is a deliberate choice because we know that the research suggests (and our experience agrees) that limiting students’ choice, paradoxically, makes them more likely to 

1. actually make a choice, and 
2. be satisfied with their choice.

We’d so much rather students start reading a book (then choose to swap it out if they don’t like it) than spend lots of time scrolling and never reading anything at all.

Physical books / other reading modes are still very much encouraged by us 

Remember Sparx Reader is one strand of your whole school reading policy. We urge pupils to visit the library to select books to read alongside their Sparx homework texts. We know that many of you are reading books in form time with your pupils too. 

Non-fiction, fact books, graphic novels etc are all vitally important parts of the adolescent reading experience and it is our hope that pupils actively look for texts to peruse in libraries, classrooms and bookshops. 

Avid readers are still very much encouraged to continue reading the books they love outside 

The 'enjoyment' factor 

• While Sparx has an incredible array of fiction texts, it primarily serves the purpose of giving pupils robust, rigorous independent reading practice so that they can learn to pay close attention and read with precision.
• Enjoyment will of course come, but you may need to reinforce the above message with students if they are consistently saying that they don’t enjoy the books.
• It’s worth considering what ‘enjoyment’ means when it comes to reading! Successfully reading a complex narrative accurately (and with immediate proof of that accuracy at each question check) is incredibly satisfying and motivating for young people. They don’t necessarily have to love the storyline, or ‘enjoy’ the work in the same way that they ‘enjoy’ other, non-educational things. 
• We know how important reading is to all aspects of students’ learning, so whilst enjoyment is important, it is often most important to first get students into good habits. This is the same for other subjects where regular consistent homework is the priority to aid students learning. We hope and believe that in building these habits, a pleasure for reading is likely to come too (this can be thought of as ‘behavioural engagement leading to emotional engagement’).
• In today’s tech-heavy world, our young people are constantly skimming and scrolling and there is an urgent need to re-teach the habit of careful and controlled reading. 
• There is no real evidence that increasing choice increases ‘enjoyment’. Your students already have unfettered access to an enormous selection of books in libraries/classrooms/home etc, and yet reading rates are still low. 
• Gold Reader is of course the ticket to free text choice, and if a pupil exhibits excellent reading habits they will quickly earn this freedom. 

Pupils might not know which genres they like 

Given the national reading for pleasure crisis, it’s arguably true to say that many pupils really haven’t read a great deal on their own, or ‘for pleasure’ yet in their lives. 

This potentially means that many young people haven’t been exposed to the breadth, depth and variety there is to be discovered within each genre, causing them to write off stories that they might actually find interesting and satisfying to read. 

Or, to put it more simply, they might not know what they really like yet!

Reading across genres develops a pupil's background knowledge 

Background knowledge is the strongest predictor of reading comprehension ability. It goes without saying that the more knowledge a reader has about the world, the more likely they will be able to access more complex texts. Background knowledge plays a critical role in ‘the constant and perpetual process of disambiguation’.

The more widely read a pupil is, the more likely they are to then be able to unlock meaning in new texts.

Vocabulary is part of background knowledge. The various lexical fields associated with different genres will undoubtedly boost stores of vocabulary knowledge. 

Is the struggle due to the genre of the book, or the fact that they are reluctant readers? 

It's easy to say that the book is the problem, masking reluctance or struggle. It can help to get a student who is struggling to come and read with you so that you can witness their reading behaviour. 

Books are hard to get into at first, particularly if you’ve found reading difficult historically. Encourage pupils to persevere, as they would with any other homework, and they may well start to enjoy the experience as they see success.