Is your child having a hard time learning how to read? Don’t worry about it too much, as your child isn’t the only one. Finding ways on how to motivate a child to read can be a challenging process for parents, yet reading success for kids can be easily reached with these often overlooked steps:
Tip 1: Optimum environment
Never underestimate the power of your environment. For example, a child might be more inclined to read in a brightly lit room with a library filled with his/her favorite books as opposed to a game room filled with all the latest gaming consoles and distractions. Make sure to create an environment conducive to reading by making sure that it is distraction-free, is well-lit and has comfortable seating.
Tip 2: Be patient
It can be very tempting to step in and help out when your child is taking some time to figure out a word on the page. But if your child is deciphering most of the words independently with few mistakes albeit taking up a longer time, just be patient and let your child carry on – especially since it is your child who needs the practice and not you. Frequent interruptions from you can interfere with your child’s comprehension of the text and affect reading confidence and flow. A parent’s patience is a very big part of reading success for a kid!
Tip 3: Picture books
Picture books are great for beginners and intermediate readers when it comes to reading success for kids. Go through the pictures with your child before reading. This way your child gets a better understanding of what the story is about.
Repetition helps in teaching your child to love reading. After the first read, encourage your child to read the story again.
Tip 4: Again! Again!
After your child finishes a book, encourage the budding bookworm to read it again. The familiar text and story will help your child to read more smoothly the second time around, which will also increase their reading confidence.
Tip 5: Drama, drama, drama
We cannot emphasize enough how dramatizing and animating the story will help your child. From the lifts and lilts in your voice to the tone and big hand gestures, dramatization gives kids a better comprehension of the story more than just by them looking at the words.
Your impassioned reading will also encourage them to do the same in their own reading. If they emulate it and give their own animated reading, it shows that they really understand the words they are reading instead of just simple memorization.
For more on achieving reading success for kids, watch this video:
Article originally published on: theAsianparent.com
Did these 5 tips on how to motivate a child to read help you? If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the topic, please share them in our Comment box below.
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