Getting Children Interested In Reading

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hehartnell
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Re: Getting Children Interested In Reading

Post by hehartnell »

My pre-reader just got The Book with No Pictures for Christmas and she is FINALLY wanting to read. It taught her that the WORDS were where the magic of a story lived. And now she wants the keys to unlock that magic. :)
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daydreamer_23
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Post by daydreamer_23 »

My one year old niece loves books, however, my problem is that I have a hard time sitting her still so I can read to her. Also, she would rather stack her books than actually read them. For a child who can't sit still while your reading to them I'd say you have to be really patient with them. Read a little bit with them each day and eventually they will get into the habit of wanting to read.
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Post by CYMH090909 »

I don't have children yet but when I do have them I hope they read. I know when I was a kid maybe 6 my brothers would read to me but as I got older I hated reading especially for school. I didn't enjoy reading until I hit my late teens 18-19 years old and that's when I fell in love with reading. I think reading give you a better imagination then when you watch t.v. There have been times where I've stopped reading a book to do something then hours later I think to myself "what movie was I just watching" when really it was a book I was reading. So it would be great for more children to get into reading and this article gives great suggestions! Thank you for righting this.
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Blackbeez
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Post by Blackbeez »

What a great article and how true... it is a shame that children are losing the benefits that come from actually sitting down, calming down, focusing and reading a book. I have an 8 year old stepson and I've been with him and his father since he was 4. He is not an enthusiastic reader but I think that he reads so well now because his father always read to him before bed at night. I think that parents are the deciding factor. I can recall times where the boy had to read for his homework, so his father and me grabbed books to read so he wouldn't feel like he wasn't doing something everyone else is. It's very hard to get him to concentrate if someone is playing a video game or whatever. If we are all doing the same thing he is, he is more likely to finish his book. I don't think there is any replacement for direct involvement.. technology is great, but a computer just isn't who or what a child is going to imitate in life.
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Immanythings
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Post by Immanythings »

Hello Fellow Readers,

For all the parents here getting a kid to read has to be one of the most daunting tasks sometimes. As a mother of 6 and educator, I learned that each of my children has different learning styles (even twins). I worked with that to get each one to read at a capacity they each were comfortable with. Of the 6 I had 4 who were natural lovers of reading. But the two who struggled, it was a matter of finding out what interested each and they were on their way to becoming great readers.

**one was a boy and the other one of my daughters. So in no way does gender have anything to do with the better reader.
:D :) 8)
Night reader
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Post by Night reader »

I learned a lot from reading you article. Thanks and good job!
Dvince123
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Post by Dvince123 »

I still think the best way to motivate kids to read is by example. Read to them when they are young and read around them as they get older. A shopping trip should include a stop at the book store/book aisle. My kids enjoy when I pick up one of their books to read and then we discuss it.
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Immanythings
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Post by Immanythings »

Dvince123,

Your words ring true. All of my children, the last two school age and the adults love to read they each have told me they find calm in life when they sit and read a book or in-depth article. I love that they learned this from me. when they were all living at home I always had a book no matter where I went
MitchellDCalhoun
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Post by MitchellDCalhoun »

It is a good article, really helpful for parents who is facing the same issue. It is really hard to increase child interest toward reading books instead of watching cartoon on TV.
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Immanythings
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Post by Immanythings »

Hello MitchellDCalhoun,

Having 6 kids may give me an advantage to reading styles and the variety of interests. I can tell you that kids will only read what interest them and there is a way to approach this that has to be in a non-trickery situation. A simple conversation a trip to the library is a great ice breaker as many of the cartoons are now in graphic novels. Often there is a section for specific age groups for graphic novels and on those shelves are other books that may also interest. Both Dragon Ball-Z and Naruto come in graphic novels. What I found interesting is these read back to front. They are trade size and many young teens and pre-teens enjoy the series offered. As soon as they finish one they are ready for the next. If you venture to one of the big books stores you will find an entire section dedicated to these kinds of books for kids. Best of luck :D
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Post by jeglissmeyer »

Wonderful article Scott. My daughter really struggled with learning to read (despite me having read to her avidly) and it made her hate trying. What it came down to was a difference in my style of teaching versus what her elementary school was teaching, if you can call it that. Since I was trying to tell her something different than the teacher, she was getting confused and even more frustrated. The school focused solely on memorization techniques, without teaching the kids how to sound things out. Well, she could recite like a pro, but if I switched things up on her she couldn't do it. About 2 months into 1st grade I decided we had enough. We were both frustrated with what felt like no help from her teacher, so I moved her to a different school. When she started at her new school they tested her reading abilities and she was far below standards. Within 2 months of being there she was reading at a 2nd grade level and by the time she hit 4th grade she was reading at a 7th-8th grade level. She has just completed 6th grade and in the last 2 weeks has read 10 books that are each at least 300 pages.
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Post by Sarah Clay »

If at a suitable age, sit them down with a Harry Potter book. That's what did it for me.
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Post by melvinh »

My kid (8 yo) is very fond of reading. Though he wasn't good reading aloud in his classroom. A lot of practice and patience helped him overcome this problem. He also used See-N-Read reading tools to read clearer and faster.
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Post by literarycat »

Great article, it is hard to get children to read. Since my boyfriend and I are avid readers we do encourage his daughters to read and when the girls have to read for school, we read with them. We encourage reading anything even if it includes comics or a magazine because at least they are reading someone. We can suggests books they would be interested in based on what they already choose. Already one of their favorite places to go is the bookstore.
The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, some are strong at the broken points ~ Ernest Hemingway.
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Post by stoppoppingtheP »

Read to your kids when they are little. Read to them before they go to bed. You might not think that they are listening, but the act of reading will unconsciously stay with them and grow to be a part of them.

“there have been so many times
i have seen a man wanting to weep
but
instead
beat his heart until it was unconscious.

-masculine”


― Nayyirah Waheed
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