how do you encourage a 12 year old boy to read?

[vlgimmelli]

How do you encourage a 12 year old boy to read when he hates to read? Any thoughts.

[SeekingHim77]

The answer is to find the right book! Think about his interests, go to the library and come home with a stack of books that look right up his alley. Sooner or later, you're bound to come across one he loves. That should get him started.

 

He may never love reading-but he should learn to enjoy the reading he has to do for school at least. My son still doesn't read in his free time very often. He is assigned lots of reading for school though and has learned to enjoy it. I spend a lot of time finding great "boy books" though.:001_smile:

[Jenny in Florida]

What does he like to do, instead?

 

Does he read fluently but just not like the books he's being given?

 

Is he having trouble reading?

[vlgimmelli]

He does have trouble at times reading and his reading comprehension is not very good. So I guess if he doesn't really know what he is reading it is boring to him.

[Ali in OR]

No screens.

 

I have to admit I don't have any 12 yo boys, but we don't have t.v. reception, the kids don't use computers, and we don't do video games. My kids play with each other and they read. They read a lot. That's their doorway into another world. My first thought when anyone wishes their child read more is to wonder whether or not the child spends a lot of time watching t.v. or playing video games. I think they tend to replace reading.

[vlgimmelli]

My children do not spend too much time watching tv or playing video games. They are controlled. They have an allotted time to watch tv and play games. Unfortunately, in my neighborhood there are not many kids to play with and he has a 5 year old sister whom he plays a bit with but not too much since there i a big age gap. Also, I truly believe that since my son has a hard time with the comprehension of a book he therefore finds it boring. Thanks

[milovany]

Two words: Calvin. Hobbes.

 

Of course, reading Calvin and Hobbes won't make him a skilled and advanced reader, but most likely it will make him an interested reader. Get a stack and let him have at it. Won't work for every kid; has worked for us.

Edited September 20, 2011 by milovaný
because I made a typographical error and felt the need to correct it in a post about reading skills of course! :-P

[vlgimmelli]

Thank you. Will give it a try. :)

[regentrude]

He does have trouble at times reading and his reading comprehension is not very good. So I guess if he doesn't really know what he is reading it is boring to him.

 

In that case, I would read WITH him. Daily read-alouds, taking turns, having him read to me - until he has achieved fluency and good comprehension. I would make this a major focus of his school work. I would be getting a bit concerned if at age 12 he has not reached fluency and comprehension; that is unusual (not LIKING to read is not). Does he have any learning issues?

He might be more interested in non-fiction and shorter texts, as are many boys. Guinness book, usborne book of Greek mythology which has little sound bits -stuff like this. Silly stuff, gross stuff.

I would also add audiobooks because they are great for building vocabulary. When DS was making the step to recreational reading, having listened to the audio version of a longer book would encourage him to try reading it by himself.

 

I don't think any kid likes to read until they have mastered the reading mechanics and can understand what they are reading.

[Old Dominion Heather]

Read to him. My mom read to my sister, who was a similar reader as your son. She read aloud to her all the way through high school, not required reading but fun books. She turned into a reader.

[choirfarm]

He does have trouble at times reading and his reading comprehension is not very good. So I guess if he doesn't really know what he is reading it is boring to him.

 

I'm wondering about vision problems... Could you have him read aloud from a book for you. Does he skip words? Does he substitute words? Does he ever complain about a headache when he reads?

 

2 out of my 3 children had vision problems..not the kind you find with an ordinary vision appointment. My youngest one in particular hated reading until we did vision therapy and got her eyes working together. She couldn't follow a pencil with her eyes without moving her head. ( You could try that yourself.) She started reading words in the middle and then went back to the beginning. Don't ask me how. She could read the individual words but she had to spend so much time decoding them that the meaning of the sentence was completely lost. Her eye muscles were so weak.

 

The comprehension issue is a red flag for me. See if you can find out what the reading problem is...

 

Christine

[elegantlion]

my ds doesn't like to read. He is required to read 30 minutes of free reading per day. He loves being read to though and we do a lot of that. He's a delayed reader so we taking turns picking books. It took a while, but he has latched onto Keys to the Kingdom series and is almost finished. It's the first series he has read extra time and is actually excited about reading.

 

 

I tread gently, because I want him to enjoy reading at age 50. We make the reading non-optional. Until last year it was done during school time. This year he is disciplined enough to read before bed.

 

We continue to share stories and delight in the journey through books together, that way I don't kill his love of reading before it's fully realized.

 

In our case I think part of the issue was his reading level catching up to his comprehension.

[SeekingHim77]

I agree that reading out loud is a very important part of helping children to love reading.

[tntgoodwin]

Comic books?

[TheReader]

Another vote for Calvin & Hobbes. Worked for my reluctant readers.

 

And magazines. My 13 yr old boy (almost 14) likes National Geographic, Boys Life, the Lego magazines, and the jokes in Reader's Digest (and every now and then an article). But around age 11 or so we got him tons of Calvin & Hobbes, and he will now read novels for fun.

 

For content problems/comprehension problems, does this happen no matter the genre? Or does he do better with non-fiction than fiction, or vice versa? Short magazine articles could help build comprehension.

[funschooler5]

Calvin and Hobbes worked here too.:lol:

 

I read aloud things DS wouldn't have the attention-span to read himself (for instance, our current read-aloud is Treasure Island). DS does have a high reading level, but he also has ADHD, so I encourage him to read books that are at a lower reading level....otherwise he gets very discouraged trying to finish a book. He loves Carolyn Haywood's Eddie books, Beverly Cleary, and he'll actually read Great Illustrated Classics for history. I also assign a few age-appropriate graphic novels. I just make sure I keep his read-alouds above reading level (also, audio books!).

 

And of course, he'll read Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, and Archie comics for hours.:D

[mom2abcd]

Ds will read comic books just fine, but it's chapter books that he balks at.

 

Sibs got him Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and he likes those because they have pictures in them.

 

My friend said The Other Side of the Mountain got her boys hooked.

[meggie]

Two words: Calvin. Hobbes.

 

Of course, reading Calvin and Hobbes won't make him a skilled and advanced reader, but most likely it will make him an interested reader. Get a stack and let him have at it. Won't work for every kid; has worked for us.

:iagree: My five year old LOOOOVES Calvin and Hobbes. He has been known to make a duplicator or twelve and refer to himself as #4. He also loves Garfield and is learning to love Peanuts. Terry Pratchett is a well-known hilarious author and has a YA series called Wee Free Men. I only read the first two pages, but DH read the first book and loved it. DH also loves his books for adults.

[Running the race]

Have you tried Tin-Tin? Other graphic novels?