Imbibing Reading Culture To Further Enhance Nigerian Students' Achievement In Science

Abstract

Reading is a necessary skill to possess in order to excel in academics. Students need reading skills in careers, households, in citizenship, and in their personal lives. The reading and literacy development of adolescents prepares them for success and learning in school and throughout their lives and beyond. It is necessary for learning, yet students may not be obtaining the reading help that they need to be successful. There is no doubt that the reading culture among Nigerian children is tragically deficient in comparison to those of the Western nations. Meanwhile, little advancement is being made in developing the reading skills of secondary school students. This puts them at risk for reading failure. Failure to learn to read has contributed to students' alienation from education. As students move from primary to secondary school, demands on literacy skills increase, and students must become more adept at meeting the challenges of sophisticated content area reading and information. Whereas reading in primary schools focuses on learning to read, secondary and content area reading focuses on reading to learn, and they begin to struggle with reading comprehension. Students must be able to learn from the language of expository texts, even when the topic is unfamiliar and the reading is demanding and discern the worthwhile information. Less skilled readers may require adaptive techniques to help in comprehending expository texts.