The Science of Reading for Older Kids: Demystifying the 'Love of Reading'

If you teach older struggling readers, you have likely been told to focus on fostering a "love of reading." The common advice is to surround students with books, give them time to read, and let them find their passion.

But for dyslexic students and others who struggle with decoding, this advice puts the cart before the horse. You cannot love doing something that causes you constant frustration. Motivation does not create reading skill; rather, building reading skill is what unlocks motivation.

The myth of 'immersion': Why loving books isn't enough

It is a beautiful idea: if we just find the right book, a struggling student will suddenly become a reader. We set up comfortable reading corners and schedule silent reading time. We hope that immersion in a print-rich environment will work its magic.

Unfortunately, literacy research shows this is a myth. Surrounding a struggling reader with books they cannot decode does not teach them how to read. Instead, it often increases their anxiety and feelings of isolation.

According to literacy expert Timothy Shanahan in his analysis of reading motivation, simply encouraging kids to read does not reliably improve their reading achievement. You can read more about this perspective in his article, What We Talk About When We Talk About the Love of Reading: Part 1.

For a student with dyslexia, looking at a page of text without the tools to decode it is exhausting. It is not a lack of motivation that keeps them from reading. It is a lack of word-recognition skills.

Why decoding mastery is the prerequisite for enjoyment

Reading for pleasure requires cognitive ease. When skilled readers pick up a book, their brains decode words automatically. This leaves their mental energy free to focus on the story, the characters, and the ideas.

For a struggling older student, decoding is not automatic. They must consciously sound out every syllable. This process consumes all their working memory. By the time they reach the end of a sentence, they have forgotten the beginning.

We must teach decoding explicitly before we can expect students to read for pleasure. Once word recognition becomes automatic, reading comprehension can follow. Only when reading stops being a painful chore can it become a source of joy.

If you find yourself overwhelmed trying to support these students alone, you are not the only one. Many teachers feel underprepared for this challenge. You might find our article on why even the best teachers struggle to help struggling readers alone helpful to read.

Classroom strategies: Building decoding skills with dignity

Teaching phonics to a teenager can feel awkward. Many phonics materials are designed for very young children. Older students will quickly reject books that look babyish.

Here is how you can build decoding skills without sacrificing your students' dignity:

• Use age-appropriate decodable texts. Look for "high-low" books. These are books with high-interest content but low reading complexity.
• Focus on morphology. Older students enjoy learning about word origins, prefixes, and suffixes. Teaching them how words are built helps decoding and vocabulary at the same time.
• Keep tasks short and focused. Ten minutes of targeted phonics practice is better than an hour of struggle.
• Use technology discreetly. Digital tools can provide private, independent practice.

If you want to learn more about how to address these gaps, you can read our guide on what to do if you weren't taught how to teach reading.

Creating a low-pressure classroom library

How do we support neurodivergent learners during independent reading time? We can design our classroom libraries to reduce pressure and shame.

First, organize books by topic or genre rather than reading level. Labeling a shelf as "Year 3 Reading Level" in a secondary classroom instantly embarrasses the older students who need those books. Instead, use labels like "Mystery," "Graphic Novels," or "Survival Stories."

Second, include graphic novels and audiobooks. Graphic novels provide rich context clues that support comprehension. Audiobooks allow students to access complex, age-appropriate stories while their decoding skills catch up.

Third, consider using structured digital tools. Our app, Lexy, is built on structured literacy principles. It offers private, multisensory phonics and fluency practice designed to support neurodivergent learners. It can be a helpful addition to your classroom toolkit.

Shift the focus to skill

We all want our students to love reading. But we must remember that love is a consequence of success, not the cause of it.

By focusing on explicit, systematic decoding instruction, we give our older struggling readers the tools they actually need. Once they can read the words on the page with ease, the love of reading will have a real chance to grow.