Reading can be an excellent way for children to learn. Not only does it help expand their vocabulary and improve their comprehension skills, but it also fosters creativity, empathy, and critical thinking. But what do you do if your child is a reluctant reader? As tomorrow (Thursday 7th March) marks World Book Day, we’re exploring ways to encourage your child to read at home.
Take away the pressure
Fostering a love of reading is a lifelong goal, and too much pressure can make it seem like a chore. Your key aim is to keep reading enjoyable. If it’s a one-off, let them take a break. If they’re always complaining about reading at home, try to find out why. Is it because they don’t like being on their own? Are the books they have too easy or too hard? Is the subject interesting to them? If you can find the reason, you can adapt how you read to suit them better.
Read little and often
Encourage short, frequent reading sessions rather than lengthy ones. They’re less likely to feel overwhelmed or intimidated by a big book if it’s split into sections. It also gives you some time to discuss what has been read.
Read together
Wherever possible, try to read with your child, even if they’re now a confident reader. Spending time reading together will help make it more fun and means you’re also on hand if they’re struggling with tricky words or concepts. This also means if they’re finding it too much as they learn, you can share the text to give them a break. Keep reading to them too as they can still learn from following the words.
Follow their lead
Pay attention to the types of things they enjoy reading, and tailor the material to suit their interests. Perhaps they prefer books with colourful pictures or ones with a larger font. They may like reading facts about their favourite hobbies rather than fiction, or a magazine or comic over a book. The key thing is that they’re reading regularly and understand what they read.
Get creative
Try to make it as fun as possible. Use silly voices for characters or find books that will make them laugh. You could write lists, develop your own stories at home, or use props to bring the plot to life. Mixing it up will help prevent it from feeling like a chore.
Make time for discussion
Talking about the book as you go along really helps improve comprehension skills. Try to gently ask questions about what is happening or what they think about the plot. For example, if a character is getting angry, you could discuss why you think this has happened and then explore what other things make people cross and what we can do to help.
Don’t underestimate audiobooks
Audiobooks can also complement reading at home, as it’s a great way of improving a child’s listening skills. Often, in a classroom setting, they will need to listen and understand what a teacher has told them, so listening to books at home is good practice. It also helps with reading comprehension, as you can still talk to them about the plot and what they think. If they feel intimidated by longer books, they could read along with an audiobook or take turns reading a chapter and then listening to a chapter.
Find out how we can help with reading and home work with our weekly tuition lessons.