Getting Kids To Read
Motivating.........
Ideas to Get Kids Reading
- Timing: One of the things that parents often say to me that after school, homework, dinner, baths, sporting activities that it just too hard to get their child to do their home reading. The answer to this is simple, there is nothing to say that reading has to be done at the end of the day... get them to read to you when you are making breakfast, bathing a younger sibling, unpacking the groceries.
- They just don't like reading. Show that you value reading, let them see you reading adult novels. Read to them so that you can share the experience, ask them to "help you read",
- The books that are sent home are boring. Kids all have different interests as do adults. This may be something that you need to negotiate with your child's teacher but I take the view that it is the practice of reading that counts. If a child doesn't like the books that I sent home but will happily sit down and read a story that they have at home I am happy to let them. I just ask the parents to be aware that it is not too easy or that it is a story they know by rote.
- While it is important that parents have an idea of how well their children are reading they don't have to read every word to you. If you have a particularly busy night they can read to a sibling, Grandparents, visitors, teddybears, even the dog will like a story once in a while.
- They are not interested. Find something that they are interested in. As I said in my introduction reading is a vital skill that we use every day. By using this knowledge and understanding the interests of your child it will be easy to get them to read. There are specific topics that can motivate children and I will mention a few later in the lens but other ideas could be:
Cooking: get your child to read the recipe and gather the things that they need. You can extend this to the creation of a shopping list and reading labels at the store.
Sport: Read the sports pages of a newspaper to find out what your favourite team is up to.
Movies: Read the movie review and timetable before you decide what to see.
The backs of DVD and game cases provide a great reading experience.
Read about the places that you are going on your next day trip or holiday.
Don't forget the internet: There is so much stuff out there that there has to be something that will spark an interest in your child. - Act it out. There are many stories out there that lend themselves beautifully to silly voices and dress-ups. It can be a lot of fun, especially if you can get a group of children along for the ride.
- Comic Books: The value of these are not to be underestimated, especially for struggling readers. Children still have to use a wide range of decoding strategies in order to understand and comprehend the story.
- Kits: Kits for absolutely anything. They have instructions that need to be read and understood in order to have a sucessful project. Many of these are science based and contain factual background information.
- Their story: Get them to tell you a story or make one up together. Record it, and type it up, print it out and they are suddenly an author, we all know that an author needs to do a book reading! My class love it when we create a class story and publish it, then they are each responsible for illustrating a page. They have ownership and will want to read it again and again.
- Other subjects: This might sound painfully obvious but you have to be able to read in order to do anything. If your child hates reading but loves Maths then get them a maths activity book, one with instructions that they have to read and follow in order to do the task.
Great Stuff on Amazon
Some Reading Basics
- Letter Recogintion: This is very simple children need to be able to instantly recogise the letters of the alphabet. If they are unable to do that then they will be unable to develop an understanding of the sounds that these letters make and then the words that are made by the sounds. It is not uncommon for children in Year 2 or 3 to still have letter confusions, particularly getting 'b' and 'd' mixed up.
- Sounds: This is a bit more complex than it seems. There are 42 sounds that we use in words and we only have 26 letters to use to express them in writing. Many people think that teaching their children that "A says a, like in apple" is enough, and it is an important start but it becomes hard for children who are trying to use reading strategies when they are sounding out the word "want" and the a is making an "o" sound. This is also important when there are digraphs (or 2 letters making a sound) such as ai in snail.
- Text Direction: The most basic skill of reading, and itis often learnt before the children even enter a classroom. This is simply the right way to hold a book and the fact that we read from left to right!
- Concepts of words and sentences. That a word is made up of letters and has a space at either side of it. That a sentence is a group of words that together give us some information. Included in this are the concepts of capital letters and full stops at the start and end of a sentence and that the full stops are the end of the idea and we can take a breath.
Phonics on Amazon
Topics to Excite Kids.
- Dinosaurs: This would have to be number one for all children. There are many struggling readers out there who can read dinosaur names at the drop of a hat. The other great thing is that there is a wealth of information around that takes a wide variety of forms and is suitable for any age level.
- Disasters: Natural or caused by human error it doesn't really matter kids love learning about disasters. I think that it is like that must see story on the news that you need an explanation for. The Titanic is a popular topic of interest, especially for older children.
- Dangerous Animals: This is particularly good for boys who like to think that they are too big and strong to be bothered reading. Over the past few years the popularity of Steve Irwin and his TV shows has evolved and provides a great starting point to inspire children to learn more.
- Machines and inventions: Boys, in particular can be very reluctant readers but they often like making and "inventing" things. There are many books about how things work that can be used as motivators.
- Animals: Any animal will do really, girls in particular seem to like the cute ones. Horses and dolphins are good choices in this regard. I taught one girl who wouldn't read in class (not that she was unable to) or at home. All that changed when I let the children select the next lot of books for silent reading. She found a book about horses, then there was no stopping her.
- Movies: Use the popularity of movies to help. If your child was engrossed by Harry Potter then the logical step would be to share that as a bedtime story, gradually getting them to read to you a little more each time. If they like Pirates Of The Carribean then find stories about pirates. Logical huh?
- Space: Every kid wants to be an astronaut at some point and most adult's wish once in a while that they had been able to follow that dream. The fascination with space spans generations and lends itself beautifully as a topic of intrest for children.
- Fantasy: There is no limit to this. The popularity of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies means that this is a good motivator. Many fantasy stories have a base in ancient myths and legends.....yet more reading.
- Author study: Find that one author that really gets to your child. Use the internet and your local library to find out about them and possibly other books that they have read.
Stuff To Help You Motivate
Here are some things from Amazon that youcan use as motivators in your attempt to encourage reading. Try them out and then please come back and rank them for me.
Science Project Kit 10-pack Water Tests
Science Project Kit 10-pack is a comprehensive tes more...1 point
Scientific Explorer Disgusting Science Kit
It's the grossest, most revolting science kit out more...1 point
I DIG Dinosaurs T-Rex Skeleton Excavation Adventure
Using a steel hammer and chisel, kids dig up repli more...1 point
Rocks and Minerals
Rocks, minerals, and crystals may be hard, but the more...1 point
Some Reading Strategies
- Look at the Picture:
This may seem to be commonsense but I have had friends say to me that they want their children to read the words not "cheat" from the picture. Using the picture helps to promote an understanding of the what is happening in the story and provides a means of checking that what they have read in the words makes sense within the context of the text. - Use the Initial Letter:
this strategy allows children to keep the momentum of their reading. It is probably better for them to read the wrong word than develop the habit of stopping dead when they dome to a difficult word. If they read the starting letter they may say the correct word because of their comprehension of the text. If they don't then they can use this in conjunction with other strategies. - Chunk the word:
By breaking the word down into manageable chunks then putting the chunks back together to decode the word children can begin to understand how common letter patterns work together.
Get Kids Reading
Here are links to some of my other lenses that you may like to take a look at.-
The Worlds of Enid Blyton
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Enid Blyton was one of my favourite authors as a child. She wrote a huge amount of childrens books across a wide range of genres from fantasy, through adventure to boarding school stories. Her books are underestimated and while it...
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Books to Read to Kids
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I was about to add some more to my other lens when I realised that they were all children's books so I figured that such a wonderful category deserved a lense of it's own. This is more than just the ones that I enjoy reading (although that help...
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The Magnificant World Of Roald Dahl
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The Magnificent Roald Dahl couldn't be more of an understatement for this true magician of words. For decades his stories have captivated children from 5 to 95. His creativity is not to be underestimated and the love of reading that his work has fost...
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Get Kids Reading. Headquarters
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Get Kids Reading. There are many lenses out there that are focused on getting kids to read. This group aims to pull them together in one location. From a lens about your favourite children's book or author to one with tips for parents, this is the g...
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Motivating Reluctant Writers
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Getting kids to take the chance and actually put pen to paper can be near impossible at times. I can't write or I have nothing to write about are common themes in most primary school classrooms. Hopefully this lens will provide you with a few hints a...
Your Ideas and Feedback.
Let me know what works for you and your child. It could be anything. Or if you have a reluctant reader and have tried some of these ideas please share your thoughts to help others.
jp1978 wrote...
This is a great lens with some great info and tips. I love reading and wish everyone did too.
Posted January 07, 2009
speechsrl wrote...
in reply to Katco Motivating kids who are reluctant readers to read can be a tall order and for any variety of reasons. I'm a speech/language pathologist and for many years have worked with kids who find reading difficult. You've done a great job giving strategies and ideas for helping to bring reading into kids lives!
Posted January 04, 2009
kellywissink wrote...
Hi Andrea!
5 Stars! I lensrolled this page to http://www.squidoo.com/notv
Kelly Wissink
Posted June 19, 2008
Great lens here, this is very useful for the kids and it is increasing self motivation to kids. I like your lens very much and I rated 5 stars for your valuable lens.
Checkout my lens that focuses on excavation work,
thanks!
Posted June 16, 2008
EnthusiasticEducator wrote...
I love your lens! I spend so much time and energy motivating the students in my class. Motivation is essential in instilling a love of reading/learning in children. I just finished my first lens on preparing for the FCAT(state test)...it's filled with numerous reading strategies. Great Job!
Posted October 29, 2007
Evelyn_Saenz wrote...
I love this lens. I have also written a lot of lenses with ideas of ways to help kids learn to read. I lensrolled this page to www.squidoo.com/beginningreaders
Posted October 19, 2007
Katco wrote...
Great lens! I've written a lens about Click 'N Read Phonics! It also helps kids learn to read in a fun way!
Posted August 19, 2007
aureliawilliams wrote...
BRAVO!!! I loved this lens! Getting my 7yo to read at times can be a battle but once he gets into it it is fine. I gained a lot of tips here!
Posted July 20, 2007
tutor1235 wrote...
Hi Andrea,
Nice job! You've created a superb resource here-I'm adding it to my favorites. I'm hoping you'll pop on over and visit my related reading lenses-you might enjoy them. Just click on my name and you'll get to a complete list.
Sandy
Posted July 08, 2007
