4 Ways to Encourage Reading
Readers are lucky people. They can travel to new worlds, embark on exciting adventures, learn the latest scientific findings, and glimpse into the past with the turn of a page. What rich opportunities reading gives us!
In today’s world being able to comprehend and communicate the written word is imperative, so encouraging our students to read is essential. Here are 4 ways we can help our kids (and ourselves) read deeper and wider.
Choice-Avid readers and reluctant readers alike want to choose what they read. We can encourage this by allowing them as much selection choice as possible and by not discouraging their preferences. The first order of business is to get kids reading, and the best way to do that is to let them do the picking.
Read Aloud-When we read to children we are telling them that we value reading…that it is worth the time we spend on it. Read aloud is a great time to model what good readers do. We can try “think alouds” such as “I wonder if the author meant to…” or stating our opinions like “I believe that Charlotte will not want Wilbur to die either.” Listeners invest more in the story when they are shown what a reader is thinking.
Discuss-Have meaningful conversations about what your children are reading. Ask them questions and encourage respectful disagreement. Create an atmosphere of deep reflection. Encourage your students to ask thought provoking questions and share their ideas about what they’ve read. Remember to model how this is done during read aloud and small group times.
Materials-Surround your home and/or classroom with engaging reading materials. Make it next to impossible to find a space without something to read. Visit second hand bookshops, libraries, and yard sales to stock up. The more reading materials you have the more likely it is that children will find both what they want and are able to read.
Nothing can prepare our students for a successful future like a love of reading can. We owe it to them to find a way to turn them on to reading!
“There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” – Frank Serafini