Developing reading comprehension and increasing reading engagement among Swedish teenagers

In Sweden boys and girls reading is on decline. They don´t like to read and they don´t read books in their spare time. It is also clear that the pupils who need to develop their reading the most are the ones who read the least. During several years Edvardsson worked with boys aged 16-19 to develop their reading comprehension and desire to read. Her work has resulted in several books about reading with the target group of prospective and active teachers. In this conference Edvardsson will talk about how teaching fiction can develop reading comprehension and increase reading engagement . Based on Chamber´s model “Tell me”, Edvardsson uses including working methods to make sure that all pupils get the chance to participate. Reading aloud, reading together and discussing after having read (booktalk), based on the pupil’s likes, dislikes, puzzles and patterns, enhances the pupil´s reading comprehension. When pupils are given the opportunity to put words on their own thoughts, to hear others interpret the text and to try out their own hypothesis in a small group, something magic happens. The pupils develop their spoken language as well as their reading comprehension. This is supported when viewing the results from the national standardized tests in the Swedish language that are conducted every spring as well as viewing the comparison results between the screens that are conducted twice a year. In addition to the improved results, one can also see an increased engagement and an increased interest in literature.