Reading During Your Free Time: Is it

Worth It?
While many teenagers find reading boring, others find it ex-
tremely enjoyable. No matter what your stance is, there is evi-
dence that reading for fun is beneficial for teenagers.
DECEMBER 6, 2017 I By Rozi Larsen

Introduction:
During the past few decades, there has been an explosion of books that have be-
come big Blockbuster movies. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings of the
world sparked a new phenomena. Most recently, the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio
has become a major motion picture. Often, these Blockbuster movies spark inter-
est in viewing audiences and encourage them to read the books that they were
based off of. Although the movies spark the interest for a lot of people, it is ulti-
mately a books plot and character development that captures the audience. Be-
cause of this, more often than not, people can agree that the books are better than
the movies.

Weve all felt this way. The movie was awesome, the book was even more awe-
some! After you read the book, youre proud of yourself for actually reading a
book. Its a great feeling, and many find themselves craving more. Its a phenom-
ena many do not understand, but reading books has more benefits to teenagers
than just for entertainment.

The New York Times Upfront

While many teenagers find reading boring, others find it extremely enjoyable. No
matter what your stance is, there is evidence that reading for fun is beneficial for
teenagers.

So What?
You may be thinking so what? We already know that reading is good for us?
Yes, it may seem like common sense. But what you may not know is what you
read also has a serious impact. In research conducted by me, a student at Brigham
Young University-Idaho, at Sugar Salem High School located in Sugar City Ida-
ho, research found that what you read has a direct correlation with your academic
success. Studies also showed that the more you read, the more likely you are to be
successful.

The Experiment:

I did my practicum in a sophomore English class at Sugar Salem High School in

Sugar City, Idaho. The class consisted of 25 students, 13 male and 12 female. All
students were Caucasian. I handed out a survey asking the students two questions.
The first question asked: how many minutes a day do you read for fun? The sec-
ond question asked: When you do read for fun, what do you usually read?

I also handed out a survey for the teacher. Because the teacher, Mr. Johansen, had
been working with the students all year, he had a good feeling of how successful
each individual student was. Due to some government laws, I was unable to base
student success off grades. Because of this, I asked Mr. Johansen three questions
for each individual student. These questions were: 1. How would rate this stu-
dents in-class preparedness? 2. How would you rate this students participation
in class? 3. How would you rate this students success in the class overall? The
third question was up to his own interpretation, since he had a better feel of how
success looks in his own classroom.

Mr. Johansen filled out a survey for each individual student. In the end, he filled
out 25 surveys that dealt with his opinion on whether his students are typically
prepared, whether they participate, and whether or not he believed them to be suc-
cessful. He noted that he felt as though the questions were ambiguous, and not an
ideal way to measure their success. On one survey he said this, This student, I
would say, is moderately successful. These survey responses are difficult, because
of the ambiguity of the standards by which I am to determine what it means to be
successful. I know Im overthinking this (Johansen, 2017). There are a couple
things to consider: 1. The teachers opinion of student success is biased. He has a
good indication, but it is not perfect. 2. Due to timing, this study is not a proper
indication of how recreational reading affects academic success.

On the day when the surveys were administered, four students were missing. 21
students turned in their surveys. The results were varying. The surveys showed
that of the 21 students that turned in the survey 52% read for a total of 0-15
minutes a day. 24% of students read for a total of 15-30 minutes a day. 14% read
for 30-60 minutes a day, and only 5%,one student, read more than 60 minutes a
day. Of the 0-15 minutes a day category, only one student admitted to not reading
at all.

Here is an example of the data for the Success Category:

Very Successful:
Minutes per Number of Percentage Genre Number of Percentage
Day Students based on Students
grouping

0-15 3 38% Novels 6 66%

15-30 2 25% Mangas 0 -

30-60 3 38% Comics 1 11%

60+ 0 - Other 2 22%

Moderately Successful:
Minutes per Number of Percentage Genre Number of Per-
Day Students based on Students centage
grouping

0-15 6 54% Novels 6 43%

15-30 4 36% Mangas 0 -

30-60 0 - Comics 2 13

60+ 1 9% Other 6 43%

Unsuccessful:
Minutes per Number of Percentage Genre Number of Percentage
Day Students based on Students
grouping

0-15 3 100% Novels 0 -

15-30 0 - Mangas 0 -

30-60 0 - Comics 0 -

60+ 0 - Other 3 100%

Findings:
According to the experiment performed, the more time a student reads recreation-
ally, the more likely he/she participates, is prepared, and is successful in the class-
room. Most of the students that were unprepared, not participative, and unsuccess-
ful spent little to no time reading recreationally, and none of their time was spent
reading novels. Results also showed that successful students read generally read
novels, amongst other things. The study also shows that those who are moderately
successful read from a variety of different genres.

Conclusion:
It doesnt matter what youre into reading. No matter what, its going to help you
with your academic success. You can read mangas, or comics, or any kind of nov-
el imaginable. It will help you. You can look at Blockbuster movies to help find
something you could be interested in. You could go online and find something
there as well. No matter what, read in your free time. Its been tested and proven,
reading for fun will help you become a better student, and be more successful in
the classroom. Reading outside of the classroom will help you be a better student
inside the classroom. So now, the questions is, what will you read next?

Johansen, Samuel (2017). Personal Interview.