After reading Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and
Engaging Every Child by Pernille Ripp late last year, I began asking educators
why they read. They often said things like: “To escape, to relax. To connect
with the characters in a book. To drift off into another world.”

These responses surprised me because I would answer this question very
differently. I’d say something like: “To learn,
to explore my interests and gain new knowledge. To engage with the world and
understand how it works.”

And so I
began to wonder how young readers would answer this question. I mentioned this
to Kerry O’Malley Cerra, an author and high school media specialist in Florida,
and she agreed to conduct a survey with the students she serves.

Based on responses
from 200 students in grades 9-12, I created the word cloud above.

“Learn” is
definitely a popular response, and we see words like “knowledge,” “interesting,”
“ideas,” “information,” “explore,” and “discover,” which seem to indicate an
interest in nonfiction.

We also
see “escape,” “imagine,” “destress,” “relax,” and “calming,” which seem to be
associated with fiction.

Students who said
“entertainment” seemed to be referring to fiction, but
“fun” was used by students who included keywords associated with both fiction and nonfiction.

Quite a
few students read only for required assignments. But when I think about it, this is probably how I would have answered at age 16 because I hadn’t discovered how wonderful nonfiction could be yet. That didn’t happen until I was in graduate school.

“Pastime”
represents students who read to pass the time because they have nothing else or
nothing better to do.

One fairly
common response that surprised me was “self-improvement.” These students were  reading to improve their reading skills.

It’s also worth noting that many students see books as a calming alternative to screen time. 

What do
you think? How would you respond to this question? Do the students’ answers surprise you? This seems like a good topic to ponder over the summer.