Your child will continue learning to read in the first through third grades of early elementary school. Learning to read is a complex process that can be challenging for some students while being simple for others. While encouraging your child to practice reading frequently, be careful not to overemphasize the learning process during this time. Your child will learn to read and have the chance to practice reading skills in valuable ways if they read for enjoyment and interest. When children like reading, they are more likely to develop their reading abilities. They put in more effort and are more eager to tackle reading difficulties. Use these suggestions to motivate your youngster to read and, ideally, foster a love of literature. Here are 6 tips to help your child become a reader –
1) Practice what you preach -
"Children take cues from adults," says Schwartz. "When you grow up surrounded by junk food, you like junk food. When you grow up surrounded by books, you like books." Children grow up looking at the adults in their life and strive to emulate their behaviour. If you set a good example for them by showing them how much fun reading can be and how much you enjoy it, it is very likely that they will take up the habit themselves.
2) Don’t make reading a chore -
It is unlikely that children will get excited for reading if they view it as a chore. If they are forced to do it, they will most likely start disliking the activity. "Once you start forcing kids to read, you're taking the fun right out of it," says Mostransky. Let reading be something exciting that they want to explore and di by themselves rather than something that they are being forced to do it.
3) Have lots of books -
When children see a lot of books in their house or in their study, they are naturally inclined to pick one up and start reading it. If you ask your friends or relatives to gift your child books instead of toys, it is likely that there will be a lot of books in your house that are available for your child whenever they feel like reading. Additionally, you can also create a reading nook in your house which will further encourage your children to read.
4) Do activities that require reading -
Pick a recipe to try together or read the instructions to build something together. Encourage your child to read it and help them understand what is written. When children are reading with you, give them the support they need to read better and repeatedly keep telling them how proud you are of them. This will help them associate positive feelings with reading and will encourage them try it by themselves.
5) Bring the story to life -
Ask you child about what they’ve read. Have questions or comments to engage with your child about their reading. Pick an element of the story that your child enjoyed and pivot to imagining a tangent to the story, like re-telling the story from a different character’s point-of-view, or bringing an inanimate object from the story to life, or discussing what might have happened once the story ended. Discussions like these not only encourage child to read but also help them learn lateral thinking and creative thinking.
6) Let your child choose -
Let your child be in charge of selecting which book they wish to read or buy. Give them the autonomy to go through all the available books and based on their interest pick the one that they like the best. You can even be a part of the process by asking the why they prefer a particular topic or book. This will motivate them to make decisions for themselves and read more in the process.