OK, this is a big one for parents and teachers and one that doesn’t always happen overnight! Some children love getting lost in a book, being given 10 minutes to sit quietly and read and some absolutely dread it! There are also children that love books and reading but are reluctant to read their school reading books.
I love reading, children’s books more than adult if I’m honest, but I don’t find the time to sit and read as an adult enough and often envy the times in school when I tell the children can just sit and read. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone enjoys it, in fact many children find reading dull and boring. Reading is such a vital skill though that helps our children in many ways during their time in (and out) of education. Developing a love for reading helps with creative writing, accessing information in topic lessons and developing spelling and vocabulary to name just a few.
So what can we do to help our children enjoy reading, not dread the quiet reading times in school and want to independently pick up a book, rather than be ‘forced’ to read one?
Firstly, I think it’s important to take a look at why it is so important to support all of our children to read. The BookTrust has drawn on evidence from extensive academic and peer-reviewed research, and has detailed 4 core themes showing how supporting children to read has the potential to transform children’s life chances and give them the best start in life. The core themes outlined by Book Trust are that children who read:
If you want to read about this in more detail, click the link here to take you to the BookTrust website. That being said, it doesn’t mean you need to panic if your children aren’t reading but keep persevering with them and little and often will do wonders to support and encourage them to enjoy reading.
Right, there are lots of different things we can do to support and encourage our children to read, some more elaborate than others. I’m all about quick and easy things that don’t take long to set up though so I’m going to share 5 tips that are easy and doable that you will be able to try straight away at home or in the classroom.
All too often at parents’ evenings I had worried parents telling me their child wasn’t interested in reading their school book or the chapter book that they had bought them because they were in key stage two now and I always gave one answer – let them read what they want to read. As adults, we all choose books that we want to read whether that’s self-help, a cheesy romantic fiction book, recipe books, etc. so why are we expecting our children, in free reading time, to read a specified book that they are not interested in?
Let children read what they want as then they will enjoy it. If they love comic books because they make them laugh, let them read it. If they really enjoy finding out facts about animals, let them read non-fiction books about animals. If they enjoy gaming and want to read some (appropriate) gaming magazines or a booklet about a particular game they’re playing so they can progress to the next level, let them read it. In english lessons at school, they will be exposed to a range of genres of fiction and non-fiction, so when it is time for them to read freely, they should be allowed to do just that.
If children are bringing reading books home and they are really reluctant to read them but they want to read alternative books, let them read the alternative books. At some point at school, an adult will listen to them read their reading book and can discuss with you if they feel they need more support with their reading so don’t put them off by insisting they read their school reading book and don’t feel the pressure to do it either.
There is a difference between reading and reading comprehension and for this blog, I’m just focussing on enjoying reading and helping children to want to read. I’ll write another blog soon about reading comprehension (understanding and being able to answer questions about what you read). It wouldn’t be a blog written by me though if I didn’t encourage you to play games to motivate and inspire your children to read!
These games just focus on reading rather than comprehension and can encourage children to read a little bit without even realising that’s what they’re doing (my kind of playful learning)! Click the links below to check out the games.
Whether you’re a teacher or a parent/carer reading this, it’s something we can all do! Sometimes we all get in the habit of reading at the same time of day and in the same place so why not mix it up a bit? Rather than always reading before bed, in their bedroom, why not set up a blanket in the garden/on the school field and read in the middle of the day? When it’s reading time after lunch at school why not take the whole class into the hall or a different room or back on the playground/field to do their free reading? When we change routine and setting, things become more exciting. I have always had a reading corner in my class and the children loved it when it was their turn to read in it and I always felt sad that there was only ever space for 4-6 children to enjoy it at a time but we can think of other ways to include everyone all the time. I’ve made a few suggestions below:
At school:
At home:
For some children, it’s not just about whether they enjoy reading or not, it’s just the fact that reading is hard and as children get older, they can become more aware and more conscious of this. So there are many other ways that we can support and encourage our children to enjoy reading without them actually having to read.
Listen to stories!
Children don’t have to physically read to enjoy reading, there are so many great ways we can encourage children to love books and reading where they can simply sit back and listen to a story. Tonies boxes and Yoto players are great for this and you can always give them the book while they listen to follow along with or simply explore the illustrations. I have links to both of these players here in my Amazon shop. We have a Tonies box and it has been used lots and we’re still collecting different stories for it.
There are also great audio books you can get online for children to listen to as well.
Oxford Owl – this website is great and has a free eBook library that you can access. If your child enjoys using the computer then this may be a perfect way to get them to enjoy some reading.
Podcasts – I will have to admit that I haven’t used podcasts for children but I have heard there are a lot of good ones out there. @thatcalteacherlife on Instagram posted a list of her favourite children’s podcasts so it may be worth having a look at these (always give them a listen first before sharing them with your children to check the content).
Finally, this is something we can all do and, I believe, should continue into Key Stage Two and beyond. The National Literacy Trust states that,
‘There can be few things as powerful as regularly reading to a young child. It has astonishing benefits for children: comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, happiness and fun. Giving a child time and full attention when reading them a story tells them they matter. It builds self-esteem, vocabulary, feeds imagination and even improves their sleeping patterns.’
I have always taught in Key Stage Two (Years 3-6) and have always read them a story or class book at least once a day. Children loved being read to and it really creates a sense of community, calm and fun. The book doesn’t have to have anything to do with anything you are learning about in class, it’s just a time to stop, be together and enjoy the power of reading.
Life as parents/carers is busy too, so I know carving time into your day to read aloud is often difficult and some people are not very confident in reading aloud either. If this is the case, just 5 minutes reading together will help. Maybe, if you ever have a ‘movie night’, try occasionally swapping it for a ‘reading night’ where you have a cosy area set up with snacks, maybe different lighting and you all sit together and read your own books. You can then discuss what you are reading and share your best bits of the stories together. Perhaps try all reading the same book on ‘reading night’ and then sharing bits of it with each other.
So that’s it! 5 simple ways to support your children with their reading! Remember though, doing one of these things won’t be a magic cure. Mix things up, try different things but try to make reading part of your everyday routine, whether you are a parent or teacher. If you give any of these things a go I would love to hear about it and how it’s going. Also, if you have any other questions about reading that I haven’t answered in this blog I’d be really happy for you to send me an email or a DM on my social media channels.
Happy reading everyone!
