November 14, 2025 | Updated November 13, 2025
12 Common Reasons Students Don’t read and what you can do about it
go through Terry Heck
Why don’t students read more?
Digital distraction? Don’t have any books at home? Too many tests? Kim Kardashian? It depends on the student. It depends on illiteracy and literacy rates. It depends on how you define reading (does reading lengthy character dialogue in a Square Enix game count?) So below, I’ve gathered some of the most common reasons why students don’t read and offered some ways to start addressing the issue.
12 Common Reasons Students Don’t read and what you can do about it
1. They haven’t found the right book or the right type of book yet.
How do you feel when your principal puts a book in your lap—a book that means well but is anything but natural and interesting to you? Do you hate reading because you don’t want to read?
Possible solutions: I tell my students that when I walk into a bookstore with 10,000 books, 9,200 of them have no appeal to me. What are the benefits? That means I have 800 books that I really want to read. No one hates reading. Some of us are just pickier readers than others. we collected Books for students who think they don’t like readingalso.
See What I tell students who think they don’t like reading is
2. They need General They can turn to reading strategies from time to time.
Possible solutions: see here.
Possible solutions: Read “The Market” to them. Take pictures of them reading. Start a “Caught Reading” course instagram feed or #caughtreading hashtag (send it to me and I’ll tweet it). Approach it with the same creativity and passion as a marketing agency successfully marketing a multi-billion dollar company.
3. they need specific They can choose their own reading strategies based on the context.
Possible solutions: Identify their strengths and areas for growth as readers, help them self-assess in the same way, and then work with them and their parents to create a set of 4-6 reading strategies from the above (or other) list that they can use flexibly based on what they are reading.
4. Reading can be intimidating.
Reading is fun—until it isn’t. Do I understand? What will appear in the test? Am I on grade level? more than? the following? What if I have to read aloud?
Possible solutions: Don’t ask them to read aloud unless you want to assess oral fluency! Don’t leave them where they are. Don’t ask comprehension questions out loud. No always Insist that they “read at grade level” (feel like reading Shakespeare after a long day, or would you rather go home and plop on the couch watching “Bar Rescue”?)
5. The reading space or “vibe” is inappropriate.
It’s noisy. It’s so quiet. Too many distractions. Too hot, too cold – we all have environments where we enjoy reading. I can’t read without complete silence – someone talks and I finish reading.
possible solutions: Allow students to use white noise applications. Play white noise in the classroom (they’ll get used to it). Create reading spaces in the classroom. Ask your librarian/media specialist if they have any ideas. Dim the lights. Buy bean bags—even high school students can do it!
6. They need a reason to study.
And you allocate it is not enough.
Possible solutions: Make reading social. Process, reflection and results. Help them see the value in the process of reading (critical thinking) and the results of reading (knowledge). Help them see reading as part of the relationship between the life they have and the life they want.
7. They have too many other things to do.
Reading is difficult when you have a million things to do. Who wants to “enjoy a good book” when you have 20 pages of homework to do?
Possible solutions: Help them create a personalized reading plan that suits their lives.
8. This is not a habit.
Reading is a muscle. The more they read, the more they want to read.
Possible solutions: They need a home library filled with “stuff” they want to read. Or the Epic reading app.
9. They have problems with phonemic awareness.
If they struggle with phonemic awareness, reading can feel like climbing a mountain.
Possible solutions: Apps can’t solve every literacy problem, but they are great for practice. here are some Elementary reading app This will help. There are some Apps for struggling readers.
10. Their visual vocabulary is limited.
A limited sight word vocabulary means slower reading, which reduces comprehension and makes reading less enjoyable.
Possible solutions: Use Nogi. Have fun with Frayer models. Play vocabulary games. But most importantly, help them build a sense of motivation as readers. Encountering words in context results in better long-term retention than encountering words on index cards.
11. They struggle with their identity as “readers.”
These students view reading as something to do in school rather than as an opportunity to create meaning, have fun, be exposed to new ideas, make friends, etc. Engineers are called engineers. The person who writes is the writer. Is anyone reading? This is what is called a student.
12. They need to know all the incredible things about reading—topics, facts, genres, authors, etc.
Possible solution: So show them.
12 Common Reasons Why Students Don’t Read and What You Can Do About It; Image attributed to flickr user eugenekim
