Aimed at any adults interested in the science and benefits of reading
What follows aims to help you become informed on the topic, to see the core research I trust and to access some of my own materials written for you.
If you have just attended one of my talks at conferences or in schools or training sessions around the world, these resources will support and extend what I said. If you’re just interested, you’ll find lots to inform you. If you’re wondering whether to invite me to speak, you will get a sense of the evidence-based and carefully thought-through messages I share. Whether you’re a teacher, mental health professional, senior manager in education, social worker, or parent or carer, I bring you robust information to help you understand, support, nurture and empower the young people in your care – and yourselves.
WHERE TO FIND MORE FREE RESOURCES
In the Resources section of my site, you will find information grouped into these topics: ADOLESCENT BRAINS AND LIVES, WELLBEING AND STRESS MANAGEMENT, the READING BRAIN and LIFE ONLINE. In the Additional Resources below the Core ones, you will find individual documents designed for display, sharing or printing, for schools and families.
These resources are only starting points. They represent a fraction of the research I’ve read and that I talk about when delivering a talk at a conference or school. If you’re interested in that, please see my Speaking area here.
Are you interested in resources about digital versus print reading? I have a handout/resource sheet: Digital vs Print.
MY CLASSROOM RESOURCES: see my quality materials, Brain Sticks and Stress Well for Schools. They provide a comprehensive way to teach wellbeing management to people of all ages.
Introducing this topic
MY CORE MESSAGE
In the early 90s, training as a dyslexia expert began my journey into the brain and behaviour, which underpins my work today. Understanding how reading changes us is still my interest and we now know so much more about the benefits of reading – particularly reading for pleasure. I even came up with my own word: “Readaxation” means reading for pleasure, as a deliberate act to reduce stress and boost wellbeing and performance.
CAUTION: every time you see “reading reduces stress by 68%”, ignore it. It is a lovely result, but based on a study of 16 people. The research I prefer is robust and relies on much larger or repeated studies.
Aspects of reading changed with the advent of screens and digital reading. Many of you will be interested in what research says about any differences between reading print or on screens. Even though this is relatively new, there is now substantial research and I am up-to-date in it. I have a good understanding of what we know of the effects of different types of reading – not just print or digital but also fiction or non-fiction and simple or complex. I find it endlessly fascinating! You’ll find separate information about this in the resources section (see Digital vs Print) but I have put a few key links below.
Also, as a former dyslexia specialist and ardent proponent of the benefits and pleasures of recreational reading, and a strong supporter of school and public library services, I have good insight into how to develop the reading habit even in those who find reading difficult, boring or unpleasant.
MY RESOURCES
This page contains some resources underlining the evidence-based benefits of reading for pleasure and helping you introduce the concept to your students, your children and yourselves. First, though, some printable resources for you, from me:
BENEFITS OF READING FOR PLEASURE
You can download and copy this CAUTION:
OTHER RESOURCES ABOUT THE READING BRAIN
My website section on the Reading Brain: here
About READAXATION:
BOOKS
- Proust & the Squid – Story & Science of the Reading Brain, by Maryanne Wolf
- Such Stuff as Dreams – The Psychology of Fiction, by Keith Oatley
- iBrain – Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind, by Gary Small
- Words on Screen – The Fate of Reading in a Digital World, by Naomi Baron
- The Organized Mind, by Daniel Levitin
- Lost in a Book – the psychology of reading for pleasure, by Victor Nell
ONLINE ARTICLES and RESEARCH (I’ve reduced this list to a minimum but have more to add later)
- The Reading Agency review of science behind reading for wellbeing: https://readingagency.org.uk/news/media/reading-for-pleasure-builds-empathy-and-improves-wellbeing-research-from-the-reading-agency-finds.html
- “An emerging body of research highlights the power of stories to help children handle their own and other people’s feelings”: www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/may/13/reading-teach-children-empathy
- Long-term vocabulary benefits from ‘reading for pleasure’ in childhood: www.ioe.ac.uk/newsEvents/107587.html
- The PISA OECD study – “Do Students today read for pleasure?” www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisainfocus/48624701.pdf
- “Effects of reading on knowledge, social abilities, and selfhood”, by Marr, Djikic and Oatley (Shorter way of getting the message of Such Stuff as Dreams!)
- National Literacy Trust – “Reading for Pleasure” www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0000/0562/Reading_pleasure_2006.pdf
- Nat Lit Trust re online reading for children: http://publishingperspectives.com/2013/05/as-kids-on-screen-reading-overtakes-print-outcome-is-worrisome/
- “Reading at Risk”: www.arts.gov/pub/readingatrisk.pdf
- Difficulty of text: www.wired.com/2012/10/books-growing-brain/
- And re the Shakespeare/Wordsworth effect: www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9797617/Shakespeare-and-Wordsworth-boost-the-brain-new-research-reveals.html
- Bibliotherapy: cilip.org.uk/cilip/blog/does-bibliotherapy-work
Reading and empathy
(A big topic of mine)
- EmpathyLab, a wonderful UK organisation devoted to building empathy through reading
- A paper on the power of non-fiction to build empathy: https://thelexlexicon.wordpress.com/2018/09/15/teaching-empathy-through-reading-personal-essays-insights-from-a-creative-nonfiction-class/
- Three articles I wrote on this subject:
- Non-fiction and empathy: https://www.nicolamorgan.com/the-reading-brain/non-fiction-and-empathy/
- Empathy: Non-fiction does it just as well as fiction https://www.nicolamorgan.com/the-reading-brain/empathy-non-fiction-just-well-fiction/
- Empathy from stories – true AND made up: https://www.nicolamorgan.com/the-reading-brain/empathy-and-its-source-in-stories-true-and-made-up-stories-empathyday/
A few items about the difference between print and digital
My handout on this: Digital vs Print
Reading on screens: www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
“Print Matters More” – great research commissioned by Egmont: www.egmont.co.uk/research/print-matters-more/
“Reading Print Versus Digital Increases Comprehension”: www.adweek.com/galleycat/reading-print-versus-digital-increases-comprehension-study/90133?red=as
“What does your brain like better – print or ebooks?”: http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/06/what-does-your-brain-like-better-paper-or-ebooks/
I hope you have found this selection of resources useful. Remember they are only starting points and there is much more in the rest of my website, my books and classroom resources. Do ask me to come and speak to your audience: see the Speaking section of my website.
Copyright © Nicola Morgan www.nicolamorgan.com