I am an ardent fan of physical books. In fact, reading was such an integral part of my childhood that I read by the headlights of the car behind us when my family drove at night. Given my affinity for physical books, I was not surprised to learn that numerous studies speak of physical books in more positive terms than e-readers. Does that mean kids need to go with physical books? It’s not a simple yes or no. You’ll find plenty of articles in praise of physical books, so here’s the case for e-readers:
Portability
You can read an e-book on your phone, a tablet, or an e-reader. It’s your choice, but the thing all of these have in common is their portability. These modes of reading are available to you wherever you are. And without planning ahead. When you want a book, you can have it on the spot. You can also read the books in your e-library.
Flexibility
With an e-reader, you can make the text larger. You can make the text smaller. If you have an audiobook version of the book, you can often synchronize the point you’re at between the two. These things provide you with a flexibility that is not available with a physical book.
Annotation
Some people would never dream of writing in a book. Some of us cannot imagine not writing in a book. With an e-reader, you can split the difference at the push a “button” and make notes that stay with the e-book. You can also highlight in a choice of colors.
Vocabulary
I was teaching a class with three students. Everyone was reading the same book. The reading level was appropriate for the group, but the words that were unfamiliar to the kids turned out to be words that were vital to the meaning of the text. One kid was reading a physical book. One was listening to the audiobook. And one was using an e-reader. All of the kids got the general idea, but only the kid with the e-reader got the full meaning of the text. Why? When he didn’t know a word, he just hovered over it and the definition appeared.
Bottom Line
The ability to see the definition for an unfamliiar word without leaving the text to find it, eliminates one of the biggest hurdles to reading comprehension I’ve found – an inadequate vocabulary. How do you know your child’s vocabulary is lacking? If they are saying something is very cold or very very cold rather than using the word that means very cold or the word that means very very cold, and the same is true with other words, their vocabulary needs work. Having a vocabulary that’s limitied to a single way to say something is like coloring with ten colors instead of the entire jumbo box. One way to assist kids with building their vocabulary is to bring out the e-readers.