Tips for Parents of Reluctant Readers
We know that reading every night is critical to students’ success as readers. What can parents do to get their child excited about reading each night at home?
Tip 1: Get cozy!
Set up a special cozy spot for your child at home. It can include a favorite stuffed animal, blanket, bin of “just right” books, post-it notes, bookmarks, special pens, etc. This spot should be reserved for reading time to help ensure this is a special time of the day.
Tip 2: Share the Reading!
Second graders still love to be read to! Make this a special time of the evening that involves reading together with your child. Parents can be great models of fluent and expressive reading! To ensure your child gets some reading practice too, try buddy reading (taking turns reading a page or a chapter).
Tip 3: chat about reading!
Chat with your child about what he/she is reading before and after the book. Keep the tone light and conversational. Second graders may enjoy discussing:
- What part did you like best? Why? Can you find that part in the book?
- Can you retell the story in your own words?
- Who were the main characters? What was the setting?
- Can you name the problem and solution?
- What was the most important part of the story? Can you find that part in the book?
If you’re reading together, let your child come up with some questions to ask you as well!
Tip 4: Set Goals!
Second graders love to set and reach goals. For some students, reading may need to feel like a goal-oriented activity. Before reading, ask your child to set a goal for the night or week. Try asking: How many pages/chapters/books do you think you can read well? Let your child add a tally or star to a chart for each page, chapter or book he or she reads towards the goal. Be careful not to tie extrinsic rewards to the goal whenever possible. We want students to know that reading is its own reward!
(Mrs. Piccirillo is happy to send home a Reading Log if you want)
Tip 5: Provide choice!
We know that one of the biggest motivators for any activity is choice! When it comes to reading time, it can be motivating to provide your child with controlled choices, such as:
- What do you want to read first?
- Where do you want to read tonight?
- Do you want to read first or get into your pajamas first?
- Do you want to read to a stuffed animal or your little sister?
These choices may help your reader to feel in control of reading time.
Tip 6: Mark the spot!
A skill that second grade readers practice is marking spots in their books with post-its. Readers mark spots for many reasons, including interesting parts, confusing parts, funny parts, parts that are worth rereading, and parts that give us new thinking. Using post-it notes can be very motivating for some second grade readers. (Tip: If you find your child goes overboard with post-it noting, try handing out just 3-4 post-its each night.,) Be sure to discuss these spots of the book with your child after he/she is finished reading!