When I saw Mrs. Shea's great post with her tips for helping a resistant reader, I wanted to echo and re-emphasize a few of the things she said.
When your child is struggling with reading, encourage your child to pick books that really interest him or her. This is not the time to drag out the Accelerated Reader list or to try to pick something perfectly on grade or reading level. Many children stop reading about the time they start getting assigned books they don’t really care about, but they HAVE to read for school. Reading stops being fun.
If your child isn’t reading, the surest way to motivate them is to find a great book that features something they LOVE. Wrestling? Unicorns? There’s a book out there on almost anything. If you can, go to a large public library or bookstore and help your child browse. Ask a librarian or store clerk to help. It might help to do some advance prep; search this site and other reading/library/bookstore sites for recommended books. If your child chooses a book that is obviously below his or her reading level, that can be okay. Sometimes we need to go back to “comfort” reads – adults do it too! However, try to encourage your child to also pick out something that is closer to appropriate reading level, in case he or she quickly becomes bored with that easy read.
Also, Mrs. Shea recommended having an older child that your child looks up to read with your child. That's great, but you don't have to stop there! Have you heard about the programs where struggling readers read to dogs? Suggest your child read to the family pet - they are generally non-judgmental listeners. Maybe your child could also read to a favorite doll. Be creative - sometimes catching them by surprise makes them forget they didn't want to read in the first place!
3 comments:
Mo, your article was recommended by the Reading Tub! Way to go!
I love your advice to let children read below their reading level sometimes! Keep up the great posting. I'm following you now. I found you from Jen Robinson's Book Page.
I'm late coming to the discussion but wanted to say that even SMALL libraries can (and do!) help parents find great books for struggling/resistant readers. The library where I work has monthly K9 Reading Buddies nights where kids can read to dogs in a friendly, nonjudgmental atmosphere. I absolutely agree with going for books that kids love as a means to get them excited about reading. Thanks for this great post!
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