Top Five Ways to Help Your Child Get Motivated to Read
Top Five Ways to Help Your Child Get Motivated to Read
Some kids love to read and spend a lot of their time getting lost in the pages of a good book. Others hate the thought of reading. Some kids have a hard time staying focused on what they’re reading. Their minds wonder and they lose their place often and some just have a hard time pronouncing the words so they get frustrated. Regardless of the reason why your child does not like reading, you can help make books a big a part of their life.
Here are the top five ways to help your child get motivated to read:
1. Read out loud with your child. You can read a page or two and let him or her read a little. Go back and forth to make reading more fun and engaging. Use different voices for the different characters to make the story come alive. It may even seem like a game to your child but he/she is learning to read in the process.
2. Use audiotapes and audiobooks to help get him or her interested in reading. Many struggling readers benefit from having access to audiobooks. They help kids to stay focused on the story and allow them to use their imaginations to visualize the story as its being told.
3. Provide books about things your child is interested in. It doesn’t matter if he/she enjoys reading about princesses or dinosaurs, they will be more likely to read the book when it’s on a subject they like. Trips to the library or local bookstore can help with this. Some reluctant readers love the format of a graphic novel instead of the typical chapter book.
4. Discuss what you read. This may seem simplistic, but it’s incredibly valuable. Sometimes, stories just seem like a bunch of boring words on paper to kids that struggle with reading. Discussing the story as you read and talking about what is actually happening makes it more interesting because they understand what the story is about. It also helps to improve your child’s vocabulary and comprehension skills.
5. Use a special book chart to record all of the books you read together throughout the week or month. Set a goal for how many books you want your child to read during this time. Often times, a child who struggles with reading will abandon a book only after a few pages or the first chapter. Try and find out why and then help them make better book choices. When he or she reaches the goal, give him or her a gold star on the chart and a little prize to motivate them to keep on reading.
- BONUS TIP: Have you heard of the reading pyramid for book choice? The premise behind it is to get children to feel like they have book choice while you are guiding them in their selections. Get a gallon size Ziploc bag. On a piece of paper draw a large triangle and divide it into three sections lengthwise. The bottom row will be divided into three equal parts and that is where you will select three easy read books and record them. The middle row is divided into two equal parts. This is for selecting two just right books and recording them in these spaces. The final top row is for one challenging book. This can be a book you are reading together or reading to them. When all six books are read, find a way to praise and reward your child for their efforts. A trip for ice cream, bowling, a selecting a book, or even making it a special fundraiser are all motivating.
Reading is an important part of your child’s education. Use one or more of the ways above to help motivate your child to read more.
While you are using these tips to help your growing readers, remember that struggling readers also benefit from fluency practice with controlled text that has a high level of decodability. Using decodable text is also a confidence booster. In my Orton-Gillingham Decodable Stories book, you’ll find over 160 original stories to use for this very purpose. I am proud to say that after nearly two years of selling my number one best selling resource in my Teachers pay Teachers store as a digital file, you can finally order it as a hardbound book! When you order it in my store, I will ship it directly to you! Be sure to read my post about finding appropriate reading passages here.
I hope this post finds you well today. Thank you for reading and please keep in touch by signing up for my newsletter. Have a multisensory day!
Informative article about"Five ways to help your child get motivated to read". These are very useful tips.Reading and writing plays important role in education.The best method to improve your reading and skills is to read and write- as you read you pick up new vocabulary and engage with different
writing styles.I would like to follow your tips.