The document discusses the importance of pleasure in reading for adolescents. Research found that 14 eighth-grade avid readers described reading pleasure with sophistication and said pleasure supported their engagement with texts. Students said reading helped them learn about themselves and what they could be by imagining themselves in situations from books. They also discussed how the Harry Potter series gave a sense of belonging and bonded them with peers who shared the experience.

1. Erik Spencer - erikpen@gmail.com - Maceió-AL
About Reading
Key T erms…
then-senator: nesse-temposenador
The Most Important Lesson Schools Can Teach
Kids About Reading: It’s Fun
In a 2005 speech to the American Library
Association, then-senator Obama described his
view: ponto de vista, perspectiva
just enough: apenas o suficiente
economy, teaching our kids just enough so that
get through: passar, terminar
↲
view of the importance of literacy: “In this new
they can get through Dick and Jane isn’t going
isn’t going to cut it: não vai ser
sufficiente
requires: exige
to cut it,” he said. “The kind of literacy necessary
for 21st-century employment requires detailed
understanding
and
complex
comprehension.”
Education secretary Arne Duncan’s response to
reinforced a pragmatic
approach to literacy: reforçou
uma abordagem pragmática para a
alfabetização
knowledge-based economy:
economia baseada no conhecimento
the 2013 National Assessment of Educational
Progress
earlier
pragmatic
this
approach
week
to
reinforced
a
literacy:
“If
America’s students are to remain competitive in a
knowledge-based economy, our public schools
rate of progress: taxa de progresso
must greatly accelerate the rate of progress of
last: últimos
the last four years and do more to narrow
↲
narrow: reduzir
America’s large achievement gaps. It is an
↲
achievement gaps: faltas de
realização/conhecimento
urgent moral and economic imperative that our
schools do a better job of preparing students for
today’s globally-competitive world.”
Reading is indeed crucial to success in school and

2. Erik Spencer - erikpen@gmail.com - Maceió-AL
in careers. But we worry that discussions of
reading, especially public policy discussions, focus
almost exclusively on its utilitarian value.
utilitarian value: valor utilitário
What’s missing is: O que está
faltando é
What’s missing is the pleasure readers derive
from the reading they do.
Our new research on the nature and variety of the
avid: ávido (keen, enthusiastic,
eager)
pleasure avid adolescent readers take from their
out-of-school reading ( Reading Unbound: Why
Kids Need to Read What They Want—and Why
We Should Let Them ) demonstrates that
pleasure is not incidental to reading—it’s essential.
Indeed, we found that the young people with
whom we worked spoke of their reading pleasure
with
remarkable
sophistication—and
their
pleasure supported the intense and high-level
engagement with texts that schools seek to
↲
seek to foster: procuram promover
out-of-school reading lives:
vidas (dia-a-dia) de leitura fora da
escola
eighth graders: estudantes da
oitava séries
strove to understand: esforçou-se
para compreender
foster.
In our study of the out-of-school reading
lives of 14 eighth graders who were avid
readers of texts often marginalized in schools
(romances,
vampire
stories,
horror
stories,
dystopian novels, and fantasy), we strove to
understand the nature and variety of reading
remarkably articulate:
notavelmente articular
pleasure. We found that our participants were
remarkably articulate about why they read
what they read. Here’s what they taught us.
Well, I learn about myself through
books when I imagine myself in the
different situations. I’m pretty sure

3. Erik Spencer - erikpen@gmail.com - Maceió-AL
other people do that, too. And then I
really can think about what would I
run and hide: correr e se esconder
↲
really do. Would I run and hide or
stand up and take it: levantar-se e
aguentar
would I, you know, stand up and
take it? And then you say well I like to
think that I would stay, but maybe I
run away: fugir
really would run away and the next
time you’ve got that fight or flight thing
kinda: “kind of” (sort of, “meio”)
going on, you kinda think back to
think back: lembrar
which one you want to be doing. You
can sort of help yourself change in that
way, and when you really admire a
brave: corajosa
character in a book who’s really brave
and stuff: e coisas assim
and stuff, you kind of can idolize
idolize: idolatrar
them and become more like them. So
it’s not really learning about yourself,
it’s learning about what you could be.
I’m part of a cultural club that grew up
HP: (Harry Potter)
with HP. It gave me a sense of
sense of belonging: sentimento de
pertença
belonging. I loved wondering what
wondering: me perguntar
to my friends about that. Aligning
Aligning myself: Me alinhando
myself with characters. Waiting so
characters: personagens
impatiently for the next book. No other
I thought was going to happen. Talking
group of kids will have that experience
again. It kind of marks you as when
grew up: cresceu
you grew up and bonds you with
bonds you with: te liga com
other people your age.

4. Erik Spencer - erikpen@gmail.com - Maceió-AL
↱
isn’t going to cut it
não vai ser sufficiente
They no longer have a dominating defense, so a conservative attack isn’t
going to cut it.
…they soon realize that saying “sorry” isn’t going to cut it this time around
↱
reduzir
narrow
He narrowed his search to a smaller area. ↔
Ele reduziu (or: diminuiu) a busca para uma área menor.
↱
achievement gaps
faltas de realização/conhecimento
achievement test
teste de conhecimentos
exame de aproveitamento ↔
achievement test
realização dos objectivos ↔
achievement of objectives
Acreditamos que o trabalho deve ser fonte importante de realização
individual. ↔
We believe that the work should be an important source of individual
achievement.
↱
seek to foster
procuram promover
Many also are involved in fundraising for local charities and in efforts that
seek to foster a deeper understanding of distinct cultures among
residents.
Colectivamente, deveriam preocupar-se também com o bem comum da
sociedade nas suas va ↔
Collectively, they should also seek to foster the well-being of society in all
components.
Explorará as vantagens da diversidade cultural, da participação cívica
activa em questões europeias e procurará promover o sentido de pertença
europeia. ↔
It will explore the benefits of cultural diversity, active civic participation

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in European affairs and seek to foster a sense of European belonging.
↱
stand up and take it
levantar-se e aguentar
She said something insensitive and wrong, now she does not want to stand
up and take it like a, well, man.
Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you deal with it. Stand up and
take it.