Simplifying and Supporting the Process of Reading

Image by David from Pixabay

When Tess Prendergast, professor of librarianship and children's literature at The School of Information at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, writes or talks, I am at full attention. She has a way of breaking down complex theory into understandable parts that have always been of great use in my library career.

In a recent ALSC blog post she explored why reading can be such a difficult skill for some children. She writes: "In terms of human history, reading is in its infancy because 97% of the human era does not include any print at all. The fact that it is a fairly recent development does not reduce the enormous importance of print and reading on human life today. We also know that babies are not born with brains that are primed to read in the way that they are primed to understand and use language. 

Our brains are naturally prepared to organize themselves around language, but not around reading. Reading is an invention that has taken on immense significance to humanity which is why it is so important that everyone has an opportunity to learn how to do it. We must be taught to read well enough to take full advantage of all the benefits a literate life has to offer. So how do humans learn to read, and what are the best ways to teach them? We literally need to train our brains to read with ease and comprehension. It is a very complicated neurological process that could never be covered adequately in a single blog post, but I’ll try! "

She goes on to unpack a simple view of reading and how you can use this in your work with families.

You can read her fascinating blog post here. [Understanding the Simple View of Reading. Prendergast, Tess. ALSC blog. July 18, 2023.]