How to get kids to love reading?
How to instill a love of reading in a child
The younger the child, the brighter and more colorful the illustrations and cover design should be, the larger the letters should be. Such a book will not only attract the child's attention but will also form artistic taste.
A motivated child wants to learn to read on his own, he has the desire and interest. Learning to read is a difficult and continuous process, and passion for books helps a child cope with the difficulties that arise. Motivation for reading in children is important when school begins. If a schoolchild does not develop an internal desire to read, learning to read and write will be problematic.
Reasons why children do not like reading
There are many reasons why a child does not want to read, and in certain cases, parents are to blame:
- Too early an age to get acquainted with books. At 3-4 years old, a child wants to play with toys, and not study letters and turn the pages of a book. Even the brightest picture book will attract his attention for only a few minutes.
- Parental pressure, punishment. A child will be interested in reading only if it is associated with a pleasant pastime. Coercion will provoke the opposite reaction: books will evoke negative emotions and memories in the schoolchild.
- Alternative exciting ways to spend time. We are talking about smartphones and similar gadgets that all children have today.
- Wide opportunities for obtaining information. Previously, a schoolchild or student had to sit for hours in libraries, study literature in order to prepare a term paper or an essay. Now there are many more sources of information, it is enough to visit several sites.
- Wrong parental example. If mom and dad never pick up a book, they spend their free time at the computer or TV, then the child will not understand why he should do something that others are not interested in.
- Other authorities in adolescence. Teenagers, considering themselves adults, ignore parental and pedagogical influence, are more interested in the opinions of their peers. A teenager will want to read if he is surrounded by the right company, when friends love reading, study diligently.
Why it was easier for past generations of children to instill a love of reading
- Children of past generations were taught that reading is an activity for smart people, an effective method to know more, to become a first-class specialist in the future. Every schoolchild at that time aspired to be smart.
- Previously, people got information from books and newspapers. At family feasts and evening tea parties, they discussed what they had read, shared hot newspaper gossip. Now you can often see how each member of the family sits with their noses in a smartphone. There is an abundance of information, but there is nothing to talk about.
- Previously, a book was one of the coolest gifts. Every child was happy when he was given an encyclopedia or a colorful collection of fairy tales.
- Reading was the main entertainment for children, in addition to toys. Children's interest in literature began to decline just when the first computer games and Sony Play Station consoles appeared. Libraries had to fight for the attention of the younger generation with computers, and they lost.
Useful books for children
How to know if a child is ready to learn to read
- desire for learning, formed motivation, positive emotions during classes;
- attempts to read and write letters - turning pages of a book, scribbling on paper;
- attentive and enthusiastic listening to the story that the parent is reading, memorizing it and the ability to retell it at least in general terms;
- awareness of what a book is, how to use it, how to turn pages;
- interest in letters, their recognition, identification with surrounding objects and associative perception;
- distinction between sounds being read, development of understanding of the phonetic structure of words;
- development of speech skills, and it is necessary to take into account how minimal pronunciation defects and errors in composing the syllabic structure of texts are.
- To teach a child to read, it is necessary to observe the stages of training. At the first stage, when the baby is 2-3 years old, you need to train imaginative thinking. The simplest method is to read fairy tales to your child, look at and discuss the illustrations with him. A little later, from the age of 4, the alphabet is introduced, and you can begin teaching sounds and letters. From the age of 5, your child can already read words and even short phrases, and discuss what he has read.
Methods for stimulating interest in reading
- ask about the child's preferences, buy books that will be interesting for him;
- tell about the book approvingly, express positive emotions from reading;
- talk with your child about what right feelings the book evokes;
- discuss the plot you read;
- also read regularly.
Finish reading on your own - Kassil's method
The method of the Soviet educational psychologist Iskra Borisovna Daunis
The old trick method
The Forbidden Fruit Method
How else to stimulate interest in reading
- Organize a library at home with at least a small number of books, it should not gather dust;
- Read aloud to your small child every day;
- Create increased interest - do not read a book to the end one day, but postpone reading until tomorrow;
- Discuss each new character with your child - let the preschooler try to find similarities and differences with his character;
- Install a book app on your child's smartphone - let the preschooler use the gadget for reading, if it is more convenient for him.
Recommendations from teachers and librarians
- use audiobooks - they help develop correct pronunciation;
- make a quiet and cozy place for reading at home;
- translate book plots into reality, for example, after reading the fairy tale "The Three Bears", take your child to the zoo, let him see real bears;
- watch film adaptations of children's books you have read with the whole family;
- keep books not on high shelves, but in places accessible to the child;
- take your preschooler to the library, tell him how to navigate the institution, let him get acquainted with its organization and atmosphere;
- ask your child to read the ingredients in culinary recipes, helping you cook;
- organize a reading club by inviting your child's friends over;
- give books so that the child understands that this is a good gift.
- When to start reading? From an early age, before the age of three. Read daily, at home, on a trip, on vacation, if the child's mood allows it. If the child is capricious, try to calm him down by reading. Reward the child for good behavior with an interesting book story.
- How to read correctly? Expressively, clearly, changing the timbre depending on the character, with the study of illustrations. An excellent motivation for reading in children is to act out plays based on the plot of books, to recite interesting passages by heart. A preschooler should choose books to read himself.
- What books to read? With a focus on the age category of the preschooler. For children under three years old, books must be illustrated. Older preschoolers and schoolchildren can choose any literature, but their personal library must have encyclopedic publications, not only prose, but also poetry. The text must be clear and high-quality.