Tips for getting child to read

desdemona01

Do you ever read to your son? Even at his age children love being ng read to. I used to work in a high school and part of my role was listening to them read to improve their literacy. I found many were reluctant to read out loud to me so I used to suggest that I would read to them and then perhaps they would read the last few lines of a paragraph. I often found that very quickly the student would progress to reading to me. It also helps to talk about the story, characters or events as well. This shows that they have actually understood what they are reading. Hope that helps.

Anoneemoose

Thanks everyone. We’ll have a go at some of the suggestions.

pandora205

I'd second the try reading to him approach and would suggest you get hold of some material that is age appropriate in content but with easier reading levels, to encourage fluency and understanding. Barrington Stoke publish really good books for a variety of levels (including easy readers for teens) and are very popular. On the website it gives not just the interest level but also the reading level. For a reluctant reader I'd suggest going down (a bit) for the reading level but choosing something age appropriate content wise. The most important thing is reading should be fun when it is for pleasure (not a chore).
https://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/product-category/8-12s/

Spendless

My son was the same, though at a younger age than yours is. The way he started becoming interested was by reading non-fiction books, whereas I'd tried and tried to find fiction he enjoyed. Horrible History books he liked very much and then when he got older he enjoyed the Percy Jackson series because they combined fiction with mythology.

silvercar

We also used non-fiction books to encourage my second son to read. Encourage him to pick books from the library.

suejb2

My d.s like myself won't read fiction. I agree with another poster saying it's just words will your son be more interested in nonfiction. Guiness book of records comes to mind

Anoneemoose

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Go back to the school and ask exactly what makes him 'below national average' with his comprehension.

If they are using some kind of SATs comprehension test (which I suspect they are) then these can be very misleading about someone's comprehension of a text.

It is not clear whether your son can actually read or has difficulty with reading or can read but is not understanding the 'nuances' of text.

You need to ask the teacher to be more specific.

It is not unusual for children of his age to have difficulty understanding/comprehending some forms of text and it could be that he can read but does not have experience of 'interpreting' text.

The reason I say this is because reading in itself doesn't necessarily help with comprehending. Children do need to have some 'expressions' explained to them and questions asked about what they are reading.

Some children are excellent at deciphering words but have no idea of comprehending what those words are actually saying/meaning.

I fear I am not explaining myself very well!

Do go back to the teacher and ask for some examples about his lack of comprehension. This will at least give you a clue as to what the problem actually is. Since your son is very good at spelling I suspect that his reading is fine, hence the need for clarification about his comprehension.

And try not to worry. There are children (boys in particular) who show very little interest in reading. You have to find something to make him want to read. Comics are good. Tin Tin books are great. Information books are great - instructions to make things - you get the idea.

But in the end it may take years (or never) for someone to want to read. Some adults never read books yet they survive and manage quite well. Not everyone becomes an avid reader. As long as you can read everything you need to live/get on with your life then there will be no problem.

PS And 'going on' about it will make things a hundred times worse (I am sure you know this!)

I’ve only just seen this, even though my last post was after it. Thanks for such a detailed response. I think you could be right about it not being about his ability to read, more his understanding of what he’s reading and being able to articulate that.

I only found out he had issues in his latest report, given 2 days before the end of term. It was written as this:

“Little Anon must continue to work on his comprehension skills - his recent test results put him well below the national average. He must use the strategies taught in class to help him find answers. Although his basic understanding remains good, it is in his understanding of text and language structures that his performance has really dipped.”

It annoyed me that they left it until 2 days before they broke up for the summer holidays to mention it, particularly because it was ‘well below national average’ - and when I spoke to his teacher to say I was concerned, he was a bit lacking and ineffectual with his response. The only thing he said was to encourage reading.

We get a weekly newsletter via email from school and they regularly mention reading. We’re supposed to fill a reading record in when he’s finished a book, but it’s taking him ages. I got a set of Dr Seuss ones a while ago and he started one of those. However, he’s still hardly done any and they’re only relatively small!


I’ve not really read to him for a while..I have offered, but he’s not bothered. I may try and be a bit more persuasive with this though. Nothing beats cuddling up - and you can definitely do that with a book.

Edited to add...regarding the reading record - I always feel guilty that he doesn't fill his in as quickly as others, but you’re right, I really don’t want to make it a chore.

We always talk about things too - including random things - just the other day we were talking about teapots and tea cosies!! :-D My point being that we engage in conversation. I find the best time for that is in tne car on the way to/from school and in the kitchen on a morning when his sister’s gone to school and his dad’s gone to work.

Anoneemoose

suejb2 wrote: »

My d.s like myself won't read fiction. I agree with another poster saying it's just words will your son be more interested in nonfiction. Guiness book of records comes to mind

Excellent idea. Fact books with text and pictures might help keep his interest. I have noticed he likes to see pictures of what he’s writing about if we’re fact finding or anything.

Savvy_Sue

Anoneemoose wrote: »

I wonder if comics might help, if you can still get them, that is!

Both comics, and comic books: eg Asterix, Tin Tin etc.

Spendless wrote: »

My son was the same, though at a younger age than yours is. The way he started becoming interested was by reading non-fiction books, whereas I'd tried and tried to find fiction he enjoyed. Horrible History books he liked very much and then when he got older he enjoyed the Percy Jackson series because they combined fiction with mythology.

These are good suggestions: finding what he'll enjoy is key.

I had three boys, DS1 and DS2 were never without a book but for DS3 it was very much a case of 'is there SERIOUSLY nothing else I can do?'

He now reads SF and history, and I have a classic photo of him when he was doing his A levels. It was just after Christmas, he'd asked for and been given a vary large Chemistry text book. His brothers were ice skating, the rest of us were sitting at the rinkside and watching: he had his nose stuck in his new chemistry text book ...

So, don't panic, but do, as suggested, find out what the actual problem is, and see if you can find something he'll enjoy reading.

trailingspouse

As a Primary Teacher many many years ago, it was always a given that boys seem to prefer non-fiction books with 'chunks' of text rather than full pages of writing. And it was certainly true of my son. What's he in to? Books/magazines related to his interests is certainly one thing to try. But the main thing is 'reading mileage' - so anything and everything is 'good'.
Every generation seems to have a book or series of books that 'get them reading' - whether it was Swallows and Amazons, or the Famous Five, or the Chronicles of Narnia, or Harry Potter. So watch out for books that are 'in' at the moment, or books linked to TV programs/films that he's enjoyed.