What Kids Are Reading

[Pages:87]E N

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What Kids Are Reading

The Book-Reading Habits of Pupils in British Schools

DITIO

2017

DITIO

848,219 children

3,897

PRIMARY & SECONDARY

SCHOOLS

193,163,631,338

READ

15,087,017

BOOKS

READ

An independent study by Professor Keith Topping, Professor of Educational and Social Research, School of Education, University of Dundee

whatkidsarereading.co.uk

Contents

Introduction: Dirk Foch 3

Foreword: Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO CBE 4

Key Findings & Recommendations 5

School Spotlight: Oasis Wintringham6

Reflections on Reading: Elizabeth Laird

7

Section One: Books Kids Are Reading Most Often: Overall Picture

8

Books Kids Are Reading Most Often: By Year

9-10

Reflections on Reading: Liz Kessler

11

Section Two: Popularity of Authors 12

School Spotlight: Heartlands High School13

Reflections on Reading: Chris Bradford

14

Section Three: Books High-Achieving Kids Read Most Often

15-16

School Spotlight: Ormiston Primary School

17

Reflections on Reading: Michael Rosen

18

Section Four: Books Struggling Readers Read Most Often

19-20

Section Five: Most Read Non-fiction Books

21-22

Reflections on Reading: Benjamin Hulme-Cross

23

Section Six: Developmental Trends in Fiction/Non-Fiction Reading24

School Spotlight: St. Illtyd's RC Primary School25

Section Seven: Voting for Favourite Books 26-28

Section Eight: Regional Variation in Reading Habits

29-30

Celebrating 30 years of reading sucess

31

How It Works 32

More about AR

33

What makes AR Special 34

About the Author

35

Appendices

-Appendix A: Books Kids Are Reading Most Often: Overall Summary

36

-Appendix B: Books Kids Are Reading Most Often: Top 20 Titles for Boys and Girls in Years 1-11 37-44

-Appendix C: Most Popular Authors 45-46

-Appendix D: Books High-Achieving Kids Read Most Often: Top 20 Titles in Years 3 ? 9

47-53

-Appendix E: Books Struggling Readers Read Most Often: Top 20 Titles in Years 5 ? 9

54-58

-Appendix F: Most Read Non-fiction Books: Top 20 Titles in Years 3 ? 9

59-66

-Appendix G: Developmental Trends in Fiction/Non-fiction Reading

67-69

-Appendix H: Voting for Favourite Books: Top 20 Titles in Years 1 ? 11

70-79

-Appendix I: Regional Variation in Reading Habits: Top 20 Titles in Years 1 ? 11

80-87

*Introduction

Welcome to this ninth annual What Kids Are Reading report 2017

We're delighted to be able to offer you the key findings of Professor Keith Topping's latest study into the reading habits of almost 850,000 school children in the UK who together read well over 15 million books during the past academic year, using Renaissance's web-based Accelerated Reader programme. A much more extensive version of the report including all the data on reading preferences of boys and girls, regional variations, school snapshots, short reflections on reading by some of our readers' favourite authors, the type of books read by good readers and much, much more can be found online at whatkidsarereading.co.uk. We hope you will find this of interest and we'd love to hear your thoughts on social media: Twitter: @RenLearn_UK AccReader Dirk Foch,

Managing Director, Renaissance UK

Renaissance Learning is a leading provider of educational solutions to pupils of all ages and abilities with advanced technology that makes the practice component of a school's reading and maths curriculum more personalised and effective. Adopted by tens of thousands of schools worldwide, Renaissance Accelerated Reader is used in the UK by 5,000 schools and 1.4 million schoolchildren on a very regular basis. A formidable formative assessment tool, Renaissance Star Reading can be used as frequently as required, from reception to Year 11, to enhance and inform individualised instruction to create a better learning environment for all pupils.

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*Foreword, Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO CBE

"What Kids Are Reading 2017" is a unique report. Whilst it offers a strong and important analysis of key literacy trends, it is, in essence, a celebration of children's reading. The scale of the reading it documents is astounding ? the billions of works read, the millions of books completed. The care of the children's reading ? as evidenced by their tests is also extraordinary. The number of children, now nudging a million, who have taken part in the study is impressive. "What Kids Are Reading" paints a picture of a generation that is deeply engaged in reading, who are inspired by stories and books. For those of us who see literacy as the key skill, necessary for every child to fulfil their potential, this is a heartening. Books and stories continue to feed the imaginations of a new generation giving them skills and stories for the rest of their lives.

Of course there is an untold story underpinning this report, and that is the powerful contribution of the school libraries and school librarians who inspire children to read for pleasure. Finding the right book, for the right child, at the right time. This report is as much an evaluation of their impact as it is of the impact of Accelerated Reader. Too often they are marginalised. This report shows their power.

Occasionally the report sounds a warning bell, particularly in terms of the reading stretch offered to children in the first years of secondary education. This reinforces evidence published by the National Literacy Trust about the waning reading patterns and passions of children after transition to secondary school. We need to redouble our energy and creativity in inspiring young people in these years to read.

Chairing the National Literacy Trust and the Read On. Get On. Campaign has given me a keen understanding of the creative energy in the children's publishing sector. The report documents children's reading in 2016 ? Roald Dahl's centenary year ?and Dahl's work figures strongly, but so do new titles, books generated by today's writers for today's children. The report is a testament to how writers and publishers are engaging children with reading by producing books which reflect their contemporary passions. It's great to see Dan Freedman's "Skills from Brazil" appearing in the favourites list in the year of the Rio World Cup. And the appearance of Zoella's first novel is a reminder that the confident child reader of today moves between media not just genres.

So this report is a bright burst of energy and a significant statement of hope. Children are reading voraciously and intelligently, their imaginations fuelled by the classics and the best writers of today. I look forward to "What Kids Are Reading 2018". Wouldn't it be wonderful if the number of children taking part in it topped a million? What we're seeing isn't just the reading preferences of individuals but the reading culture of a new generation, riding a wave of strong literacy skills.

Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO CBE is a passionate and practical campaigner who believes in the power of responsible businesses and has gained an international reputation for `connecting the unconnected', inspiring individuals and organisations to work together for the common good.

As Vice President of Business in the Community, Vice Patron of Teach First , and previously Special Adviser to the Prince's Charities, she now promotes collaboration among senior leaders from business, government, education and community organisations to transform education and opportunities for young people while building a more resilient civil society. As Chair of Teach First from 2006 to 2014, and now Vice Patron, Julia has pioneered efforts to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers in lowincome communities across the UK.

Julia was appointed to chair the National Literacy Trust in 2013 and chairs Read On. Get On., the national campaign to ensure all children are reading well by the age of 11.

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*Summary of Key Findings

This summary of the What Kids Are Reading report considers the books read and quizzes taken by British primary and secondary age children between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016 in 3,897 schools.

Recommendations for the future seem clear. Pupils should be encouraged to: pass all quizzes; sustain a higher level of challenge in their reading, especially on transfer to secondary school; and sustain Average Percent Correct at or above the 85% level on every book. Teachers should be aware of the very different pupil preferences for reading over time and the marked differences in preferences in secondary between boys and girls (although not necessarily encouraging them!). Even high-achieving readers need encouragement to sustain high challenge in their reading, especially in the later years. Boys might profess more interest in non-fiction but need encouragement to read it carefully. Books popular with children should guide school purchasing decisions in the future, but even on these books difficulty eventually declines. The take-home messages of this report are thus:

The good news: > Many more pupils are quizzing with Accelerated Reader. > Difficulty of books bounces about a little, but in general shows a slight upward trend. > The accuracy with which books are read is rising slightly, although less so in the upper years. > The accuracy of reading by low ability readers is rising slightly. > On average, boys are performing at lower levels of difficulty to girls. > Children read highly motivating books at a far higher level of difficulty, with accuracy. The less good news: >There is a marked downturn in difficulty of books at secondary transfer. Although there are some signs that schools are addressing these issues, more needs to be done. Secondary teachers and librarians need to get better at encouraging children appropriately. >The difficulty even of highly motivating books declines in secondary school. >Struggling readers are seriously under-challenged, but their level of accuracy is low as well. >High-ability readers are seriously under-challenged in the secondary school. > Non-fiction readers are seriously under-challenged, especially in secondary school where they choose male-dominated books. >Year 7 pupils in Scotland who are still in primary school show a marked decline in difficulty. This raises the prospect that maturational factors rather than change in type of school are causative.

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*School Spotlight : Oasis Wintringham

Oasis Academy Wintringham had been using Accelerated Reader (AR) since 2008 with Years 7, 8 and 9. We originally introduced AR to combat low attainment and literacy levels on entry. Our students enjoyed reading during English lessons but would not consider reading independently nor did they view reading as an enjoyable activity to complete during their spare time; there was a general lack of interest in reading, talking about reading and wanting to do it. The low levels of literacy on entry obviously impacted on access to the curriculum and in order to ensure our students achieved all that we knew they were capable of we had to address this perception and improve their ability to read.

We joined the Renaissance School Partnership to relaunch AR in our Academy in 2015 and radically changed our provision and approach. We now dedicate two tutor periods to reading each week; we also have regular hour long library lessons, in which students can quiz with AR, and we also schedule 30 minutes of reading time in one of their English lessons, where they can also quiz.

Our librarian is a huge driving force in the success of AR because she creates themed displays and competitions each term and students are always keen to see what their library has turned into each half term! At the moment we are enjoying a `Jungle Book' theme complete with monkey faces to represent each class to demonstrate average percent correct as they climb up each week. We also have a huge tree complete with animals which we will be using to place student names when they achieve 100% on AR quizzes. The library has always been a haven for our students but it has now become a place of imagination and excitement where students of all ages can curl up with a book and enjoy themselves.

approximately 460 students are fully engaging with reading, something which would have been unheard of previously. We have been as creative as possible with rewards and the most successful reward has been tea and cake with me and the librarian when students achieve Millionaire status! It amazed us what buzz could be created from something so simple. We also hold an Oscars celebration event each year to reward diverse achievement and have a Millionaire Award for the most dedicated student to reading. This year's prize was a signed John Boyne book and the student was delighted. All Millionaires are invited to this and we hold a `champagne reception' for them and two guests as VIPs before the Oscars, complete with red carpet. World Book Day has also become a key date in our calendar with departments desperately trying to out do each other with themes and costumes. We ensure AR remains high profile and above all fun and this is how we have successfully changed the culture around reading in our Academy.

The impact of AR has been immense. Our students made an average of 12 months progress in reading age across the academic year and one class achieved Master Class status. An accolade they were incredibly proud of, so proud that they still wear their badges in the following Academic year. As we began the 2016/17 academic year we wondered if this progress would be sustained. In fact, we have improved on our performance last year when the Autumn Term data is compared and this data also includes a further 140 students not included in the 2015/16 data. To date students have already passed 2830 quizzes and the number achieving 85% average percent correct has increased by 21% compared to last year. Our focus for this year is now on reading stamina and developing the amount of time students spend reading so that they are prepared for the demands of the new curriculum.

For us, whilst we wanted to raise standards of literacy we also wanted to create a culture of reading for pleasure within the school. We have achieved 100% participation with our students in Years 7, 8 and 9 which means

AR really is changing the lives of our students. Rachel Revell, Interim Vice Principal

"Our librarian is a huge driving force in the success of Accelerated Reader because she creates themed displays and competitions each term and students are always keen to see what their library has turned into each half term! The library has always been a haven for our students but it has now become a place of imagination and excitement where students of all ages can curl up

with a book and enjoy themselves."

6

*Reflections on Reading: Elizabeth Laird

I like to make my readers cry. I'm not talking about drenched handkerchiefs and wrenching sobs, but a wobbly lip, perhaps, and a moist eye. If that still sounds too harsh, perhaps it would be better to say that I like to encourage my readers to feel, to care about the characters who have taken possession of my story, to believe that they are walking alongside them, facing the same dangers and hoping the same hopes.

It's stories about real situations that interest me, things that are happening in the world today, (though events in history sometimes tug at my heartstrings too). And to find those stories, I have to go and look for them.

The flight of millions of people from the war in Syria is one of the great stories of our time. Ordinary people doing ordinary things have suddenly been wrenched away not only from their homes and schools, but from the towns they have always lived in, and even their country. I couldn't just sit down in my comfortable house in Britain and imagine what it was like for them. I had to go to the Middle East to find out.

Jordan is right next door to Syria, and millions of Syrians have crossed the border, leaving everything behind except the clothes they are wearing and the few things they can manage to carry. They look like strange, perhaps even threatening, people in TV news clips. It's easy to think that they're nothing to do with us. But they could be us. They could be you, or me.

I met many Syrians in Jordan who had had to run away from fearful dangers, who had lost parents or brothers or sisters. As I watched and listened, visited the refugee camps and drank tea with the families who kindly welcomed me, the story I wanted to tell began to emerge. My characters ? Omar, Musa and Eman ? walked towards me out of the shadows and began to play their parts. Soon they were as real to me as the people I'd met. The fragments of all those true stories shook themselves down into a new pattern, which I just had to write down on the page.

I cried a bit while I was writing Welcome to Nowhere. I laughed sometimes too. I was enraged when my characters suffered injustice, or were pushed into wretched situations.

What I felt, I wanted my readers to feel. And what I hope most of all is that when a reader looks at a crowd of desperate people struggling out of a ruined city, or trying to pass through a narrow gate in a high fence, they won't see hundreds of anonymous faces, but people like Omar and his family. And, even more importantly, people like you and me.

Elizabeth Laird is the multi-award-winning author of several much-loved children's books including The Garbage King, The Fastest Boy in the World and Dindy and

the Elephant. She has been shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal six times.

She lives in Britain now, but still likes to travel as much as she can.

"It's stories about real situations that interest me, things that are happening in the world today, (though events in history sometimes

tug at my heartstrings too). And to find those stories, I have to

go and look for them."

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*Section one Books Kids Are Reading Most Often: Overall Picture

Here we have an overall summary of quizzes taken by UK pupils between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016 in 3,897 schools across the UK (compared to 3,306 schools last year, so this year there are about 18% more schools) (see Appendix A table 1).

Compared to the previous report, many more children participated in this research (848,219 compared to 725,369 ? 17% more). Thus children participating in this study are nearing a million.

Slightly more boys than girls yielded data (371,374 cf. 353,754; 123,091 genders unknown ? just as last year).

The total quizzes taken (= books read) was 15,087,017 as compared to 12,513,109 last year (20% more). Thus many more children were participating, but participating children were also quizzing on more books. Year 7 pupils took by far the largest number of quizzes overall (3,848,691) and Year 8 was also high on this factor (2,190,169).

In the first three years pupils steadily read more books each year, reaching a peak in Year 3 at 35.1 books. After this the number of books read per year steadily declined. This would be to a large extent expected as older pupils read longer and harder books. In Years 12 and 13 a larger number of books appear to be read, but the numbers of pupils contributing data at this age is quite small, and this probably represents a small group of very enthusiastic readers.

The average number of quizzes passed shows a similar trajectory. This year there is again strong evidence that the number of quizzes taken and passed is sustained into the first two years of secondary school (Year 7 and 8, except in Scotland). This suggests a continued growth in use of AR in secondary schools.

The average book difficulty rises as pupils get older, but not in proportion to the rate at which the pupils should be improving in reading. In previous years it peaked in year 6 then plateaued until year 11, after which it declined. This year however shows considerable improvement in this regard. Difficulty level peaks in Year 9. However, although difficulty level rises sharply each year in primary school, it does not rise very much in the first years of secondary school (years 7-8). There is still considerable room for improvement here.

Older pupils in Years 10, 11 and 12 are still reading easier books than younger pupils. Now there is not a plateau after Year 9, but a decline in levels of difficulty. It is still the case that if the older readers challenged themselves more, better reading outcomes could be anticipated. Against this has to be set the tendency for AR to move out of the mainstream in the later years of secondary school, generally being used as an intervention resource.

The Average Percent Correct (APC) on quizzes taken was in every year lower than that recommended by the software manufacturers (0.70 ? 0.78 cf. 0.85) (but see below). Pupils in primary schools showed a higher APC than pupils in secondary schools. This shows a decline on the previous year after an increase in year before that. The effectiveness with which pupils are taking quizzes seems worrying: 15,087,017 were taken but only 12,124,206 passed (80%, exactly as last year).

The APC figure is depressed by the inclusion of quizzes which were not passed. If only those quizzes which were passed are considered, the APC holds up to the 85% level recommended.

Overall, the pupils read a total of 193,163,631,338 words, considerably higher than the 161,322,091,054 words reported last year (20% more). This is indeed impressive, although the increase is not so large as last year. The average total words read also rose from 222,401 last year to 228,073 this year (3% increase). Both these figures suggest that pupils were tending to read longer books containing more words (but not necessarily harder books).

Pupil numbers in Year 1 are smaller but are still approaching 10,000. However, in Years 11-13 numbers are still small, so caution is needed in interpreting these figures. Overall, the pattern of quizzes taken and passed is more favourable than in the previous year, which itself showed improvement.

We can now ask what books do children in each year read most often overall, while simultaneously considering the difficulty level of those books and differences in reading habits between the genders.

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