At Sunbury College we strongly encourage students to read for pleasure for at least 20 minutes every night. Research has shown that teens who enjoy reading are more likely to succeed in school and have increased engagement within their various communities. Continuing the habit of reading, widely, into their teenage years helps teens to:

· deal with their increasingly complex world and understand some of the adult issues they will have to grapple with

· know they are not alone — others may be thinking and feeling the way they do

· open lines of communication — especially if parents, teachers, and librarians provide opportunities to discuss what teens are reading

· share and see how others have found solutions to problems

· develop their vocabulary

· broaden their imaginations

· improve their writing

· deal with the increasing demands of schoolwork

· gain confidence when speaking.

However, teenagers' lives are increasingly digital. Reading for pleasure, especially long-form reading, competes with the compelling lure of social media, games and schoolwork for teen's time. So, what can we do at home to support the continued development of our teenager’s reading habits?

Suggestion 1: Model good reading habits yourself

Social influences from a range of different people are helpful to shape the attitudes of teens towards reading. Adolescents read more when they see friends and significant adults such as parents, teachers and coaches reading. Role models are a key reference for them because they provide a window into the future. It's particularly powerful for boys to see adult males engaged in reading.

Don’t underestimate peer validation of reading choices either. If you can tap into the current ‘cool’ books, you can add to your child’s reading mileage with ease. If you (or your child) happen to have access to TicTok, #booktoc is the go-to hashtag for all content pertaining to books, including thousands of teenagers sharing and reviewing the books that they recommend and love. Collins Booksellers in Sunbury currently have some #booktoc favourites on display in their window, and happen to offer a student discount to our students when they show their College ID.

Suggestion 2: Provide your Teen with access to a range of texts

What do teens read? Books they've chosen themselves.

The Australian Scholastic’s ‘Kids and family reading report’ (2019) found one constant result over their 13 years of gathering data. When kids get to choose, they read. They also found the following:

· 92% of 15 to 17-year-olds and 90% of 12 to 14-year-olds most enjoyed books they'd chosen for themselves. They are also much more likely to finish reading them.

· Around 70% of teens would read more if they could find more books they liked.

12 to 17-year-olds want to read books that (in order of priority):

· will make them laugh (54%)

· let them use their imagination (47%)

· have a mystery or problem to solve (42%)

· have characters they wish they could be like (38%)

· tell a made-up story (fiction) (36%)

· teach them something new (35%)

· let them forget about real life for a while (35%)

· tell a true story (non-fiction) (32%)

· are a little scary (28%)

· are about things they experience in their life (24%)

· have characters who are in love (18%)

· have a character that looks like them (14%).

We are lucky enough here, as residents in the Sunbury community, to be able to access a range of texts (both physical and digital) for free through the Hume City Library. In Term 1, our Year 7 students attended an excursion to Hume Libraries, where they all set up their library memberships and passwords, which means that they now can all access an extensive range of ebooks and eaudiobooks for free, through platforms such as the Borrowbox app which make it easy to browse, borrow and read the library's eAudiobooks, eBooks and eMagazines anywhere, everywhere and is available to all residents of Hume.

Also, if your teen is really struggling to choose, or is reluctant to try new texts, the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge provides a list of age-appropriate texts. The Challenge is now open, and Sunbury College is excited to be participating again this year. The theme for 2023 is 'Wild about Reading.' Please encourage and support your teenager with reading and adding books to the PRC website at https://vprc.eduweb.vic.gov.au. Further details about logging in and recording books will be provided soon. If you have any questions about the Premiers' Reading Challenge, please contact Helen Richardson or Alice Clifford for further information.

Let’s not forget that students are also provided with a regular opportunity to borrow texts here at school, through our Wider Reading Program hosted in the HUB. Once a week, students in Years 7-9 are supported to read independently while focusing on developing their comprehension skills in a guided and targeted way, with teacher support.

We at Sunbury College believe that by working together with our teachers, local library, independent booksellers and parent and guardian community we can create a community of active and engaged teenager readers.

If you have any questions regarding reading, literacy or support and resources available to support your child to achieve, please do not hesitate to contact the Literacy Team

· Alice Clifford – Literacy Leading Teacher

· Monique Bailey – Literacy Learning Specialist

· Helen Richardson – Library Manager

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