There’s no doubt that reading has changed the lives of many people, and you might be one of those individuals who always has a book in hand. Many authors, artists, and writers praise reading for its numerous benefits, especially at the mental level. As Frank Zappa (composer) said, “So many books, so little time.” And how right he was!

In this post we bring you this week, we want to explore the benefits of reading for children and adolescents. Integrating reading as a habit from a young age offers many advantages that, as an educator, you need to be aware of.

What are Cognitive Skills? And Their Role in the Benefits of Reading

Cognitive skills are a set of mental abilities that include attention, memory, language, and reasoning, among others. These abilities are developed throughout our lives and are fundamental in our daily activities. With them, we can process information, integrate it into our knowledge, and make decisions.

Reading is undoubtedly an excellent way to develop cognitive skills, as it is a process that involves and stimulates many parts of the brain.

In terms of cognitive skills, reading helps activate memory (as we use it to recall content from the text to continue reading), improve attention, develop language, and enhance perception and creativity.

Benefits of Reading for Children and Teenagers

Sometimes, it can be challenging to introduce the reading habit in children and adolescents, especially if they do not see a passion for reading in their usual environment. It is also made difficult by the loss of attention due to technology use, which can impair cognitive skills, according to researcher Maryanne Wolf.

Here we explain and detail the main benefits of reading for children and teenagers. Take note!

1. Improves Comprehension and Critical Thinking
   

Introducing the reading habit from an early age is a very effective tool for improving comprehension and critical thinking. Encouraging reading means that children are able to understand texts and process their information, which improves text comprehension.

Additionally, it also helps improve critical thinking, as reading regularly exposes them to multiple viewpoints. They also gain tools for problem-solving, as characters in books often face and solve problems.

2. Enhances Vocabulary
   

As children and adolescents are exposed to texts, they learn new vocabulary, and depending on the reading level, it becomes increasingly complex or has new uses. Moreover, the more they read, the easier it becomes to understand different grammatical structures and communicate effectively.

Through reading, your students will encounter new words, learning their meanings and different uses. Therefore, they gain access to a more varied language and complex grammatical structures that enrich their cognitive skills.

3. Improves Communication Skills
   

As mentioned earlier, reading fosters greater critical thinking and helps acquire new vocabulary. All of this contributes to improving communication skills, as children and adolescents who are regularly exposed to reading have more tools to communicate their ideas effectively. It also greatly aids in improving their ability to write correctly, both syntactically and grammatically, as well as stylistically.

4. Stimulates Imagination and Creativity
   

Thanks to reading, your students can immerse themselves in other worlds, lives, and spaces that diverge from their own reality. Through books, children develop the ability to create their own stories and invent their own narrative worlds.

Reading is closely linked to creative visualization, which requires children and adolescents to mentally build what they read, helping to develop their cognitive skills. It also promotes abstract thinking, cultivating the imagination and creativity of your students, especially with fantasy or science fiction readings.

5. Develops Concentration
   

It’s no surprise that we live in a world of fleeting stimuli, dominated by screens and new technologies. This impairs the ability of children and adolescents to concentrate. Therefore, it is important to have tools, such as reading, that develop concentration and attention in children and adolescents.

Reading requires a person to focus their attention on a single activity for a prolonged period, training the brain to avoid distractions.

6. Reduces Stress
   

Reading can serve as an escape and a relaxation environment for children and adolescents, providing a break from school or college pressure, extracurricular activities, or the incessant use of technology.

The reading habit can help, therefore, to escape from routine, reduce stress, and improve mental health for both children and teenagers.

How Can You Promote Reading Using Additio App?

If you’re an Additio App user, here are some tips for promoting reading using the platform:

1. Create a Reading Club: With Additio App, you can create a class group with students who join the reading club. There you can list the readings, assess the students’ comprehension of these readings, set up and evaluate class discussions about these readings, etc.
2. Create Self-Assessment Rubrics for Students to Evaluate Class Readings: You can create items related to setting, vocabulary, characters, reading difficulty, etc. This way, your students can give their opinions on the readings, and you can discuss them in class.
3. Incorporate Gamification: One way to promote reading is by introducing gamification elements. A good example is creating quizzes about different class readings, which will motivate your students and increase their interest in class readings.

Do You Know More Benefits of Reading for Children and Teenagers?

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Additio App, la plataforma de gestión escolar, evaluación y comunicación que te Additio App, the school management, assessment, and communication platform that helps put students at the centre of learning

Additio App, the school management, evaluation, and communication platform that helps you place students at the centre of learning. With Additio App, you can conduct competency assessments that place students at the heart of learning, keeping them informed about their progress and helping them identify areas for improvement and strengths.

Over 150 features accompany you to enhance your teaching and student learning. You can try the tool for free with the Additio Starter plan, which provides access to most features, allowing you to see if the platform truly meets your needs.

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