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youngreadersFor most of us, summer is already here. Your child has survived the school year and is ready to move onto other things – video games, camp outs, vacation, sleeping in late, etc. However, if your child struggles with reading, your child cannot afford to completely take the summer off. Following are tips I have compiled based on my experiences encouraging my own children, teaching struggling readers, and gathering advice from reading coaches. These reading strategies can also be utilized with children who do not struggle but who need to maintain their reading level throughout the summer (marked by an asterisk *), and they can be implemented once school is back in session.

Visit the Library *

Whether it be virtual or in-person, visit the library periodically. While I advocate collecting books, I also understand that purchasing books is costly. Plus, visiting the library can be a pleasant experience in and of itself, like a “mini-cation.” Better public libraries reach out to the community and have kid-friendly and teen-oriented events.

Find a Book/Magazine/Comic/Manga That Interests Your Child

The most reluctant readers must be goaded into reading. They usually insist that they hate reading and have no interests. With all the content being published, there is something for everyone. Please note that you may have to work your way up to books by using magazines, comic books, or mangas (Japanese comics – wildly popular with certain American audiences) to hook your child. These items count as reading and should not be overlooked when working with struggling readers. If your child takes interest in a book right off the bat, then all the better.

Take inventory of what excites your child. Younger children may enjoy magazines geared for younger kids; you can search for titles online. There are also several magazines geared to pre-teens and teens about an array of topics, from simply being teens to outdoor living. Children interested in superheroes can turn to comic books. If your child enjoys watching anime, such as Pokemon, Yugi-Oh, Dragonball Z, Naruto etc., then turn to manga. (Anime is the Japanese equivalent of cartoons and is usually based off manga; there are a plethora of shows to choose from. Just be wary that some anime and manga are adult-oriented rather than kid-friendly.)

Another trick is to search for reading material similar to a book your child expressed interest in. If your child (unsurprisingly) claims that he/she has never liked a book, then do a search based off a favorite movie or TV show. Children who enjoy crime shows will take to a mystery book, or those who like scary movies will find an endless supply of zombie, vampire, and ghost books. Bonus points if you can find a series that draws in your child.

Set Time Aside to Read *

Once daily or at least three times a week, set aside a quiet time for your child to read. You can take advantage of this time to either read yourself or complete a project that requires concentration, unless you have to assist your child with reading.

If you set apart a similar time each day you do this, you will quickly establish a routine for reading. The best time to set this time is anytime that a child could use a cooling off period, such as before nap time or bed time. (Older children obviously will not have a nap time.) For especially stubborn readers, you could use reading time as leverage – no TV, games, friends, etc. until the reading is done for the day. I do not recommend exceeding 30 minutes unless the child gets into the book and wants to continue.

Keep a Reading Log *

If your child can read longer books that take an extended time to complete, require that he or she maintain a reading log. You can search for a generic log online or create one yourself. The reading log should include the following columns: date, title of book, pages read, and notes about the pages read. An alternative to the notes section would be that you discuss the content that your child read, but you must be consistent and vigilant. The point of this method is to hold your child accountable for what he/she has read and to help him/her keep fresh. This is especially helpful for students who have a difficult time recalling details.

Keep a Reading Journal

For students who also wrangle with writing, and most struggling readers do, they could benefit from writing about what they read. Instead of requiring that your child simply keep a log, take it a step further and require that they journal. Each entry can be headed with the date and pages read, and the notes could summarize the most important details. Furthermore, challenge children to somehow interact with the text by choosing one of the methods below:

  1. Predict what they think will happen next.
  2. Connect an aspect of the book with another book/movie or with something/someone in real life that they are reminded of, such as a real person they know who resembles a character in the book.
  3. Research a component of the book and write about it. Look up information on the author, a location in the book, an event that took place that might reflect (or actually be) a real historical event, etc.
  4. Pick a few words that interest them and look up their definitions. Copy the sentences that include the words and write new ones.

Get your child to vary the ways he/she interacts with the text. One should not always be predicting, for instance.

Read with Your Child *

Children who battle with fluency or who are still learning how to read will benefit from hearing someone else read the same text to them. Parents who either cannot read as well as they’d like or who simply do not have the time can instead turn to audio versions (just make sure you also have the actual text to accompany it). Do not allow your child to simply listen to the story, though. Instead, also require that he or she repeat the text back. It is best to do this in chunks, like for every page for smaller books or for every paragraph for longer books. When your child is reading, someone has to listen in order to catch the words that your child has trouble pronouncing and/or recognizing. For parents who have little time to spare, you can petition an older sibling (some bribery may be in order here), a babysitter, a tutor, or a volunteer. After some time, you should begin to notice that your child’s fluency is beginning to improve and possibly even mirror the fluency of the one reading to him or her.

Host a Book Club

Join in on the fun with your child! Pick up the same book and read along. This method works best with chapter books. Set up a reading schedule, like a chapter every few days (whatever fits your child’s reading pace best), and commit to meeting once a week or more to discuss what has been read. Choosing this technique will help hold your child accountable and also help motivate him or her to read. Furthermore, you will be able to catch any reading comprehension problems, like if your child did not accurately understand what happened. Go back to the book and re-read the trouble area with your child, explaining anything that caused confusion.

Offer Rewards *

To keep the momentum of reading going during the summer, offer rewards for a job well done. You should give these rewards during milestones, say anywhere from three to five over the entire summer. You should also stagger them, moving from a small reward to a bigger one. For instance, you can start with going to the ice cream shop, move to eating at a restaurant of the child’s choice, and end with going to a theme or state park of the child’s choice. You can also offer money in return and promise to take the child on a shopping trip. As for milestones, that depends on your child’s reading ability. For children who read smaller books, you can probably require that they read a larger amount, like anywhere from 25 to even 100. (Milestones would occur for every 5 books for 25, or every 25 books for 100. You are free to readjust however works best for you.) For children who are reading chapter books but who take longer to finish them, you should lower the amount to somewhere around 10. Get to know your child’s capabilities and keep your expectations reasonable.

While it is true that your child cannot expect to be rewarded for everything he or she does, it does not hurt to use rewards to motivate them and to thank them for committing to an activity that may be one of their biggest challenges. After all, reading is one of the most important skills that you can cultivate in your child.

Mrs. Filler, or Savage Fill to her students, has been teaching high school English for a decade. In...

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