To improve as a runner you need to run.  To improve as a pianist you need to play the piano.  To improve at baseball you need to play baseball.  To improve as a reader you need to read.

There is no doubt that the volume of reading done by a child contributes to developing vocabulary, increasing background knowledge on a variety of topics and building stronger comprehension.

“Reading volume is critical because it provides opportunities for vocabulary growth, knowledge acquisition, and the development of fluid word recognition” - Anne E. Cunningham & Keith Stanovich, 1998.

This research is solid, but what is also solid is the fact that overall reading volume by students across the country is decreasing.  The reading occurring today is more likely to be of shorter pieces.  The reading of full books has declined.  Students are reading less by choice and reading less volume.

“Many students no longer arrive at college - even highly selective elite colleges - prepared to read books” - R. Horowitz, 2024.

Frequently reading and reading by volume provide the opportunities for students to build what makes future reading easier.  Without this, students do not have the repeated exposure to ideas, language, and vocabulary that will help develop their abilities that make reading feel natural and not exhausting.

By choosing to read by choice, by reading frequently, and having a high volume of reading students develop:

Fluency - accuracy, automaticity, and prosody which all together support comprehension by freeing the cognitive processes to making meaning

Stamina - reading becomes easier and is done for pleasure and not as a chore

Prior Knowledge and Vocabulary - comprehension depends on this and it is accumulated through reading extended texts or books

In conclusion, just read!