Getting Children Interested In Reading

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Calimarie
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Re: Getting Children Interested In Reading

Post by Calimarie »

My children are still young and love Curious George (who doesn't?) so that has been a useful tool for us so far.

I completely agree that having access to a variety of books with no TV distraction in the background is crucial.
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Chilispree
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Post by Chilispree »

When my sister and I were little, my mother bought us supplies to decorate our own library bags. the excitement of filling the bags we decorated was enough to get me excited for the library. I know it's not the type of activity that sustains interest in reading, but I thought it was a neat idea.
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Mickaila
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Post by Mickaila »

I think your ideas on television are right, I think it's a time-waster (an awesome time-waster) and bad, books can be the same too, but for children it's crucial to help them for spelling and vocabulary development. I came from a family that the television would be on all day and night with someone watching it, I used to be like that but changed as I found there are more important things to do with my time. Though, I'll admit I let myself binge watch every once in a while.

Jon Scieszka wrote a brilliant piece on how to get kids to love reading, I don't know if I'm allowed to post links here, but I do recommend googleing his article.
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jennamedinger
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Post by jennamedinger »

I didn't start to enjoy reading until I was in my 20's. My mom was always a big reader but I had no interest. I never read the mandatory books in school. I have one daughter that loves books and another that has no interest. I hope that with encouragement and finding stuff that will interest her she will come around, but if not now maybe later in life like me!
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Post by booklovingolfer »

In my school we had a program called D.E.A.R (drop everything and read). Every elementary student at say 2:00 pm would drop what you were doing and start reading for 15 minutes. There was no talking allowed. I would recommend parents instilling this into their nightly routine with their children. I think parents should also drop everything and read along with their children. If a child sees their parents reading they will more than likely read.
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kittyTM
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Post by kittyTM »

I remember as a young girl I absolutely abhorred the reading assigned by my first and second grade teachers. At first they thought it was because I wasn't able to read well, but upon further study, they came to realize that I was at an advanced reading level and that the books bored me. Somehow, "See Spot Run" wasn't nearly as interesting as the Chronicles of Narnia series, "Inkheart," Black Beauty, or the book that would eventually become my companion all throughout junior high, "Talking in Animal." By second grade, I was at a sixth grade reading level.

I think something that was major in my eventual love of reading and my advanced reading level was the fact that my mother would read to my brother and me each night. I have no doubt that it has also contributed to my passion for writing fiction.
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Post by SusanR »

I have a 12 year old grandson who has no interest in reading. I have bought him books, tried to bribe him to read, encouraged him to read - all with no luck. His parents don't read so he is following their behavior instead of his grandparents' and its very frustrating. I am hoping that someday I will find a book or a series of books that will interest him and spark an interest in reading.
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RussetDivinity
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Post by RussetDivinity »

Things that probably got me into reading were that my parents read a lot (and still do), so I always saw reading as something that my family did, and that there were books around the house. As the original article said, don't pressure them to read, but buy good books and just leave them scattered around. Have a nice bookshelf in a couple of rooms (especially in the kid's room) and make sure there are always plenty of books on them. Make library/bookstore trips an event, and have discussions about books.
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mandysandy
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Post by mandysandy »

I am an elementary school teacher, getting children interested in reading is one of my main goals in life. Sometimes school reading can be so boring! I try to find books that I remember being very interesting when I was a child and read these books to my class. Some of these books include Junie B. Jones and Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I am always amazed when the students that are usually not at all interested in reading begin to ask me if they can borrow these books to take home to read.
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RebekaV
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Post by RebekaV »

I was raised by parents who read all the time, so not reading was out of the question. However, most of my classmates never read in school and still don't like to. I think you just have to really get to know what the given child likes and give them a book about that. If you can get them to read Harry Potter there's also a good chance that they will start loving reading. They are really good books for a reason and if a child gets interested it's more than 2000 pages while they get through the series, so they'll definitely be practiced and used to act of reading by the time they finish and are ready to move on to something else. Also, don't try to force classics on them, kids nowadays think it's too slow-paced and hard to read so it won't encourage them to like reading.
"What's coming will come and we'll just have to meet it when it does." - J K Rowling
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Alden Loveshade
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Post by Alden Loveshade »

Thanks for the article, Scott!

I do think, however, that people read on a regular basis, perhaps more than before. But much of that reading may be text messages, emails, or online articles. Ironically, though, the average novel is much longer now than it was 50 years ago.

What got me interesting in reading as a kid was being read to. I remember when I was very young I thought that there was some kind of magic in the black marks I saw on the white page of a book. Later, I learned I was right.
"A book is man’s best friend outside of a dog, and inside of a dog it’s too dark to read."
Jim Brewer, Cleveland, O. (also attributed to Groucho Marx)
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amanda484
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Post by amanda484 »

This article was really good. Reading in Children should start before they are even born. We have always read to our children everyday. With our children they are required to read for at least 20 min a day once they can read. I can say that all of my children would rather read that watch tv or play video games. We always give books as gifts.
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Post by CJDSpencer »

When trying to get the children I'm responsible for to read, I find it very helpful to chat with them as often as possible. This helps me understand the things they are interested in, then find books for them on that subject.

A reward system we have used successfully was to check what movies they wanted on DVD. We made a deal with them; if the movie was a book first, if they'll read the book, then we'd buy them the movie. Worked like a charm!
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RoleyPole
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Post by RoleyPole »

My mum used to always take me to the library when I was little, she would pick books to read for us that she thought we might like, but I could also choose any that interested me.

When I got older and she thought I ought to do more reading she would pick up a variety of books that were slightly more challenging, for me to have a go at.

But she never pressured, I think that's important!
Thomas Tham
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Post by Thomas Tham »

I think it's best to let a child choose his or her first book on their own. I remember that when I was small my mom took me to the bookstore and My attention was immediately captured by the Harry Potter book sitting on the shelf facing the door. That was how I started reading, no one forced me to read and my parents can't even pronounce English properly much less become a reader. So I think it all really depends on the kid. I still watch tv though and love it till this day but when I had enough of all the talking and the video animation I always find myself back into the world of words where I feel totally serene and at peace.
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