5 ways to motivate young children to read!

Every parent's evening or discussion I have had with parents, there is always a good number telling me about how their child refuses to read at home. I am hoping this blog gives parents and teachers a middle ground to help start motivating a young child to read.

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Before I start, a lot of children refuse to read at home because they struggle to do it, they might have the fear of getting it wrong, or the 'cat on the mat' book is super dull! This I completely acknowledge and understand but this list hopefully should help with that too!

1. Reading Race

My first tip goes out directly to teachers! One way I have found that works super super well is to encourage weekly competition with reading. In my classroom I have a reading race. For the first half of the year the race encourages children to read 5 times a week, the latter part of the year, it is changed to 7.

Now, this is an interactive display in my classroom and everyday (normally before home time) we move the name tags to their new positions on the race. This only includes home reading and must be written by the parent in their journal (or a note if lost).

I have done this for two years now and the children love seeing their name moved up but also congratulate their friends when their name moves up. It is one of my favourite parts of my day.

On a Friday, before the weekend begins :), we have a look as a class who has made it to the top of the race. Those children are allowed to choose a prize from my prize box (normally small toys, pencils etc). Now this is up to you how you would reward these children, I have heard of some teachers giving raffle tickets or even sending special postcards home.

Now, those children still on zero, I have chosen that they miss golden time on that Friday afternoon but again this is open to interpretation!

One thing I do suggest before implementing this into your classroom is, please let the parents know!! Communication is crucial! Plus they can talk about it with their child at home to help motivate them to pick up a book!

2. Let children read what they want!

Anything from a cereal packet to the TV guide! Yes, we send books home with your child at their ability level but they do read them with us as well. As long as your child is reading something who cares! Test them when you are out shopping or if you have books they enjoy at home then read those! There is nothing worse than forcing a child to read a boring book.

This leads me to my next tip nicely...

3. Share the reading

I have had parents say to me that their child doesn't have the stamina to read or that they are too tired once they are home from school. So, share the reading. Even if it is you reading most of the book (or cereal packet ;)) they are still listening and taking in that

language and sounds. Just try to start getting the child to read the odd word, start with what they are confident with then move to trickier words so they can have a go at blending and segmenting. Once they are happy with this, take turn reading a sentence each. This obviously will not just happen in a day, this could be a process that takes months. This can be done in the park, during dinner, bath time or before bed time.

4. Model reading

I believe that if children witness their parents/caregivers with a book or other reading material then they are more inclined to be encouraged to read. Unfortunately, we live in age with tablets and computers but you could still use this to your advantage. If your child wants to play on a tablet, then find an app/game that has the instructions in writing. This will definitely highlight how necessary it is to know how to read and the importance of it.

5. Reading zone at home

You may have noticed that lots of classrooms have book corners. They normally are cosy, relaxed and in a quiet part of the classroom to allow children to focus.

Reading corner in school

Recreate this at home, It could be a section in the child's bedroom, in your living room ... could even have it outside. This will create a space that the child can go to and instantly know that it is time for reading, just like a bed is for sleeping, the zone is for reading!

Reading corner at home

Have a go at these and let me know how you get on!

MissBevis_teach

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