News & Media
5 Ways to Encourage Reluctant Readers
If your child is reluctant to read, you may worry that they’ll fall behind in their studies, and maybe, they already have. There are many reasons you want your child to stay on grade level for reading, as reading impacts all the other school subjects. Besides, if you enjoy reading, it’s hard to think that your child is missing out on the imagination-opening doors that reading fiction offers or the fact-finding missions that non-fiction delivers.
But beyond your child’s ability to understand and enjoy literature, poor reading skills can impact every aspect of life—from their future job to their ability to communicate online. Every career field, from accounting to engineering to architecture, requires strong reading skills. Not to mention, we use literacy for daily life activities. Every time we use the internet, message our friends, finance a car, or sign a rental agreement, we employ reading skills.
So, how do we get our children, who aren’t yet worrying about those future reading encounters, to take an interest in reading?
We’ve put together five ways to encourage reluctant readers. Give these ideas a try, and your child might begin to give reading for fun a shot!
Help children select books about characters they already love. If your child is reluctant to read, don’t pick up a book on a new topic just yet. Instead, look for books with characters that they already love. Characters from television, movies, and even video games often have their own books. What’s great is that popular character-based books are available for kids in a wide age range, from board books to chapter books.
Then, as children get older, you can look for novel-inspired movies. When your child knows the story ahead of time, the book can feel more approachable, especially if it’s a beloved story. Disney, for example, offers a Junior Novelization series for popular movies like Encanto and Frozen. Once you start looking for them, you’ll be surprised at how many books feature familiar faces.
Seek out books about their special interests. From the clothes they wear to the books they read at school, many kids feel that their day-to-day choices are limited. One more assigned reading may seem like the straw that breaks the camel’s back, especially if reading is already a challenge (ever have your child’s 15-minute reading task turn into a two hour ordeal?). When it comes to leisurely reading, follow your child’s lead by helping your child select books about their favorite subjects.
Whether about nature, basketball, or cars, books exist on nearly every topic. So, take a trip to your local library or bookstore with your child. Try giving them a budget or telling them how many books to pick, and see what they find! When they get to choose their own books, they may be more excited than you’d ever imagined and feel empowered to make more reading choices.
Play games that incorporate reading. When you’re worried about your child’s reading habits, it’s natural to encourage book after book. But this can get tiring, even for an avid reader. One way to promote reading without forcing books on your child is to provide games and other fun activities that happen to encourage reading.
Just like we sometimes sneak hidden veggies into our child’s dinner, sneaking reading into other activities can take the pressure off and make reading more palatable. Board games like these promote reading comprehension. And for the gamers out there, even video games (in reasonable time blocks, of course) can motivate your child to read because they’ll want the storyline to move along. Visit this site for an extensive list of reading-rich video games.
Read with your child. In our busy day-to-day lives, it’s tempting to tell our child to “go read a book” while we get dinner on the table. Unfortunately, sending them off on their own may backfire if a child is struggling to read. Without an adult to help them with the parts they don’t understand, they may get frustrated and give up. Make it a habit to read with your child as often as possible. This will help you monitor their progress and offer feedback in real time. You’ll get a better idea of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, which will help you dialogue with their teacher.
After a long school day, your child will enjoy time to connect with you over a book. Take turns reading and discussing interesting storylines, and you’ll model good reading habits. Before you know it, you and your child will have great memories of winding down together with a good book at the end of the day.
Offer rewards for reading. While we want children to tap into their intrinsic motivation, the internal pleasure that spurs continuation of a behavior like reading, sometimes extrinsic rewards can get the ball rolling. Once the habit of reading is established, they’re more likely to start enjoying it, and the rewards can fade. One of our past blogs has some good pointers on establishing reward systems.
You can offer rewards that encourage your child to read in the short term and develop a long-term love of reading. There are many excellent ideas for rewards that do both, such as a fun trip to the library, special time reading together, and light-hearted family reading competitions.
We hope you found some helpful ideas to encourage a reluctant reader to look at reading as a pleasurable, mind-stimulating activity rather than a dull “have-to” chore. If you feel your child could benefit from engaging in supplemental instruction, Best in Class Education Centers offer English and reading support. Our goal is to help children establish a lifelong love of learning. Contact us today to learn more about our education programs.
Practical Strategies to Help Your Child with Test Anxiety
Does the mention of a test bring complaints of a stomachache or start the tears flowing? We tend to think of test anxiety only affecting college-bound high-school students with SATs ahead of them, but test anxiety can affect learners of all ages.
Exams are part of the school experience, and building coping strategies can help a nervous student enter testing with more ease and confidence. Put these tips into practice to help your child to tackle their test anxiety.
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3 Ways to Track Your Child’s Progress in January
It’s January, and your child is mid-way through the school year. The beginning of the calendar year is a great time to assess academic progress. You can find out what’s working (and keep doing it!) and discover where your child could use some assistance. Once you know how to track your child’s progress, you’ll have all the information to help your child find success this spring semester! Read more
Tips for a Great College Admissions Essay
It’s your child’s junior or senior year of high school, and they’ve come a long way! You encouraged them as they tackled quadratic equations, cheering them on until their solution finally matched the answer key. You woke them up before sunrise to get in their daily mile—and now their cross country medals hang on their bedroom wall. You even ran to the store to buy circus peanuts and Fruit by the Foot so they could bake a eukaryotic cell cake for their science project.
You’ve seen firsthand how much work they’ve put in, and now you want to ensure that the college admissions committee sees it, too.
A great college admissions essay is the perfect opportunity for your student to stand out! Your hopeful college-bound student might feel anxious about this important part of their application, but we have some tips to help! Read more
How to Get Your Child to Try New Experiences: Strategies that Really Work!
Whether you stay up until midnight or fall asleep on the couch at 10:45 on New Year’s Eve, you’ll likely wake up on January 1st with some goals in mind. You might ponder how you can eat more healthily, spend more time outdoors, or read more books. In fact, you know that your whole family could benefit from shaking up their habits— including your kids.
While it’s certainly fun for them to come home from school, pop open a snack pack, and unwind with a video game, you’d like your child to add some healthier habits to their routine. Unfortunately, kids can be notoriously resistant to trying new things.
Don’t give up on helping your child gain new positive habits. Best in Class Education Centers has put together some suggestions to help guide your child to try new experiences in the new year. Read more
My Child Was Referred for Gifted Testing—What’s Next?
Your child’s school has referred your child for gifted program testing, and you’d like to know what to expect and how to prepare your child for this important testing that may impact their educational opportunities. While you want your child to do their best, you also want to offer support without pressure.
Read on to learn more about gifted programs, testing, and the steps you can take to help your child prepare for testing and possibly enter your district’s gifted program. Read more
How to Create an Effective Reward System at Home
Does your child express groans and moans anytime you ask them to begin their homework? Do you wonder if there’s a better way to get your child to do chores than the constant verbal reminders that leave you frustrated?
Many teachers use reward systems in their classroom communities to shape prosocial learning behaviors and peer interactions. With a few tips, you can set up a similar, effective reward system at home to encourage the completion of various tasks with more motivation, determination, and self-satisfaction. Read more
Enrichment Education: Programs that Support All Learners
As the parent of a school-aged child, you want to guide your child’s education to support their future goals and pursuits. One of the supports you may or may not have considered is supplemental or enrichment education.
What is enrichment education or supplemental education?
Enrichment or supplemental education refers to tutoring programs for students who need to learn at a higher level than in a typical classroom or who need help to build more skills mastery for greater academic success. A good enrichment program gives those who need an additional challenge an outlet to stay engaged and interested in learning. For children who need more successful educational experiences, supplemental learning opportunities can help them find motivation by focusing on subject-specific areas at a comfortable pace. Read more
