Studies have shown that reading can enhance the functioning of the human brain.
The limbic system, the part of the brain involved with learning, emotions and the formation of memories, benefits from exposure to stories, as does the part of the brain which helps us visualise words as images, and Wernicke’s area which is directly responsible for language processing.
But there are also benefits to parts of the brain that are less directly concerned with text. Broca’s area is responsible for speech formation. The prefrontal cortex is linked to the planning of complex thought processes, the expression of personality, decision-making, regulating social behaviour and pursuing goal-oriented behaviour. Both these areas also get a boost from regular reading.
Neurology is complicated but understanding why reading helps isn’t.
Reading a fiction story allows us to live out an experience that we might not otherwise be able to have on our own. The words we read conjure up a new reality in our minds that allows us to really live as someone else, empathising and engaging with people, places and concepts that we might not come across in our daily lives. Fiction reading, we now know, engages many of the same neural networks and processes that are stirred by engaging in any new or novel stimulation – but we can do it all without leaving our rooms!
Regular young readers are therefore likely to be better at dealing with the thoughts and feelings of others than their peers, because in some ways they have the most practice with the concept of other people having their own inner worlds as well, and they’ve been introduced to this idea in a way that is both safe and fundamentally non-threatening.
For this reason, and many others, it’s incredibly important that young readers are reading a variety of genres and texts from an early age.
CARS & STARS Online is a digital reading comprehension program where students move through five Pre-tests, five Benchmarks and five Post Tests at every level, building mastery of reading comprehension through multiple-choice questions targeting 12 core reading strategies. No passage is repeated across the program, and every passage is different. Passages can be fiction or non-fiction and cover a range of topics across many different subject areas, all designed to pique student interest and keep it throughout the program.
Because reading is never confined to just dusty old books, CARS & STARS Online includes reading passages that reflect the diversity of texts found in the real world. The program features reading passages in the form of articles, letters, short stories, dialogues, encyclopedia entries, emails, chat logs and many more.
CARS & STARS Online even features specialised Australian content, with fiction and non-fiction passages written specifically for the Australian market. Passages have been written to be understandable to students in their specific year level, but never rehash things they might already be overly familiar with to stop them being bored reading over something they already know.
Reading regularly gives a boost to the brain – and CARS & STARS Online gives a big boost to reading.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
