My son is in 4th grade. He would rather do just about anything than read. How can I get him to WANT to pick up a book?

This is the question we are probably asked most often. Families are so busy with work, school, activities and everyday life that ensuring our kids are reading often seems overwhelming.

Research shows that even as little as 15 minutes a day can not only enhance your child's love of reading but also contribute to his or her overall academic success. It doesn't matter if you have a kindergartner or a 5th grader, children enjoy being read to and greatly benefit from it, too. It is free, fun… and cuddly! It is also perhaps the easiest way to increase your child’s academic skills.

Here are our Top Three ideas for how you can help give a boost to a reluctant reader:

1. Reluctant Readers may begin to look forward to reading with DEAR Time (Drop Everything And Read).  
   
   Experiment and find an uninterrupted time that works well with your family - perhaps right after dinner or right before bed- where everybody (yes, you, too!) drops everything they are doing... and just reads! (For the very young child, you can read to him, have him “read” to you, or just let him enjoy the book on his own.)  

Scheduling a specific time, and having the whole family participate, takes the emphasis off of you “telling” your kids to just read. This way, it just becomes a habit at a certain time every day.  Play around with the length of time. See what works for your family. See how you can make it fun! You don’t want it to be a chore. Hopefully having this time every day will allow your child to get into a book and even look forward to continuing reading it the next day. Share what you read about and encourage others to, too. And enjoy your down-time!  

2. Reluctant readers may also enjoy “Buddy Reading.”

In Buddy Reading, you read one page (or one paragraph) and then your child reads one page (or one paragraph). Take turns for as long as you choose to read. This takes some pressure off of your child, he gets a little break when you read, and on your turns you can model fluent, expressive reading.  

Sometimes, for independent readers, you can even do this just for the first chapter. Often this is all it takes for a kid to get into the book. It helps them get a good foundation of the story. Lots of times kids say they don’t like a book they’ve picked but really it is just that they didn’t have enough comprehension in the beginning, when major things are explained, to want to read more.

3. Reluctant Readers may not feel like reading because they may simply be frustrated with too-tough text, so help them find one that’s “Just Right”.

If you find your independent reader isn’t captivated by the book he has chosen, follow this “Rule of Thumb” to find out if the book is at the right reading level for him. Here’s how:

1. Have your child begin reading a page from anywhere in the book (not from the ending, though!).
2. Each time he comes to a word he does not know, have him put one finger down, starting with his pinky.
3. By the end of the page, if he has put his thumb down (indicating at least 5 difficult words) it probably means the text will be too difficult for him and comprehension may be lost. Stopping to decode too many words breaks up the flow of reading and interferes with understanding and enjoying the story. Ditch this book and try another.  
   

If he found too many difficult words, but is still dying to read the book, perhaps it would be a good one to read aloud to him or buddy read together.

Give some of these ideas a try and let us know how they go! Our book has even more ideas for reading success (and all areas of the curriculum). Check it out at www.365TeacherSecrets.com

Feel free to send us questions you have about helping your elementary child at home. We'd love to hear from you! Look for our new Q & A soon! (Maybe it will be yours!)

Happy Learning! :) Cindy & Patti