Jj is for Jottings 57. Reading to Dogs.
If you had your reading L plates on, who would you rather read to – a person or a dog? Young readers reading to dogs is an idea which originated in the USA in 1999, and is being adopted in Australia in schools and libraries. Different programs exist, but they are all variations on the theme.
Both anecdotal evidence and controlled studies reveal that, while children and teens read, the presence of a dog lowers blood pressure and anxiety levels of the readers and measurably improves their reading skills. The children relax and tend to forget their reading limitations when reading to a dog. Volunteers, librarians, teachers and support staff note the bond that forms between dog and child, and that children become more confident and less shy, and develop more empathy and enhanced social skills in addition to the improvement in their reading skills. They also tend to focus better on a task or discussion when a dog is present.
When you think about it, you wonder why it hadn’t been thought of much sooner. Reading aloud in the classroom with everybody listening and noting your every mistake, or a dog lying quietly, possibly snuggled up to you, showing interest in every word (or even asleep), helpful but not critical – what would most children choose? An important point is that the dog you read to has a human partner who can talk “dog”, and so through them the dog is able to help with difficult words and correct errors.
I can’t tell you how many times children tell me that they read their school reader by themselves. While it’s good to hear that they are reading, how many bad habits might they be getting into? How many missed opportunities for expanding language and learning new vocabulary?
Picture from Story Dog.
There is another reason for reading to dogs – see the next Jottings article.