Getting Children Interested In Reading

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DBR Books
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Re: Getting Children Interested In Reading

Post by DBR Books »

Series books are a good way to get them to read. If they read the first in the series and really like it - it will encourage them to want to read more, to find out how the series will eventually end. Series books always appeal to the curiousity.
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Robin Dunn
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Post by Robin Dunn »

My son is 7 years old. He wouldn't start reading until he started school. A way that I got him to want to read at home is I will pick out a book and then he will pick out a book. I will read the book I picked out and he will read the book he picked out. It seems to have worked so he will do some reading at home. He also likes looking at my Nook with some of his books on it.
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Post by lady_charlie »

It depends on the child as well as the parents.
We watch way too much TV and we love movies and junk food to go with them.
We do read, though, and when my child was a baby I read to her constantly.
Also we acted out stories and played them out using ourselves as the characters (we sort of got this idea from the TV, there was a Disney show called Out of the Box)
we made a puppet theater out of an old box and she sat on my lap while we sewed up a curtain for it
we made our own puppets and we used dolls or whatever we had
(they sell amazing movie sets of some Barbie movies and we would put the movie in and act the whole thing out while it played)
and we talked about them, why do you think she did that? what do you think will happen next? what would happen if? what would you do if?
I started reading chapter books to her about as soon as she could sit up.
Today she is an accomplished young lady who likes to read and does.
So yes, I have made an effort.
But nature has blessed her with a good head and a natural patience that helps her to be still, which a lot of boys and some girls just don't have.
So I honestly think the person she is came from yes, our working with her but also her natural inclinations and personality.
It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. J.R.R. Tolkien
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Robin Dunn
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Post by Robin Dunn »

I agree with that very much. My children only read when I read with them. My husband doesn't spend much time with our kids. I try to find the time to read to my kids and even spend all the time that I can.
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Post by lady_charlie »

We have had our Kindles for a year and we really like them. They are connected so when we buy a book we both get it, which is good. We can now read the same book at the same time and talk about them together since we have given up our reading out loud time (sadly)
I dont' remember how old she was, but let me see, seven, well, it depends a lot, and you have a boy, but she really liked Frog and Toad, Charlotte's Web, and Mr. Popper's Penguins. I know she liked The Boxcar Children and Five Children and It.

Some of her friends read Twilight about that age, but we just didn't.

We read HP around 10 or 11 and The Hobbit and LOTR after that.
I think she ran through all The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe first, before HP even.
We have been on a mystery tour for about a year - Sherlock Holmes and Poe and Agatha Christie and PD James
Also she loved Inkspell and Inkdeath and whatever the other one is
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
The Librarian, which as far as we can find is only a movie, is also good. We wish it could have been a whole series of books! We have found 3 movies.
OH and Nicholas Flamel, that was like a six or seven book series, I plowed through two and gave up but she got through them all pretty fast.
It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. J.R.R. Tolkien
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Robin Dunn
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Post by Robin Dunn »

I have been having my son read short stories with big words. It seems to help with his reading. He will read in the Nook that I have but only if it is the books that read to him. I want him to read chapter books. He is going to be going in 2nd grade next year so he needs to know how to read well.
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msmx2
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Post by msmx2 »

This is a great artice. I am so lucky my little ones like to read almost as much as i do and I don't have to force the issue if they tell me they are bored and have nothing to do I tell them to go pick up 1 of the 1oo's of books they own and read for 20 minutes if they are still bored come back then. I usually don't hear from them for and hour :)
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Post by BakerStreetJ »

Having worked with children, the most difficult thing about getting children interesting in reading is that in order for children to be able to understand what they are reading they need to be able to read the book at 100 words a minute. Any slower and your brain cannot process what its reading. The difficulty is when children are behind in their reading so the level of books they can read and understand are not about things that interest them. You need to buy low level reading age books but ones that are specifically designed for the age of your child. Reading is not interesting to anyone if it is work rather than pleasure.
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Robin Dunn
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Post by Robin Dunn »

I do agree with you. My son doesn't get bored with reading but he just wants me to read it to him. I know what I am suppose to do. It is very hard with him. I just bought him some books on animals. I thought maybe if he reads some books like he does in school then he will do better. He understands for the most part what he reads but he wants me to do everything for him. I guess you could say that it runs in the family.
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Post by MandiKenendy »

I think it's all about finding the right genre/type of book. If they don't like fiction, try non-fiction. If they won't read books, try newspapers or comics until they get into the swing of it.
You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. - C.S. Lewis
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Robin Dunn
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Post by Robin Dunn »

Kids learn differently than we did when we kids. I try to teach my kids some of the stuff that I was taught but then realize they need different learning techniques. I try to be a better mother to my kids and teach them good values. I also try to read to them every night. My husband doesn't get into reading with our lids. My kids only want me to read to them and teach them things. I am very happy about that but on the other hand it can be very tiring. I love reading to my kids and spending all my time with them. Reading helps me teach my kids certain things.
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Post by r123 »

Today the fiction genre has also changed. We were satisfied with Count Dracula and now every hero is sucking blood :)
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Post by TheWriter »

My parents read to me all the time. And my mom was always reading something. I remember being four or five and going, "Mum. Mum. Mummy. I want lunch." and her saying, "Five minutes, I'm almost done with my book."
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Post by Fran »

TheWriter wrote:My parents read to me all the time. And my mom was always reading something. I remember being four or five and going, "Mum. Mum. Mummy. I want lunch." and her saying, "Five minutes, I'm almost done with my book."
I hope you aren't implying that readers make neglectful parents :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Post by TheWriter »

No, no! :D I'm not. But you know it must be a good book if you're saying that.
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