We’re putting together a list of ways to encourage kids, especially those who aren’t excited about books, to do more reading, and we need your help! What’s worked for you at home or school? How did you increase the number of books that kids read? How did you make sure the books would interest them, or were at their reading level? What did you say or do to make reading seem fun? In what ways did you “reward” a child for doing a good job of reading? Please head on over to the Reading With Your Child forum (http://forums.readingrockets.org/list.php?f=4) share your ideas there. In addition to helping us help you, you could win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com!
Have to agree 100% with Sue
Sue is right on here. I have seen a lot of classes where there is so much time and energy spent on making reading “fun” that no actual reading ever gets done.
And reading should be fun because of all the things you get out of it — entertainment, information, knowledge, competence — this is REAL motivation.
OK, in an imperfect world sometimes you have to do the best you can and do other things before reading gets to be fun; but Sue is right, telling a kid he should be having fun when he is not is just an additional load on him.
The best way to encourage reading is to teach a child to read.
I have met reluctant readers who had the skills but I have met far, far more who were reluctant to struggle, *not* reluctant to read.
If it isn’t fun because it’s a struggle, then all of our attempts to make it seem fun only undermine our human credibility. If we call that “Reading” thing fun (?@!@) — then what do we know? Could be stuff we say is dangerous isn’t, either.