These tips are from Dr. Abby. I have more posts on Reluctant Readers here.
Some reading strategies to get kids excited to read include:
Preview Books via Book Trailers (like Movie Trailers)
Create a Book Club for Your Child (more posts on Kid’s Book Club Meetings here)
Getting Reluctant Readers Interested in Reading
Dr. Abby advises:
1. Help them develop verbal skills by reading to them every night from the time they are born.
2. Talk to them when they are babies. It doesn’t matter what you say, just talk to them.
3. Find books they’re interested in such as anything by Richard Scarry, and series for boys such as Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Give them graphic novels, but be careful. What you want are abridged versions of good literature, not rewritten junk.
Also, be very careful about Manga, the Japanese comic books – most are not suitable for children under 16. Check with your local library for recommendations.
4. Be a good role model – always have a book going of your own. Tweens might be interested in a boy-and-dad or girl-and-mom book club. Pick a book you enjoyed as a child and read it with your son or daughter. Get together with other dads/moms and sons/daughters who have read the book to talk about it.
Abigail Norfleet James Ph.D. is the author of Teaching the Male Brain: How Boys Think, Feel, and Learn in School and Teaching the Female Brain: How Girls Learn Math & Science. She presents at education-related conferences around the world, most recently at Young, Drifting & Black in London in late June 2010, about how to help kids learn better in both single-sex and coed settings. Dr. Abby has also been invited to speak at the 2011 ACSD (formerly Assn. for Supervision and Curriculum Development) Conference – her presentation will be Gendered Education: How to teach girls and boys effectively in the same classroom. An expert in brain research and the real-world classroom, Dr. Abby’s groundbreaking work has helped schools in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa get real results for their students.
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p.s. Related posts:
Book Lists for Reluctant Readers
Funny Books for 3rd Grade Boy: Reluctant Reader Challenge
Are All Kids Reluctant Readers? Mine Are! And What to Do
From Reluctant Reader to Voracious Reader: What Worked for Me
How To: Get Reluctant Readers Who Can Decode Reading
The Middle School Reluctant Reader
Hi-Lo Books for Middle Readers
Top 10 Books for Struggling Teen Readers
Reading Challenge: 7th Grade Boy Who Hates Reading But Loves Skateboarding
Books for Kids Who Hate Reading
Reading Strategies for Kids Who Hate Reading
Partnered Reading Tutorial for Getting Reluctant Readers to Read
10 Books to Turn Reluctant Readers into Eager Ones!
Say It Ain’t So: My Child Is a Reluctant Reader
Books for 8yold Boy Reluctant Reader
Favorite Books for Reluctant Readers Grades 3-8
Writing for Reluctant Readers by Ty Drago
How to Train Your Dragon ebook for reluctant readers
Tips for Hooking Reluctant Readers
How to Get Your Kid to be a Fanatic Reader
Tips to Encourage Struggling Readers
How To: Raise a Reader and a Writer
NERDS: A series for Reluctant Readers
Great Books for Reluctant Boy Readers
Best Graphic Novels for Readers, Reluctant or Otherwise (ages 3-16)
Best Books for Boy Readers, Reluctant or Otherwise (ages 7-14): Part 2, Authors M-Z
Best Books for Boy Readers, Reluctant or Otherwise (ages 7-14): Part 1, Authors A-L
Best Books for Boy Readers, Reluctant or Otherwise: Part 3 (Non-Fiction)
Best Books for Boy Readers, Reluctant or Otherwise (ages 7-14)
Books for Reluctant Boy Readers
Top 5: Using Electronic Devices to Get Kids Reading
Appealing Non Fiction Book: 100 Most Disgusting Things on Planet (ages 4-12)
Book Trailers … to entice kids to read
Top 10: Best Audio Books for Kids (Some are FREE!)
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Great tips! As a teacher myself, I always found it was helpful to get reluctant readers to predict what would happen next in the story. Depending on their learning style preference, they might choose to tell me orally, draw a picture, write a song, etc., but whatever medium they chose, making the prediction made them invest a bit of themselves. They were eager to find out if they were right or not! Ellen Richard, M.Ed. http://www.letterlearning.com
To Ellen,
I love your idea about predicting the ending with many different ways to express it. You clearly are an amazing teacher! Thanks for sharing your great ideas!