Motivating Kids to Read

Motivating children to read is one of those agony-ecstasy tasks every parent and teacher faces sooner or later. When the desire to read is planted, nurtured, and grows—ecstasy; but when an appreciation of reading fails to take root—agony...for the parent, teacher, and child. There are myriad reasons children don’t like to read, and the following selection of articles will explain why and what parents and teachers can do about it; provide valuable tips on what won’t work (nagging, bribing, criticizing); and offer practical advice on reading activities that will keep the entire family engaged during summer months and holiday breaks. As one article says: “The most effective way to encourage your children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them, and the earlier you start, the better. Even a baby of a few months can see pictures, listen to your voice, and turn cardboard pages.”

Go to www.rif.org for more information and other great articles like this one.

Rule of 5: A trick for reading

Sometimes it is difficult for your child to know if a book is going to be easy or hard to read just by looking at it.  The Rule of 5 is one test to check out a book before they spend too much time with it and get frustrated.

When reading a new book, your child should hold up one finger each time they come to a word they don't know.  If you have 5 fingers up within a few pages, the book is probably to hard and they should try it again in a few months. If they have no fingers up, the book is an easy read: perhaps a book where they have only a few fingers up is a better fit, and will help them grow as a reader.