Reading is a vital skill, opening doors to knowledge, imagination, and personal growth. Yet, not everyone takes to reading naturally. Some often referred to as reluctant readers, find reading challenging or unappealing.
If you have a reluctant reader in your life, whether it's a child, teenager, or even an adult, don't worry. There are many effective strategies to foster a love for reading. In this blog post, we share 5 of the best ways to help your child fall in love with reading.
But first lets discuss some of the ways to make sure you have a reluctant reader; some are behavioral, emotional, performance and social.
- Behavioral indicators: Does you little one avoid reading at all costs? Do they easily get distracted, frustrated, have a negative attitude about reading, procrastinate on reading or put minimal effort towards reading? These are commonplace amongst reluctant readers, a call to reevaluate your methods.
- Physical Indicators: Pay attention to your child's body language during reading. Do they cross their arms, avoid eye contact or become restless? Its easy to tell the difference compared to when its an activity they are excited about.
- Performance indicators: They might be struggling to recall what they've read, use expanded vocabulary or struggle to decode words/apply phonics teachings therefore they take longer than usual to finish a book. This will often cause them to resist the idea of reading. Do they avoid talking about the books they read? Or frequently turn in incomplete or poorly done reading assignments? Often, reluctant readers are embarrassed about their struggles and don't want to let anyone know that they're having difficulty.
- Social, emotional or psychological indicators: Are there signs of frustration or anxiety at idea of reading? Do they express a lack of confidence in their reading abilities? have you noticed they avoid reading aloud in class to avoid comparison with peers and prefer solitary activities over group reading or book-related discussions?
Despite all these, do not despair. Recognizing and addressing the needs of reluctant readers early can significantly impact their overall attitude towards reading and improve their literacy skills over time. Here are five ways to help a reluctant reader discover the joy of reading.
- Provide choice and work with their interests: Allowing them to choose books that interest them to increase engagement and letting them read aloud to you is a great way to start. If your child is interested in tractors, then find books about tractors. If your child loves dinosaurs, then find books about dinosaurs. By finding age appropriate books that interest your child, you will be more likely to keep their attention and help them improve their reading skills. You may want to start with shorter or picture texts, comics, magazines or articles to build confidence.
- Create an inviting reading environment routine: Transform a cozy corner of your home or classroom into a vibrant reading nook. Fill it with cushions, blankets, and a basket of engaging books. This special space will invite your child to escape into different worlds and adventures. Reluctant readers can also be helped by creating a reading routine. Start by letting them choose a book from a selection of age appropriate books. Sit with them and read it over first. Allow them to read as thoroughly as they want, or ask them to read every other word. Making reading social, fun and interesting for them will aid them in feeling more at ease with books. If they are open to the idea, engage them in local book clubs for children.
- Leverage the power of interactive activities including digital resources: Incorporating interactive and multimedia resources related to the reading material is a fun and relevant way to engage reluctant readers. If we have readers who struggle with the process of reading, audiobooks are a fantastic tool to help take the pressure off. Audiobooks are such a wonderful tool because they’re low pressure, entertaining, and can be used so many different ways
- Be a reading role model: Having adults who model positive reading behaviors is vital. Show your children that reading is a lifelong adventure. Share your favorite books, read together, and let them see you enjoying a good book. Your enthusiasm will be contagious and inspire them to pick up a book more often. Read for different purposes, model your thinking by showing comprehension as you read but note that you do not need to be a perfect reading model. They need to see that we, too, at times struggle with reading. We might misread a word or lose track of our thought process and forget what we’ve read. What struggling readers need to see is what we do in response to these things happening. This empowers the struggling reader with strategies for when this happens to them.
- Provide positive reinforcement: Providing positive reinforcement, encouragement, praise and reward for small reading achievements will go a long way. Be sure to point out when they are making progress with their reading skills. This will help motivate them to keep trying and eventually master the skill of reading.
Over and above these, one of the best ways to improve reading skills for reluctant readers is to use a subscription service like Happier Every Chapter. Each month, we curate unforgettable books on a variety of topics accompanied by aligned resources gifts to make unboxing exciting.
Our bookshop is also packed full of exciting reads in various collections: Social Situations, Nature and the Natural World, Family etc etc
