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Sidney
Student
Eldridge, Iowa
1
Question
Updated
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How can I make reading more interesting for kids?
My career path is to become a teacher. #teaching-prek-12 #teaching #teach #teacher #reading
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5 answers
Ahmed Abdelmonaem
Assurance Associate
8
Answers
Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt
Updated
Ahmed’s Answer
13 WAYS TO MAKE READING FUN FOR YOUR CHILD
1-Pick the right books
Making reading fun starts with selecting a book your child will enjoy reading. Ask your child what kinds of stories he or she likes reading best (Adventure? Fantasy?) Make a list of books in these categories and use it to help your child choose what he or she will read next.
2-Read aloud
Reading aloud with your child can add a bit more excitement to any book. Make the story more fun by using different voices for each character and an expressive voice for dramatic parts. You can also take turns reading aloud together, choosing a character you will each provide a voice for.
3-Act out the story
Help your child bring some extra excitement to reading by using his or her imagination. Have your child draw pictures of what he or she is reading, act out the scene, put on a character puppet show, or make up alternate endings.
4-Encourage all forms of reading
Reading doesn’t always have to mean picking up a book. Magazines, graphic novels, and newspapers are other great reading materials that feel less like “work” to your child—but they still help your child practice and improve his or her reading skills.
5-Choose books about his or her interests
Reading something your child enjoys makes reading less of a chore and more of a fun activity he or she will want to do. Help your child choose books that are related to his or her interests—whether it’s sports, animals, dinosaurs, or something else.
6-Create a reading space
Make a reading area or fort where your child can read and relax on his or her own. Add blankets, pillows, and a variety of books, and your child will have a reading corner where he or she can read a book whenever the urge to read hits.
7-Make connections between books and life
Make connections between what your child is reading and your child’s own experience. Read adventure books before you take a camping trip, dinosaur books before you visit a museum, and so on. This will help make reading (and learning) more exciting for your child.
8-Let your child choose
Let your child choose what book he or she wants to read. Giving him or her a choice helps your child feel like he or she has more control, so your child will be more excited to sit down with the book he or she has chosen.
9-Listen to audio books
For children who find reading frustrating, audio books are a great alternative to help make reading more enjoyable—while still helping your child improve his or her comprehension skills.
10-Start a series
Book series are a great way to keep your child’s interest in reading high and eliminate the problem of figuring out what to read next. Another option is reading multiple, non-series books written by the same author.
11-Have “reading hour”
Each day, schedule reading time for your child to sit down and read a chapter of a book. During this time, talk to your child about what is happening in the book, what his or her favourite part was, and what he or she thinks will happen next.
12-Take a trip to the library
The library is a great resource where your child can find lots of books to read. Take advantage of the selection at your local library by letting your child pick choose a book (or two!) that catches his or her attention.
13-Teach reading strategies
Many children dislike reading simply because they don’t have the necessary reading skills. If your child avoids opening a book at all costs, talk to his or her teacher about strategies to help develop reading motivation. Once you have some tips to try, work with your child to build reading motivation together.
1-Pick the right books
Making reading fun starts with selecting a book your child will enjoy reading. Ask your child what kinds of stories he or she likes reading best (Adventure? Fantasy?) Make a list of books in these categories and use it to help your child choose what he or she will read next.
2-Read aloud
Reading aloud with your child can add a bit more excitement to any book. Make the story more fun by using different voices for each character and an expressive voice for dramatic parts. You can also take turns reading aloud together, choosing a character you will each provide a voice for.
3-Act out the story
Help your child bring some extra excitement to reading by using his or her imagination. Have your child draw pictures of what he or she is reading, act out the scene, put on a character puppet show, or make up alternate endings.
4-Encourage all forms of reading
Reading doesn’t always have to mean picking up a book. Magazines, graphic novels, and newspapers are other great reading materials that feel less like “work” to your child—but they still help your child practice and improve his or her reading skills.
5-Choose books about his or her interests
Reading something your child enjoys makes reading less of a chore and more of a fun activity he or she will want to do. Help your child choose books that are related to his or her interests—whether it’s sports, animals, dinosaurs, or something else.
6-Create a reading space
Make a reading area or fort where your child can read and relax on his or her own. Add blankets, pillows, and a variety of books, and your child will have a reading corner where he or she can read a book whenever the urge to read hits.
7-Make connections between books and life
Make connections between what your child is reading and your child’s own experience. Read adventure books before you take a camping trip, dinosaur books before you visit a museum, and so on. This will help make reading (and learning) more exciting for your child.
8-Let your child choose
Let your child choose what book he or she wants to read. Giving him or her a choice helps your child feel like he or she has more control, so your child will be more excited to sit down with the book he or she has chosen.
9-Listen to audio books
For children who find reading frustrating, audio books are a great alternative to help make reading more enjoyable—while still helping your child improve his or her comprehension skills.
10-Start a series
Book series are a great way to keep your child’s interest in reading high and eliminate the problem of figuring out what to read next. Another option is reading multiple, non-series books written by the same author.
11-Have “reading hour”
Each day, schedule reading time for your child to sit down and read a chapter of a book. During this time, talk to your child about what is happening in the book, what his or her favourite part was, and what he or she thinks will happen next.
12-Take a trip to the library
The library is a great resource where your child can find lots of books to read. Take advantage of the selection at your local library by letting your child pick choose a book (or two!) that catches his or her attention.
13-Teach reading strategies
Many children dislike reading simply because they don’t have the necessary reading skills. If your child avoids opening a book at all costs, talk to his or her teacher about strategies to help develop reading motivation. Once you have some tips to try, work with your child to build reading motivation together.
Karen Kitchel
Community Volunteer
344
Answers
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Updated
Karen’s Answer
I assist teaching Kindergarteners to read and the ways I try to make it more interesting is by focusing on pictures before reading pages and often asking them questions such as "do you have a dog?" At the end of reading time I often ask them to choose the page they liked best and they get to read that page again. When done reading I always draw an imaginary star on their back to remind them that they have been a good reader.
With every good wish!
Kofi Kamara
Educator at the Crossroads
7
Answers
College Park, Georgia
Updated
Kofi’s Answer
There are many approaches to this: One, link the necessity for reading parallel to the interest. For example, have them group together to read something that will result in a reward if they have read it correctly and understood. In order to do that, your mastery of the language has to come into play in the form of trickery or misdirection. Using a few homonyms :using "bear" or "morning". Having them go over each word slowly, combined with their peers' guidance will force them to pay attention. Entymology of words can be fun as well because you can introduce them to different languages at the same time.
Stephanie Hamilton
Educational Consulting
89
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Stephanie’s Answer
Hi Sidney,
I was a classroom teacher. Now I train teachers in reading! I love it. How do you make it more interesting? First, take some time to understand what reading is ...... reading is phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing helps us to communicate what we learn from reading. After you have a good understanding of what reading is, then you can learn about how to make it interesting. Teachers should only lecture a little bit - hands on activities where I can apply what I know are always more engaging.
This article has activies for Preschool through grade 6: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/25-activities-reading-and-writing-fun
I bet you can adapt some of these ideas for older students.
Good luck,
Stephanie
I was a classroom teacher. Now I train teachers in reading! I love it. How do you make it more interesting? First, take some time to understand what reading is ...... reading is phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing helps us to communicate what we learn from reading. After you have a good understanding of what reading is, then you can learn about how to make it interesting. Teachers should only lecture a little bit - hands on activities where I can apply what I know are always more engaging.
This article has activies for Preschool through grade 6: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/25-activities-reading-and-writing-fun
I bet you can adapt some of these ideas for older students.
Good luck,
Stephanie
Simeon Snow
Risk Assurance
1790
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Simeon’s Answer
It helps if you choose some books that they find engaging and interesting. Give them some choices in the process. They're more likely to feel a part of the process if they get to make a few choices along the way.