Tips for Reluctant Readers
- Set an example--let children see you reading.
- Have books at home.
- Find books that match your child's interests.
- Take books with you wherever you go.
- Have a Reading Ritual: After school or bedtime are recommended. Family reading times are encouraged.
- Explore the book. Take time to look at the pictures. Discuss ideas and images of the book. After you finish the book, encourage children to retell part of the story and make it their own.
- Share: Share your favorite stories. Ask your children to share books that they read in school.
- Relax! Allow reading time to be down time.
- Explore the world through books. Children learn through characters they can relate to. Books extend life experiences so children know what happens in the world around them.
- Make reading relaxing and low-key for a short part of the day.
- Read aloud some funny or interesting parts of your favorite book.
- Draw your child in with a riddle book for kids, a passage from a magazine or newspaper.
- If your child likes a movie, see if it's based on a book, and then bring home the book.
- For kids who have lost the motivation to read, use material that's interesting to them. Your child may have to disassociate what he's doing at school with the act of reading something for fun.
- Model reading in your home. Read to your children. Also, read the same book as your children and discuss it.
- Do activities that encourage reading such as board games, scavenger hunts and cooking.
- Subscribe to a magazine in your child's name related to his/her interests. Children love to receive mail.
- Let kids choose what they want to read and don't turn your nose up at popular fiction, trading cards and graphic novels. Many educational experts say that graphic novels are the best thing to happen for kids who resist the written word.
- Listen to books on tape especially for a child who has a learning disability.
- Leave all sorts of reading materials including books, magazines, and colorful catalogs in conspicuous places around your home.
- Take your children to the library regularly. Explore the children's section together. Ask a librarian to suggest books and magazines your children might enjoy.
- Set aside a special place for children to keep their own books.
- Introduce the bookmark. Remind your youngster that you don't have to finish a book in one sitting; you can stop after a few pages, or a chapter, and pick up where you left off at another time. Don't try to persuade your child to finish a book he or she doesn't like. Recommend putting the book aside and trying another.
- Not all reading takes place between the covers of a book. What about menus, road signs, food labels, and sheet music? Take advantage of countless spur-of-the-moment opportunities for reading during the course of your family's busy day.
- You might find that kids will read pages on the Internet. Help them find pages with content that fits their interests.
- When a topic of interest develops which involves the whole family--an upcoming trip or vacation, for example--bring home some books on the topic to share with the family.
- Attend used book sales at libraries and other places where good books can be bought inexpensively.
- Look for computer programs which encourage reading.
- When you or your child are working on something together have him/her read the directions.
Tips compiled from www.familyeducation.com, www.ldonline.org, www.rif.org, www.creativeteachingsite.com