How do I get my kid to read?

[Earthmerlin]

Hi there. My 6 year old has the ability to read at a 3rd grade level. She comes home with 2nd grade material. At the P/T conference, her 1st grade teacher said she cannot go beyond her current level--J--b/c 'that would be stepping on grade 2's toes & the district doesn't allow that'. She suggested taking current reading group material & talking more in depth about setting, character, problem & solution. She is also pulled out of class for enrichment--& is working w/ the librarian on research projects.

 

I had hoped to enlist her teacher's help in getting my daughter to read more at home. That request will not be fulfilled--she won't giver her higher level material. My problem is that if it comes from me--'mom'--she will not read & it becomes a big power struggle. The usual trinkets for reading didn't work over the summer either. She declares 'I hate reading' quite a bit as she's picking up "Magic Tree House' books or citing Shakespeare quotes & reading w/ beautiful expression! Too funny!

 

My question is how to be stealth about getting her to read on her own. I'd also like her to work on her stamina b/c after 2 pages of reading aloud a higher level book, she declares she's finished. Since her new passion is Magic Tree House, I will get her a boxed set. She thinks Flat Stanley is hilarious too so we may get her that as well. Any suggestions that go beyond simply putting the material in front of her but that don't quite go as far as bribing her (which doesn't work)?

[Tumbatoo]

Personally, I wouldn't push it. Let her read what she enjoys. It doesn't matter if it's the highest level she can handle. If she enjoys reading, she will get more from it and explore in her own. I found out that the hard way with one of mine. When I stopped bugging her, I noticed she would read on her own. First, easy books, then comics and magazines, and now nonfiction. She is 8 and still balka at the chapter books I got for her, but when she does read, the comprehension is there and she's learning. It will come in time.

[desertflower]

I would get books that interest her. Like pp said, I wouldn't push it. If 2 pages is all she wants to read, then that's fine. Reading should be fun.

 

Some library have book clubs for elementary age kids. That may be an incentive for her to read a book that's above her level. But then again if she doesn't want to go then I wouldn't push it.

[HomeAgain]

Yep, no pushing.  Kids go through phases.  It's not a bit enough deal at age 6 to push harder.  Make your home a bibliophile's dream - go to the library weekly, pick out good books (picture and chapter), talk about books, set aside time to read yourself..make reading welcome, but not mandatory.

[regentrude]

Al these worked with my reluctant reader:

 

Read to her. Stop the book. She may want to know what happens and pick it up herself.

Read to her. Let her take over when your voice gets tire to give you a break.

Make books available that might interest her. She may pick them up and look at them, or read a little bit. Books that have many little sections that can be read independently of one another may be motivating.

Get audio books on CD she can listen to. Familiarity with a book may make her want to read the book .

 

She is 6. There is no need to push.

[hellojwolford]

Agreed. BTDT. One day you will turn around and she won't be able to put the book down. You will have to remind her that she "hates reading". Until then, make sure she sees you reading for fun. And consider putting books on an electronic device. Then you can make the font look really large, and the thickness of the book is not intimidating.

[Dmmetler]

My DD learned early that asking for toys or candy was almost always a no, but asking for books usually was a yes. Sometimes, bribery gets you places :).

 

Also, a big hit when DD was convinced anything bigger than a Magic Tree House or Rainbow Fairy book was "too hard for me", was old school readers, the kind that are a mix of sections of longer books, non-fiction, and poetry selections, all illustrated, with pretty big print. She would read a selection from one of those, get excited, and want to read the full book, and often other books, even when she'd turned down the original book as "too hard". I bought a lot of these from thrift stores, and they were usually very cheap. We had 3rd-5th grade from probably at least three or four series and publishers. She spent about a year reading these and following up on them, by which point she'd realized that she was capable of reading basically anything she wanted, and was no longer scared of "big books".

[SeaConquest]

I put a reading light on Sacha's bed and told him that he could stay up as late as he wants as long as he's reading. He can read at about a 5th grade level, but he tires at that level. So, I get very high interest books a few grade levels below his current level, and that has kept him reading.

[TraceyF]

My dd7 usually doesn't take reading suggestions from me. It has to be her idea or her selection.

 

My best success comes with checking out an audio book from the library from a series or an author I think she might like. When she finishes listening I can tell her there are more books in that series or by that author and she will almost always ask if we can get them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SKL]

I have a reluctant reader.  I do force the issue.  Ideally I push schoolish materials (to develop fluency & stamina) vs. fun reading, but I have sometimes pushed fun reading (i.e. MTH) as well.  Over time she has gotten more open to the idea of reading for pleasure.

 

Some people just aren't going to be voracious readers.  I have a brother who was identified as gifted, but I'm not sure he ever voluntarily read a book in his life.  Therefore I personally am not willing to wait for my kid to decide she loves reading.  I don't believe that "telling her" to read enjoyable books is going to stop her from enjoying books.  It's kinda like we insist on kids tasting foods.

[eternallytired]

I'm with SeaConquest.  Once my kids started reading, we gave them a reading lamp and said, "You can go to bed at the regular time OR you can stay up an extra fifteen minutes to read."  (And now it's more like an hour--so as they aged we've still put them in their rooms at the same time, but they can stay up later because we let them read longer.  It's worked well because DH and I still have that evening time even with kids getting older, it shows the value we place on reading, it gets the kids in the habit of setting aside time for reading daily as DH and I do, and it's built their stamina for reading alone since we've gradually increased their allowed reading time as they gained skill and gotten older.)  During that time, they have to be something related to reading, but they can pick their material and do what they will with it.  Sometimes they just flip through and look at pictures in a magazine, sometimes they pull out a pile of picture books they loved when they were three, sometimes they read the first two pages in fourteen different books and decide not to continue with any of them.  (That would be DD--drives me nuts.)  They NEVER read a book if I say, "Oh, this one is really good--I think you'd like it!"  I've learned to phrase it as, "Well, you liked __, and this is similar, so you may enjoy it as well," or "Lots of people think that this one is pretty funny, if you're looking for something funny to read."  Make several suggestions along with reasons the child might be interested, but leave it up to them. 

 

As with some of the PPs, my kids prefer doing most of their reading below their level.  Yes, they may be able to read at X grade level, but that's their top output, so that takes effort.  It's far more fun if you're not spending so much time sounding out words, figuring out meanings, etc.  Reading below their top level isn't a bad thing--it builds fluency, allows them to focus on comprehension and storytelling elements, and lets them lose themselves in the book.  You might have one "working level" book which you spend a bit of time reading together, but don't force it, since that's more likely to backfire and kill the love of reading.  (Frankly, would YOU want most of your reading to be at the top of your capability?)

 

My kids cycle through reading like anything else.  For a while they will be thoroughly obsessed with a book or series, hauling it along in the car or reading at the breakfast table...and then it's like nothing grabs them for a while, and I despair of their ever becoming passionate about reading.  And the cycle repeats.  Hopefully the love will grow as they do, but even if they don't become bibliophiles like DH and I, I at least see hope for them enjoying reading on a regular basis.

[kiwik]

Can she read silently. Ds6 finds that much easier and since he comes out and reads me the highlights he must be reading it.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Do you read aloud to her? If so, read her fantastic books (and stop at cliffhangers for the night to see if she will continue). If not, start reading fantastic books to her.

 

I agree about bedtime. Lights out or stay up and read.

[SanDiegoMom]

It might also be the stage she is in -- once they are fluent with the small paperbacks, they don't want to read them as much but its a big leap to bigger paperbacks. That was a tricky time -- my son kept wanting that magical book that was as skinny as a Magic Tree House book but more complex. It took him awhile to accept that the books were just going to have to get longer! But the years between the 2nd grade level (short paperbacks) and the 3rd or 4th grade level saw a drop off in reading for awhile, except for mom's read aloud at night -- which was a nightly without fail ritual!

[mathnerd]

I agree with the PP who said to read a book to her and then stop reading it to see if she will pick it up.

 

After Magic Tree House, I tired The Wizard of Oz series with my DS to switch him to a higher level - I got the first book in the series and read it aloud and halfway through it, DS could not wait for me to complete reading it that he finished it all by himself. He then went on to other Oz series books, of which there were a lot and finished the whole series by himself. So, try a series at a higher level than the one that she is reading and start it off with the audiobook or read aloud and see if she tries to finish the book. Most of the popular ones come in large print editions, so that might be a help for a child who is put off by small print.

[basketcase]

So many great ideas are already posted! We've found nonfiction, poetry, joke books, collections of fairy tales and mythology, and even comic books (hooray for Calvin!) helpful during that transitional period. They all are in shorter chunks but with richer vocabulary than early chapter books.

 

I have a policy of rewarding reading with more reading, or at least things directly related to reading. Oh, you read all your books? Let's go to the used bookstore or the library or the little free library. Let's peruse our shelves and see what else might be interesting to you. Readers get to stay up later than normal bedtime, and often even get away with a flashlight and a book after lights-out. They sometimes get to watch the movie versions of books they've read. They receive books for holidays. They rejoice when we put bookshelves in their rooms. They go to book club events with their friends. They listen to books in the car and the ones we read to them. And they know how much the adults around them love to read for their own pleasure. So far, we're 3 for 3 on developing avid readers, and I'm sure our youngest will be there soon. I'm sure your young one will be, too!

[Tsuga]

I think at six their eyes are still developing, so make sure that for extended reading she has access to big print.

[SunshineMom]

I had to laugh when I read about encouraging kids to read by allowing them to stay up later at night if they were reading.  Oh boy, my dd12 has become such the night owl, reading until 11pm-12am on a regular basis:(  We seriously have had to throw the circuit breaker to cut off power to her room so she would get to sleep!  She places towels under her door at night so we can't see the light shining from her room.  Sounds funny but not so when school starts at 8am.

 

It all started out with a little extra reading time at night to encourage her reading when she was little :huh: