I was talking with a friend from church a while back, about our “reluctant readers.” We were sympathizing with each other about our second-born children, who were struggling in the area of reading. The cause, for them, is not that they “can’t” read, but that reading is not yet a habit and they have not yet experienced the benefits of it.
Both of these children have older siblings who read fluently, learn readily by reading more advanced material, and are excited about reading. Our second-borns, however, will read during “school time,” but otherwise don’t want to invest much effort.
On the one hand, they tend to compare themselves to their older siblings and feel as though they are reading “baby” books (easy readers) in comparison to what their siblings are doing. On the other hand, because they don’t pursue reading independently, they don’t experience the “success” that would intrinsically motivate them to continue reading at higher levels. It’s a catch-22–at least in our cases.
Whether you have a “reluctant reader” because of his/her birth order, or just because, I thought I would share a couple of things that have worked for me in this area.
One thing I did to combat the “comparison” syndrome (which is part of what discourages my second-born from reading on his own) was to get my two oldest boys each a similar “bag of books” for Christmas. I found some excellent Book Packs of leveled readers from DK Eyewitness that fit my objectives perfectly. Each boy got a set of readers, which although different reading levels, looked alike enough that my second-born didn’t think he got “baby readers.” (Frankly, I think it was intriguing enough just to get brand-spanking-new books in a ZIPPERED CASE!) The pictures in both sets are great, and my sons also loved the topics–one, an animal lover, got the animal series, and the other got a history set–he loves facts and information! The 10 readers also came with a couple of activity pages and a checklist with star stickers so that the child can “star” each book as he reads it.
Now with homeschooling multiple children and juggling older children with younger, I guess I’ve forgotten how much young ones LOVE stickers! DS #2 was thrilled with the star stickers and checklist in this set! Right away he set everything out on his desk and asked to read in bed for several nights in a row. And he dutifully “starred” each checkbox as the books were finished. I was almost dismayed that I had gotten out of the habit of reinforcing good work with such a simple thing as a sticker!
I have now made up a template in MS Word that will allow me to list titles of books (or other school assignments), with space to put a sticker upon their successful completion. If you’d like a copy, just email me via the “contact” form in the side bar and request the “WFMW chart” in the comments section. Note that you’ll automatically receive future editions of our “Values-Driven” newsletter, unless you check the opt-out box.
Another thing we’ve done is to ask DS#2 to spend time reading aloud to Dad after “lights-out.” Not every night, but we try for at least 2 or 3 per week. First of all, he loves being permitted to stay up later than the other kids. Secondly, the time with Dad is generally coveted all around. All of the kids just “glow” with praise from their Daddy! It’s different when it comes from me, because I’m with them everyday, all the time–and I’m the teacher! Dad is different. I can’t explain it, I just know it’s true. So he regularly picks one of his leveled readers and snuggles on the couch to read a book to Dad. If this option doesn’t work for you, is there another person to whom your child could read aloud–a grandparent or aunt, perhaps?
With these two things done together in a short space of time, I can see a marked improvement just in the past couple of weeks since Christmas. Not only is he reading aloud with less hesitation over pronunciation, etc., but he is more likely to pick up a book and actually “read” on his own–or at least try, even if it is a more advanced-level text. That definitely works for me!
Make sure to visit Rocks in my Dryer for more great tips every Wednesday!
Hi,
I grew up as a reluctant reader. Now I write action-adventures & mysteries especially for boys 8 and up. The books would provide a great opportunity for dads to read to their young sons. My web site is at http://www.maxbooks.9k.com and my Books for Boys blog is at http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
Thank you,
Max Elliot Anderson
this is a great idea! Alas my middle is a boy and my older a girl. I will try the sticker chart though!
As a public school teacher working with 5th graders, I am constantly working to inspire my kiddos to love reading and crave books. I am thankful there are moms and dads who are going the extra mile to instill a love of reading in their little ones. You go, Girl.
Great tips.
Here’s another one for you.
http://www.bookadventure.com/ is a free motivational reading site maintained by Sylvan Learning. Kids choose books at their reading level from a list of over 7,000, read the books and return to take quizzes. They earn points and win prizes for reading and scoring well on quizzes. It works in a similar manner to Accelerated Reader (AR), if you are familiar with the program that many public schools use.
Enjoy! BTW many of my students INCLUDING my 10 year old boys absolutely love the book The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.
Happy reading!
rainydaydiamonds.blogspot.com
Hi Kim,
Thanks for your comment and for the link to Book Adventure–I think we’ll try it. My kids are excited about it already! 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time to share.
Cindy