This is not a new concept… small changes can make a big difference. It’s absolutely true when it comes to raising readers. Small changes in perception, simple comments of praise, little efforts to make books more available—all these things can add up to a dramatic increase in your child’s love of reading.
1. Go to library often and get to know the librarians: When we’re at the library, I try to encourage the kids to talk to the librarians and ask questions themselves. It's important for kids to establish relationships with the librarians and feel in control of their ability to navigate the library to find good books. While it’s great to own copies of books, it’s also nice to borrow library books that are new and fresh to keep kids excited about reading.
1. Go to library often and get to know the librarians: When we’re at the library, I try to encourage the kids to talk to the librarians and ask questions themselves. It's important for kids to establish relationships with the librarians and feel in control of their ability to navigate the library to find good books. While it’s great to own copies of books, it’s also nice to borrow library books that are new and fresh to keep kids excited about reading.
2. Read in front of your kids and show how excited you are about what you’re reading: Leading by example is perhaps the most important thing you can do to encourage a love of reading in your kids. My kids love it when I tell them about the books I’m reading. They ask me how the story is progressing and they want to know about the characters. I also read a lot of nonfiction, and the kids ask tons of questions about those books too. Kids are capable of grasping much more of the world and its history than we give them credit for.
3. Teach Preschoolers to Read Yourself: Some of my happiest moments have been the times I spent with a little one on my lap, sounding out words as they learn to read. I’ve used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for all of my kids, and it works beautifully. The lessons are all in one big book, and there is no lesson prep. The boys love the stories and funny pictures. I start when my kids are three-years-old, and I never force or push the lessons on them. If they are stressed, we stop. If they want to do five lessons in a row, then we do them. It’s no a rush, it’s low pressure, it’s just for the joy and love of reading.
4. Create a buffet of Great books for them to choose from: If I had to choose just one step that has made more of a difference for my kids than any other one, this would be it. When kids complain about reading, it probably means they just need a little help finding good book choices. (Nancie Atwell says that boys in particular need help choosing good books.) I like to go to the library once a week and keep a "buffet" of 5-10 books per child on hand so my kids have good, fresh books options to choose from. I have a book basket for each child that is (almost) always full of options for them to read.
3. Teach Preschoolers to Read Yourself: Some of my happiest moments have been the times I spent with a little one on my lap, sounding out words as they learn to read. I’ve used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for all of my kids, and it works beautifully. The lessons are all in one big book, and there is no lesson prep. The boys love the stories and funny pictures. I start when my kids are three-years-old, and I never force or push the lessons on them. If they are stressed, we stop. If they want to do five lessons in a row, then we do them. It’s no a rush, it’s low pressure, it’s just for the joy and love of reading.
4. Create a buffet of Great books for them to choose from: If I had to choose just one step that has made more of a difference for my kids than any other one, this would be it. When kids complain about reading, it probably means they just need a little help finding good book choices. (Nancie Atwell says that boys in particular need help choosing good books.) I like to go to the library once a week and keep a "buffet" of 5-10 books per child on hand so my kids have good, fresh books options to choose from. I have a book basket for each child that is (almost) always full of options for them to read.
I’m not saying this is easy, but it’s also not that hard. Start by having your child/children take this questionnaire and then discuss the responses with each child one-on-one.
Then, considering the questionnaire your child filled out:
- Talk to the librarian or your child’s schoolteacher for book suggestions.
- Check your library website. They often have lists of book suggestions by genre, age, etc.
- Look for award winners like Newberry Medal, ALA Top Ten Best Books for young adults, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Kirkus Review Editor’s Choice, or starred reviews in Booklist, The Horn Book, or Publishers Weekly.
I spend about and thirty minutes a month browsing booklists and reading reviews to get book ideas for my kids. It’s worth every minute! Having good book options readily available for my kids has made a world of difference in making them devoted readers. Learn more about creating a book buffet in this article.
5. Get Creative where you read: Read somewhere new today! It might help your kids get excited if they can read in a tree, under a tree, with their feet dangling in some water, at the pool, in a fort, on mom and dad’s bed, etc.
6. Praise your kids when you catch them enjoying a book: This is important especially when it’s not “reading time,” or when they’ve already read their thirty required minutes of the day. I often say, “Oh no, Miles has been bitten by the bookworm. Watch out you guys!” Then my little bookworm beams with the attention before diving back into his book.
7. Give Books as gifts: We give the kids at least one book for a gift on Christmas and for every birthday. And when my husband travels for work, he often brings home a book to share from his trip. Just one more way to show that we value books.
Then, considering the questionnaire your child filled out:
- Talk to the librarian or your child’s schoolteacher for book suggestions.
- Check your library website. They often have lists of book suggestions by genre, age, etc.
- Look for award winners like Newberry Medal, ALA Top Ten Best Books for young adults, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Kirkus Review Editor’s Choice, or starred reviews in Booklist, The Horn Book, or Publishers Weekly.
I spend about and thirty minutes a month browsing booklists and reading reviews to get book ideas for my kids. It’s worth every minute! Having good book options readily available for my kids has made a world of difference in making them devoted readers. Learn more about creating a book buffet in this article.
5. Get Creative where you read: Read somewhere new today! It might help your kids get excited if they can read in a tree, under a tree, with their feet dangling in some water, at the pool, in a fort, on mom and dad’s bed, etc.
6. Praise your kids when you catch them enjoying a book: This is important especially when it’s not “reading time,” or when they’ve already read their thirty required minutes of the day. I often say, “Oh no, Miles has been bitten by the bookworm. Watch out you guys!” Then my little bookworm beams with the attention before diving back into his book.
7. Give Books as gifts: We give the kids at least one book for a gift on Christmas and for every birthday. And when my husband travels for work, he often brings home a book to share from his trip. Just one more way to show that we value books.
8. Have Books all over the house and in the car: We have books in every room of the house, (other than the bathroom. That would just give a whole new meaning to dirty books.) Books are easy access and sometimes even decorative. We also keep a collection of books in the car so there is always something handy to read while we drive. The boys each have a headlamp so they can read in the wintertime when it gets dark early. |
9. Limit screens – If broccoli and brownies sit side by side before your child, what do you think they will choose? It is hard, oh so hard, to avoid screens these days! And I don’t try to avoid them completely. But we do make it a pattern to reach for books before we reach for screens. If we go to the doctor, we bring books for the waiting room. If we go for a car ride, we bring a book. If my kids want screen time on a long summer day, they earn it by reading first. (And doing chores, and being kind.) When screens are not an option, kids will start reaching for books.
10. Read anthologies to help decide what complete book to dive into – Our favorite book to read at bedtime this year is Hey Listen to This, by Jim Trelease. It is a collection of chapter samples from dozens of chapter books, giving you a taste of each book so you can decide which ones you want to read more of. There are numerous book collections like this, but Hey Listen to This has been my favorite because along with every individual chapter, it also gives a thorough biography of the author who wrote the book where the chapter came from. Trelease also explains the context and inspiration behind the books he highlights. I am personally fascinated by authors, so reading the bios and context is my favorite part.
11. Step out of the stereotypes: You don’t have to be a boy to love Tom Sawyer, and you don’t have to be a girl to love Raggedy Ann. I have four sons and we dip into all genres together. We read Hans Christian Anderson, poetry, Shel Silverstein, Hercules, Winnie the Pooh, real world biographies, and lots of Raggedy Ann.
12. Look into Second Hand Books - Most libraries hold sales for books that are being removed from their system. Here in our library district, they hold a week-long sale each summer and I always stock up. Books are .50-$2.00, and we come out of the sale with armfuls of books, giddy as Christmas morning for less than the price of a trip to the movies. We are also frequent shoppers at Half-Priced Books and other local second-hand bookstores.
13. Read aloud at bedtime whenever possible: By 8 pm, you might as well call me Fiona, for I am an OGRE! I am exhausted and stressed by all the corralling it takes to get teeth brushed and boys in bed. But, even if they are in trouble, we try not to use loss of story time as a punishment. (There are times, however, that I use loss of story time as a lifesaving strategy because I know that one more minute with the kids would threaten all of our safety - ha!)
14. Try nonfiction - I have one child in particular who is very picky about novels, but he is fascinated by nonfiction—mummies, biographies, war stories, natural disasters, inventions, etc.
During the summer, we do something really fun with nonfiction. We call it Fascinating Friday. I ask my kids to choose a topic each week that they want to learn about. It can be an animal, a country, an invention, a disease, a song, a band…anything! We get books about their topic when we go to the library, and during the week they can use their free time (not reading workshop time) to learn about their topic. They make a mini lesson with at least three fascinating facts that they can teach the family.
My kids love crafts so they often draw a picture or build an art piece to go with their mini lesson. We do not make this complicated! The kids lead the way, and truly anything goes.
On Friday, they teach our family the fascinating facts they learned about their topic. Just one more way to make learning fun and to get kids invested in exploring the library. (*Why do I not let my kids work on their fascinating facts during reading workshop time? Because reading for information is much different than reading for emotion, and it stimulates a different part of the brain. Reading workshop time is specifically geared toward the reading for emotion part of the brain. Of course, you can do whatever works best for your family! I’m working on an article that explains more about the different types of reading—factual vs. emotional—and the different effects on the brain. Both are good, just different.)
Have you tried any of these ideas? Do you have any more good ideas to share? Leave a comment and let us know what works as you are raising your readers.
10. Read anthologies to help decide what complete book to dive into – Our favorite book to read at bedtime this year is Hey Listen to This, by Jim Trelease. It is a collection of chapter samples from dozens of chapter books, giving you a taste of each book so you can decide which ones you want to read more of. There are numerous book collections like this, but Hey Listen to This has been my favorite because along with every individual chapter, it also gives a thorough biography of the author who wrote the book where the chapter came from. Trelease also explains the context and inspiration behind the books he highlights. I am personally fascinated by authors, so reading the bios and context is my favorite part.
11. Step out of the stereotypes: You don’t have to be a boy to love Tom Sawyer, and you don’t have to be a girl to love Raggedy Ann. I have four sons and we dip into all genres together. We read Hans Christian Anderson, poetry, Shel Silverstein, Hercules, Winnie the Pooh, real world biographies, and lots of Raggedy Ann.
12. Look into Second Hand Books - Most libraries hold sales for books that are being removed from their system. Here in our library district, they hold a week-long sale each summer and I always stock up. Books are .50-$2.00, and we come out of the sale with armfuls of books, giddy as Christmas morning for less than the price of a trip to the movies. We are also frequent shoppers at Half-Priced Books and other local second-hand bookstores.
13. Read aloud at bedtime whenever possible: By 8 pm, you might as well call me Fiona, for I am an OGRE! I am exhausted and stressed by all the corralling it takes to get teeth brushed and boys in bed. But, even if they are in trouble, we try not to use loss of story time as a punishment. (There are times, however, that I use loss of story time as a lifesaving strategy because I know that one more minute with the kids would threaten all of our safety - ha!)
14. Try nonfiction - I have one child in particular who is very picky about novels, but he is fascinated by nonfiction—mummies, biographies, war stories, natural disasters, inventions, etc.
During the summer, we do something really fun with nonfiction. We call it Fascinating Friday. I ask my kids to choose a topic each week that they want to learn about. It can be an animal, a country, an invention, a disease, a song, a band…anything! We get books about their topic when we go to the library, and during the week they can use their free time (not reading workshop time) to learn about their topic. They make a mini lesson with at least three fascinating facts that they can teach the family.
My kids love crafts so they often draw a picture or build an art piece to go with their mini lesson. We do not make this complicated! The kids lead the way, and truly anything goes.
On Friday, they teach our family the fascinating facts they learned about their topic. Just one more way to make learning fun and to get kids invested in exploring the library. (*Why do I not let my kids work on their fascinating facts during reading workshop time? Because reading for information is much different than reading for emotion, and it stimulates a different part of the brain. Reading workshop time is specifically geared toward the reading for emotion part of the brain. Of course, you can do whatever works best for your family! I’m working on an article that explains more about the different types of reading—factual vs. emotional—and the different effects on the brain. Both are good, just different.)
Have you tried any of these ideas? Do you have any more good ideas to share? Leave a comment and let us know what works as you are raising your readers.