Getting Children Interested In Reading

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gedeon
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Re: Getting Children Interested In Reading

Post by gedeon »

Read books and discuss them with the kids. They have to see a positive example. That's the most basics things that I'll try out with my own child when she will be able to read them. Besides that article is very good.
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wnu
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Post by wnu »

great article! Very true. I find that what works for my children is having a dedicated time each day for reading. They are young, (under 10 years) so the reading time is not long at all, 10-15 minutes a day.

-- 23 Oct 2012, 15:08 --

great article! Very true. I find that what works for my children is having a dedicated time each day for reading. They are young, (under 10 years) so the reading time is not long at all, 10-15 minutes a day.
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osummer597
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Post by osummer597 »

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. are a good series of books to get children interested in reading. We read them to our children and later they were interested in reading them by themselves. Besides that, they are good stories. Kids like stories.
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writerworld
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Post by writerworld »

:D Good article you have. I know with me my mom worked really hard with me, with my reading. But also know the child will not read if they are not interested in the material. There are so many more reaing materials out there not just books. I know with young boys or just young children, some of them are into comic books, so that is a great way to get them to read.There is plenty out there to be read, the child just has to enjoy reading it. :mrgreen:
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MelMariah
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Post by MelMariah »

Nice topic.
Really just getting them into reading early is the key factor I believe and also you're definitely correct about not pushing it on too much!
It's shocking the amount of people I run into who can't pronounce words for the life of them, and no one will teach them quickly how to work it out. They just automatically correct the word.. Sad really.
htddubai
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Post by htddubai »

Yes of course this a good habit
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NovelIdea
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Post by NovelIdea »

My dad used to tell me fantastic stories when I was a little kid, and would always preface them by saying,
Now, this is a story my father read to me and my brothers when we were young...

Whenever I asked him to tell me this one again, or to tell more of that one, he would direct me to the book it originally came from (or was based on). He read before he went to sleep every night so we would sit together and read for a while before bed.

Eventually, I started finding books on my own, and have been an avid reader all my life thanks to him. To this day we recommend books for each other, as we both love fantasy, mystery and other similar genres.

Just be active in getting your kids interested in stories. Tell them a story or read to them before bed. Kids pick up on what you like to do, so if they see you reading, and you include them, they`ll always think about the activity as a positive thing. :)
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ginney
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Post by ginney »

I have to take this opportunity to tell about Start Making A Reader Today, a book and reading program in Oregon for K-3 students in public schools. SMART is in its 26th year as a proven nonprofit, and I've been a volunteer coordinator for 8 years. We teach kids to enjoy books -- that's it. My group this year has 16 kindergartners and 1st-graders, which is >75% of those classes -- a small, rural school. It's a blast for volunteers to read with their students for a half-hour each, twice a week. The kids get to take home 2 books a month to keep. They may start with "I don't know how to read," but they end up with "I love books!"
clintessential
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Post by clintessential »

I think my earliest exposure to reading were the books for children my grandparents sent us(my brother and I).
We couldn't read them(until we were about 6 or 7), so our mother read them to us. My mother got very animated,
changed her voice for each character, and laughed whenever winnie the poo(or whoever the star was) got his hand
stuck in a honey jar. My brother and I couldn't wait for the next reading. Our earliest associations with books was very positive. We had our mother to thank for that. I'm not a pre-school teacher, but I think there has to be alot of rapport
between children and teachers(more than at any other time in their lives) If you're indifferent or quick to find fault
a child will lose interest pretty quick. My 4th grade teacher dressed in costumes when we had reading class. Each costume represented the theme of the book. It was a brilliant thing to do. If my father had been in charge of Reading
Morale we would probably have run away from home and joined the circus. And made the clowns read to us.
You can only be grounded if you're crazy. If you come to me and tell me you should be grounded because you're crazy, I won't ground you.
Why not: Because crazy people don't think they're crazy.
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BooksNJoy
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Post by BooksNJoy »

Reading is way better for children than TV.
I don't have children, but my niece was always in front of the TV since 1 or 2 years old. Now she is 5 and she can't read or write. She also can't focuse her attention for a long time (more than 15 minutes).
In my family, we suffer from migraines and epilepsy. I can watch TV, but going to the cinema or playing video games is very difficult.
I'm really scared for children when I heard we can give them tablet computers, or cell phones when they enter kindergarten.
We have to think about their health when their young, but also later on.
"And, after all, what is a lie? 'Tis but
The truth in masquerade."

Lord Byron, Don Juan
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The Apologist
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Post by The Apologist »

As a young person myself, I can say that there are several keys to interesting them in reading. First, parents must read themselves—a lot. Let children see you reading as much as possible. Show them it is a priority in your life. Instead of watching the news, read the news, or instead of watching the latest episode on TV, read! Second, parents must read aloud to their children. Several books which I have fond memories of my parents reading to me as a young child are: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne, Watership Down, by Richard Adams, The Trumpeter Swan, and Stuart Little, by E. B. White, Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, and last but not least, the Bible. My love of reading has been spawned from these times of listening. You can also get audio or dramatized books for your children to listen to. It really works! Finally discuss the books you have read or the books your children are reading with them. I love to spend time discussing a good book with my siblings and parents.
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eliza617
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Post by eliza617 »

I think a big part of it is reading yourself--reading out loud to your kids, and reading books of your own to yourself so that they know that reading is something that is important to you. When children are very small they are interested in everything you do. If they see you on your phone, then they are interested in phones. If they see you on your computer, they are interested in computers. If they see you reading, they will be interested in books. We have a house full of books and I don't think there's any way that our kids won't grow up to be readers. We also go to the library at least once a week. My 3 year old loves trips to the library and is old enough to pick out books he wants to read.

When kids are older I think it is important to let them read what they want to read. My brother had a whole series of books about kids playing sports that he was really into. It doesn't matter if it's not high literature; just the act of reading will help kids learn. I tutor SAT prep and I try to suggest books for my students to read that I think will interest them. It's important for them to be exposed to new vocabulary and I think they can get that from almost any book. When I was a kid I read Archie comics and I learned a ton of new words from those.
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Post by ichandlersgirl »

I have 2 children, 7 and 8, and for as long as I can remember we have never gone to bed without a bedtime story. Now that they are young readers themselves our favorite mom and kid time is going to the library. We either read together or I read and they will read to themselves (or do I Spy books, whatever they choose). I think its important they see me or anyone else that's there reading, so they know it is also something to do for leisure, not just school.
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asmaahsan
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Post by asmaahsan »

Reality is that these days electronic media is so strong that eventually kids will get attracted to game consoles and the works but it really helps if you introduce a book to a child at an early age. Once they learn to enjoy books, the habit stays with them in some form or another. It helps them in school too, to concentrate on their studies.
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VLParker
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Post by VLParker »

It starts early; I read to my children from the time they were babies. Each had different favorites by preschool. We made the characters come to life, cuddled and we bought them each their own library of books. The library and the bookstore especially were wonderful adventures. We also bought their favorite stuffed characters to go along with the stories. As they grew they could never see the movie unless they first read the books. They are older teenagers and a young adult now and they still read a book before they see the film and they still each have their own private collection and love reading. The bookstore just includes Starbucks now .
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