Motivating Your Child to Read
From READ 180: http://www.hmhco.com/products/read-180/family/helping-your-child.html#motivate-your-child-to-read
Your emotional support means everything to your student. Even when your student acts out or tests your limits, he or she is looking to you for guidance, love, and acceptance.
Your emotional support means everything to your student. Even when your student acts out or tests your limits, he or she is looking to you for guidance, love, and acceptance.
- Find out what your student is passionate about. Support his or her interests and help him or her select reading materials based on them.
- Compliment your student. Recognize any effort he or she has put into reading or studying.
- Cook meals together. It’ll be fun—and a great opportunity to build a healthy relationship, while doing some reading for information together.
- Ask your student for advice. He or she will enjoy the role reversal and it’ll show that you value his or her opinion.
- Work on being happy in your own life. You’ll be a role model for your student.
- BASED ON THE BOOK OR THE MOVIE It is great to give your student a book that inspired a movie he or she liked. But also give him or her books that are based on TV shows and movies he or she watches.
- BOOKS A PLENTY Have reading material available to your student wherever he or she goes. Keep books in every room of your home. Store magazines in the car. Bring a comic book for him or her to read while waiting in line.
- READ IN PUBLIC Let your student see that you like to read for fun. It’s important to show that you enjoy reading and make time for it. It will show her that reading is a fun fundamental.
- TALK ABOUT TV AND MOVIES Encourage your student to tell you about the movies or TV shows he watched. Have him retell the plot. And ask him to describe the characters. It will help build his sense of narrative and story, and his general comprehension skills
- INTERACTIVE IS INTERESTING Ask your student what subjects interest her. Then use the Internet to help her explore those topics. Try to find sites that include graphics or games and aren’t too text heavy.
- GET A SUBSCRIPTION Kids and teens enjoy getting mail. So get your student a subscription to a magazine. It will give him something to look forward to every month. And the idea that the magazine is just for him makes it more appealing to read.
- GO TO READINGS AND PLAYS Show your student different ways to enjoy books. Take her to readings at your local library or bookstore. Or, go to the theater. Plays are great because they are a form of literature designed not to be read, but to be seen.