The effect of fantastic children's literature products on reading skills of middle school students

The literacy rate in Turkey is 97% according to 2022 TÜİK data. However, the number of people with a regular reading culture is low. Parents and teachers have a great responsibility in raising individuals with a reading culture. Introducing individuals to qualified children's literature products at an early age is an important step to be taken in order for them to grow up as conscious readers in their later years. It will be much easier to instill a love of reading and a reading culture in a student who has been introduced to children's literature at a young age. Another thing that needs to be done to instill a love of reading at a young age is to introduce children to the types of literature they may like. Since children's reading of their favorite genres makes reading fun, it will be easier for them to acquire the habit of reading. When determining the genres that children like, genres that suit their mindset, enrich their imagination, and develop their creative thinking skills should be chosen. Fantastic children's literature products draw children into a fun game atmosphere, appeal to their feelings and thoughts, and enable them to assimilate what they read. For these reasons, fantasy children's literature products are among the priority genres that can be used to instill a reading culture in children. This study aimed to measure the effects of fantastic children's literature works on secondary school students' reading attitudes, reading comprehension levels and reading speed. While conducting the research, quantitative research method was used. Among the quantitative research methods, a semi-structured experimental design research model with experimental and control groups was applied. This research was conducted in the 2022-2023 academic year at the Ümitköy Anatolian Imam Hatip High School Science and Social Sciences Project School, affiliated with the Çankaya District National Education Directorate of Ankara. While the population of this research consists of 6th grade secondary school students in Turkey, the sample consists of a group of 6th grade students of Ümitköy Anatolian Imam Hatip High School Science and Social Sciences Project School. When the literature was scanned, no previous study was found on the effect of fantasy literature products on reading skills. The answer to the problem of how fantasy literature will affect the reading skills of the participants and what results it will produce in the academic life of the students has been sought. As a result of this research; According to the results obtained, although there was no significant difference in reading comprehension level and reading attitude, when the data regarding reading speed was examined, it was observed that the experimental group read faster than the control group. It is thought that the results obtained in this research on reading fantasy children's literature works are a resource that will support educators, book authors and the Ministry of National Education in making decisions about students' reading skills.