{"id":20454,"date":"2023-10-26T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=20454"},"modified":"2025-10-29T09:49:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T16:49:31","slug":"how-to-build-confidence-in-young-readers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2023\/how-to-build-confidence-in-young-readers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build confidence in young readers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Have you ever read a book and felt like the author wrote it just for you? A book that was so profound that you felt changed by the experience? Now imagine you\u2019d never read that book. Or couldn\u2019t. Or that you read the book but didn\u2019t understand it. How would you feel? That is the power of reading. It can change you for the better. It can immerse you in a different world. It can make you feel seen. But it can also completely strip away your confidence and make you feel powerless. There is more we can do to help young readers experience the best of what books have to offer them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being able to read is a skill everyone deserves to learn. But according to a report by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy<\/a>, about 54% of adults in the United States read below a sixth-grade level. That same report explains that adults with lower literacy rates tend to earn less, which can affect the quality of life for them and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to do better at teaching kids to read, so we can raise literacy rates and increase the variety of professional opportunities available to our students when they graduate. Two ways we can help students are empowerment and building knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 ways to empower young readers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Empowerment is motivating. Kids who are empowered are more likely to enjoy reading and to become lifelong readers. Here are three ideas for you to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Follow reading science<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The science of reading<\/a> has outlined what matters in teaching students to read and comprehend. High-quality instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, vocabulary and oral language comprehension, and text comprehension is crucial for helping all students learn to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also important to remember that reading isn\u2019t a bunch of disparate skills that kids learn in isolation. Yes, students need to learn how to decode, but equally important is their volume of reading, the access they have to complex texts, and the opportunities they are given to build knowledge (more on all of that later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Offer windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rudine Sims Bishop<\/a> is widely credited with introducing the concept of windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Books that are windows show a reader a world that is different from their own. Sometimes those books can also be sliding glass doors, where the reader can imagine themselves as a part of the world they are reading about. Books that are mirrors show readers a world that reflects their own lived experiences back at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is all of this important? Seeing a world larger than our own can help us develop both emotional intelligence and empathy<\/a>. Students who see themselves in what they read feel valued and that their experiences matter. This, in turn, can lead to them feeling empowered and, hopefully, motivated to read more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about your class and the materials you select for them. How do you expose them to worlds different from their own? What are the things you look for that acknowledge your students\u2019 lived experiences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Elevate multilingual learners<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As my colleague Teresa Krastel wrote, teachers must capitalize on multilingual learners\u2019 superpowers<\/a>, including funds of knowledge<\/a> from their homes and home cultures. Even if a student is developing literacy in English, we must remember to honor and use the language knowledge these students already have. This can help them learn to read in English. It can also help them make sense of what they read because they have more of the context they need to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as with mirrors, students who feel as though their home language and funds of knowledge are valued will almost certainly feel more empowered and motivated as young readers. Are there ways you could learn more about the multilingual learners in your classroom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to build knowledge <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We all bring background knowledge to what we read. It serves as context that helps us understand texts. Read these two sentences, and I\u2019ll show you how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n