How do animals react when read aloud to?

I wonder...

One day, the 5th graders at Storevarden School read a story about a reading dog – a golden retriever by the name of Julie. The dog was part of a research project at a school in another part of the country. The project involved children reading aloud to and stroking the dog. The story inspired the 5th grade pupils to find out how animals react when read aloud to, and their research project was born!

Why?

29 of the 32 pupils believe that animals enjoy being read aloud to. They give several reasons for this. They believe that animals like to hear voices. Animals rely on humans and several pupils noticed that the animals made "happy noises" when spoken to. Animals feel safer when we speak to them and read aloud to them.

The team behind the winning project; classes 5A and 5B at Storevarden School. Photo/
Foto: Storevarden skole

Project plan

Many of the pupils have pets they could read aloud to. Those who do not have pets arranged to visit friends and relations so they could read aloud to their animals. They compiled quite a comprehensive list of animals, including cats, rabbits, dogs, hamsters, horses, chickens, sheep and cows.
The plan was to observe the reactions of the animals and to read different types of text. The pupils also planned to contact a wide range of professionals, e.g. experts in reading research, vets, the zoo in Kristiansand and people who do research on animals. 

Gathering information

When the pupils got underway with their research, their first step was to borrow an observation room at the school. They needed the room in order to carry out their research in peace and quiet, but also to avoid problems with pupils who suffered from allergies. The pupils created a registration form, on which they could distinguish between intonation or no intonation and the type of text: funny, exciting or sad. 

The animals in the barn were also included in the research project. Photo/
Foto: Storevarden skoleOne of the boys in the class, Jostein, reported how he had read aloud to his budgie, Påsan. Påsan settled down on Jostein's shoulder, made happy noises and closed its eyes. Mia read aloud to her dog, Dina. While she was reading, Dina wanted to sit with her head under Mia's arm. Sander's cat would run off when he read aloud to it. It seemed like the cat didn't appreciate loud noises. Tor Einar read aloud to his goldfish. He noticed that the fish would stay still while he read then start swimming again when he stopped reading. The teacher's dog would yawn when she read aloud. This is not necessarily a sign that the dog found the text boring. A number of dog experts contacted by the class reported that a dog yawning is a sign that it is relaxed and happy.

The teacher's dog yawned and enjoyed being read aloud to. Photo/
Foto: Storevarden skoleThe research project involved contact with the Reading Centre at the University of Stavanger. At the centre, the pupils met a researcher who was working on pretty much the same subject; reading aloud to small children to see how this affects their language development.
A questionnaire carried out among the general public showed that 47 of 57 persons believed that animals would like to be read aloud to. Bente, the dog whisperer, said that it was important to read with a quiet voice to dogs. 

This is what we learned...

The pupils' research showed that the majority of the children's own animals liked being read aloud to. In total, the research project covered 48 animals. The researchers they contacted during the project agreed that the way in which the animals are read aloud to is crucial.

Reading aloud to animals has won the pupils first prize in the Nysgjerrigper contest for 2010. The prize ceremony means a trip to Oslo for several days of fun and adventure.

Read the report: "How do animals react when read aloud to?" (in Norwegian only)

Translated by Amesto Translations