“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” – Dr. Seuss.
According to the article “6 Facts About Reading Out Loud With Your Kids,” children who read and are read to have a positive association with books, improve language development and vocabulary, and are better prepared for when they go to school (Sanders). This article is not alone in demonstrating the importance of reading in a child’s life. Pick up any book about parenting or teaching, and one of the first tips it will list is to get children into reading. Google “reading to” and kids/children will pop up. Ask a teacher, professor or researcher about whether or not reading is important to a child’s learning and you will receive a resounding, yes! The only problem is how do you get children to want to read? Sounds easy in theory, right? But sometimes theory does not always match up to reality.
Here are some simple, effective ideas to help children get started on their lifetime love for books.
1. Have story time!
Or as my mom called it, “imagination time!” A simple way to get your child into books is first getting them into stories. One of my fondest memories is the bedtime stories my mom told to me. Some she would make up on the spot, others she took out from a bookshelf. She would whisper in this low, soft voice she reserved just for stories and every night she would tell me a new one. Some were about princesses, other fairies or pirates or farmers. No matter the subject, I would become so enraptured in the tale that I would beg for another. It was then that my love for stories began — and the passion has yet to fade!
Story time is also a great opportunity to sharpen children’s critical thinking. The key in education is for students to ask questions. Why not start children early? Encourage children to question what they read. What will happen next? Why did the character act like that? Who is your favorite character and why? How would you change the story if you had written it? Better yet, have them invent their own! Take this special time enjoying and talking about the story.
There are also ways to help children so they can read books on their own. For example, you can point to the words so the children learn how to connect the sounds with the letters. If they say they want to read to you, then let them! Be patient and encourage them even if they stumble. If they do not know a word, then encourage them to ask or look up the meaning of the word together.
2. Set an example!
Never doubt the curiosity of children or their instincts to emulate their guardians. Curiosity is how children explore the world around them, from wondering where babies come from to speculating how caterpillars turn into butterflies. Copying those more experienced than them is one of the most instinctual learning technique, and is how babies learn their first language. These two innate C’s can be used to their and your advantage when you set a good example.
When I was little, I saw my mom at the dining room table, and in her hands was a thick book, with a pretty picture and a shiny pale gold title. The book was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I tried to be as quiet as possible so as to not disturb her, but my curiosity was piqued. She was so absorbed, and I couldn’t understand why. Why was she so interested in a book with no pictures and no crickets that chirped when you turned the page? I had to get to the bottom of it. Eight novels later, and I am now a proud Potterhead. All because I saw my mom reading a book.
3. Don’t underestimate!
Books are boring.
That is the reason I hear most often when children say they don’t like to read — and I don’t blame them! I volunteered at an elementary school for two years. One of the first things I learned when spending time with children is that their imagination is stunning. One minute the kids are piloting a rocket ship, and the next they are wolves racing through a forest. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Now how exciting does this sound, “The bird is yellow. The bird has wings. The bird can fly.” Not very exciting, is it? That is the second lesson I learned; the majority of books provided in the beginning grades simply cannot compare to the stories already being imagined by children.
In many classrooms, there exists the belief that if a child cannot read a word, they cannot understand the word. First: many young children cannot spell their names, and yet they understand what their names are. Why would this not apply to other words? Second: one skill of readers is the ability to use context clues. Students are taught that if they do not know a word, then they should use context clues to learn its meaning. Again, why should this not be applied to books for young children? Yes, children in early grades are only beginning to read. However, how can we expect children to become self-propelled readers when the first books they are given are as bland as, “The bird is yellow”? The answer: we cannot.
My suggestion is not to “read down” to your children or class. If you think a book is too difficult for them to read by themselves, then read to them! Find a book that you would be genuinely interested in reading if you were their age. Children may not be competent readers when they begin, but if you can find a story they are passionate about, then they will be motivated to learn. For example, a first grade teacher told me that she read Ronald Dahl’s books aloud to her class. Within days, nearly all of the students had their own Dahl collection.
Overall, three ways to instill a passion of reading in children is to make time for story time, read yourself and give children books that you would want to read!
