Skimming isn't Reading: Reclaiming the Power of Deep Reading in a Digitial Era
Dive into how deep reading is the foundation of how children learn to think, imagine, and connect.
Dive into how deep reading is the foundation of how children learn to think, imagine, and connect.
In a recent blog, we highlighted the critical role of book language in shaping language and literacy. Today, we raise the stakes: without whole books and deep reading, our children risk losing the very capacity for focus, comprehension, reflection, and empathy.
Across the nation, state legislatures have taken up the “science of reading” banner, rightly emphasizing systematic instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These reforms attempt to address long-standing gaps in how children are taught to read.
But as the Shanker Institute and Maryland Reads warn, most of these laws overlook a deeper issue: the context in which children are reading. Even if we succeed in teaching every child to decode words, the digital, distraction-heavy environments that dominate children’s lives may erode their ability to truly comprehend, reflect, and think deeply.
Maryanne Wolf calls this capacity deep reading: the slow, immersive engagement with text that allows comprehension to blossom into empathy, critical thought, and original insight. Cultivating deep reading is harder than ever in a digital age.
Deep reading is not simply understanding the words on a page—it is the foundation of how children learn to think, imagine, and connect. When children read deeply, they:
•Slow down to absorb meaning and reflect.
•Infer and connect across knowledge, experiences, and texts.
•Analyze and critique ideas and arguments.
•Imagine and empathize by stepping into other lives and perspectives.
•Reflect and create new ideas inspired by what they’ve read.
Wolf frames this as building a developmental “circuit” in the brain—one that must be deliberately nurtured. Without it, we risk raising children who can decode but cannot think deeply.
The urgency is real: U.S. literacy rates have slumped to historic lows, with NAEP showing the worst 4th-grade scores in 20+ years and the worst 8th-grade scores in 30 years. Wolf argues the decline reflects three forces converging: COVID disruptions, uneven instructional methods, and the pervasive drag of digital culture.
Whole books—not isolated excerpts—are the most powerful tool we have to nurture deep reading. Research shows:
• Stamina and Persistence: Persisting through a novel or nonfiction book builds attention span and resilience.
•Language Growth: Extended texts expose students to complex syntax, discourse structures, and richer vocabulary.
•Memory and Comprehension: Narratives and arguments that unfold over time encourage deeper processing and long-term retention.
•Community and Reflection: Shared reading rituals around books create collective knowledge, spark discussion, and strengthen empathy.
•Cultural Capital: Whole books connect students to cultural touchstones, ideas, and conversations that expand their horizons and equity of access.
Doug Lemov puts it simply: “Learning to struggle through a challenging text—and to persist with it—is one of the greatest gifts an education can give.”
For multilingual learners, whole books are even more critical: they provide authentic, sustained exposure to language patterns, narrative structures, and academic vocabulary in meaningful contexts.
Digital environments undermine these processes in three key ways:
• Fragmented attention: Notifications and multitasking train children to skim and shift, not persist.
• Shallow processing: Scrolling and screen reading encourage skimming rather than sustained engagement.
• Reduced empathy and reflection: Quick-hit content leaves little space for imagination or moral reflection.
For developing readers, whose brains are plastic and still wiring key circuits, this is especially dangerous. What is not reinforced can atrophy. If children grow up reading mostly in shallow, digital ways, their capacity for deep reading may weaken before it ever fully forms.
Despite the progress of reading legislation, most state statutes are silent on this critical issue. Only nine even reference digital media, and those that do usually emphasize funding for software—not safeguards for attention, reflection, or comprehension.
• Recognizes the neurobiological effort required to build the deep reading brain.
• Prioritizes print-rich, distraction-free environments in early literacy.
• Demands digital tools that enhance rather than erode comprehension.
To protect the reading brain and ensure the “science of reading” delivers on its promise, lawmakers and educators should:
1. Put whole books at the center of early literacy.
Excerpts and passages have their place, but books build stamina, cultural knowledge, and empathy in ways snippets cannot.
2. Make print primary in the foundational years.
Children should develop deep reading circuits with print before heavy digital use. Whole-book reading rituals should anchor classrooms and homes alike.
3. Vigorously vet digital tools.
Only adopt digital programs that minimize distraction and promote sustained engagement with text.
4. Train teachers and students in “medium literacy.”
Explicitly teach students how to read differently on screen vs. in print, when skimming is useful, and when depth is essential.
5. Promote leisure reading of whole books.
Provide access to libraries, quiet spaces, and unhurried reading time that allows children to fall into stories.
6. Build better digital environments.
When digital tools are necessary, design them to slow down readers, scaffold reflection, and preserve comprehension.
At Summit K12, we recognize that technology can either erode or enhance the reading brain. That’s why our Connect to Literacy program is intentionally designed to keep the focus on the text and reduce distractions.
•Distraction-Free Design → Minimal pop-ups and clutter so students focus fully on reading.
•Guided Deep Reading → Built-in prompts and scaffolds encourage reflection, annotation, and connections.
•Comprehensive and Integrated Approach → Foundational decoding plus stamina, comprehension, and critical thinking.
Summit K12 is committed to creating digital environments that protect attention, amplify comprehension, and nurture deep reading—so that every student can grow as a fluent reader and thoughtful thinker.
The science of reading has made critical progress—but it is incomplete if it ignores the ecology of reading. Teaching phonics and decoding is necessary, but not sufficient.
Children need more than the ability to recognize words. They need the capacity to stay with words—to struggle, wonder, imagine, and reflect. Whole books are the surest path to that depth.
If we want a generation of students who not only read fluently but also think critically, empathize deeply, and participate meaningfully in civic life, we must craft policies and practices that preserve and protect the deep reading brain.
The stakes are high: without deep reading, we risk raising children who can decode words but cannot wrestle with ideas.
Summit K12 is committed to supporting educators and policymakers in this mission—by designing a digital ecosystem that safeguards attention and ensures print and texts remain at the center of learning.
Additional Reading
Maryanne Wolf: Deep Reading a Tool for Attaining Empathy, Critical Thinking Skills
READER, COME HOME The Reading Brain in a Digital World
For more on Language Development, read Building Systems of Opportunity in Language Acquisition, Pt. 2