Independent Reading and Why It Is Important
Elements of Independent Reading
Independent reading has lots of benefits that substantially influence a child’s perception and comprehension skills. It results in fluency of reading, a reader comprehends the text simultaneously, so there is no need to skim a text once more time. Independent reading enlarges learner’s vocabulary and makes the basis for knowledge attainment. Here are several elements that constitute independent reading and will make it more enjoying.
A Freedom of Choice
A child is thrilled when he/she has a choice of a text to read. A child should choose form the variety of topics and dedicate time to reading. That presupposes different genre books to suggest young learners and the books should correspond with the learners age. Every teacher should have a small library in the classroom so that students could know that there is always a place they may go to and broaden their knowledge.
Activities to Encourage Reading
A teacher should encourage young learners’ independent reading by various methods and tools application. So, that is beneficial to draft pre-reading activities, use necessary images to enhance learners’ imagination and idea of what they are going to read. After-reading (comprehension) activities are vital for text understanding check-up.
A Must-Have Demand
The main factor in independent reading facilitation is practice. For that to achieve, a teacher should dedicate time for independent reading, so that young learners could have a habit of reading and get used to the idea it is beneficial for them and brings positive results by expanding horizons and understanding a number of things.
Text Complexity
It is rather debatable whether to give texts easy for understanding or complex ones. On the one hand easy texts may be not fascinating to read, yet they facilitate speed reading and a simple association that reading process is the one to enjoy and constantly practice. A higher text complexity is better to give after students have discussed all characters, events and the main idea.
Teacher’s Task
Literate, enthusiastic and educated people are the ones who read a lot , so they do not focus on one thing, but various facets of one and the same thing. That’s why teacher’s main task is to nurture a reading habit the earlier, the better. Independent reading should be meaningful and purposeful.Young learners should be able to make right conclusions.
Conclusion
Independent reading is the one that should be nurtured and fostered in early ages. Every child should have a positive feeling of reading by himself/herself, as it makes them understand a lot of things, analyse them, and to avoid such kind of behaviour in future. Independent reading will make children think and become educated people able to analyze.