Reading Is Reading. It all “Counts”

Let’s me get on my soapbox.

Ahem… Reading is reading.

Not just novels. Not just paper books. Not just the way we learned to read in school.

Some kids access stories best through their eyes.
Some through their ears.
Some through a mix of both.

Audiobooks are not cheating. Graphic novels are not lazy. Reading on a screen does not magically make comprehension disappear.

What matters is that students are making meaning. Following ideas. Tracking characters. Building vocabulary. Understanding tone. Making connections.

Gatekeeping what “counts” as reading does not create better readers. It creates kids who quietly decide they are bad at it and stop trying.

If they are engaged with text in any form, they are practicing literacy.
Full stop.