20 Ways to Encourage Reading

1. Scout for things your children might like to read. Use their interests and hobbies as starting points.
2. Leave all sorts of reading materials including books, magazines, and colorful catalogs in conspicuous places around your home.
3. Notice what attracts your children's attention, even if they only look at the pictures. Then build on that interest; read a short selection aloud, or simply bring home more information on the same subject.
4. Let your children see you reading for pleasure in your spare time.
5. Take your children to the library regularly. Explore the children's section together. Ask a librarian to suggest books and magazines your children might enjoy.
6. Present reading as an activity with a purpose; a way to gather useful information for, say, making paper airplanes, identifying a doll or stamp in your child's collection, or planning a family trip.
7. Encourage older children to read to their younger brothers and sisters. Older children enjoy showing off their skills to an admiring audience.
8. Play games that are reading-related. Check your closet for spelling games played with letter tiles or dice, or board games that require players to read spaces, cards, and directions.
9. Perhaps over dinner, while you're running errands, or in another informal setting, share your reactions to things you read, and encourage your children to do likewise.
10. Set aside a regular time for reading in your family, independent of schoolwork, the 20 minutes before lights out, just after dinner, or whatever fits into your household schedule. As little as 10 minutes of free reading a day can help improve your child's skills and habits.
11. Read aloud to your child, especially a child who is discouraged by his or her own poor reading skills. The pleasure of listening to you read, rather than struggling alone, may restore your child's initial enthusiasm for books and reading.
12. Encourage your child to read aloud to you an exciting passage in a book, an interesting tidbit in the newspaper, or a joke in a joke book. When children read aloud, don't feel they have to get every word right. Even good readers skip or mispronounce words now and then.
13. On gift-giving occasions, give books and magazines based on your child's current interests.
14. Set aside a special place for children to keep their own books.
15. Introduce the bookmark. Remind your youngster that you don't have to finish a book in one sitting; you can stop after a few pages, or a chapter, and pick up where you left off at another time. Don't try to persuade your child to finish a book he or she doesn't like. Recommend putting the book aside and trying another.
16. Treat your children to an evening of laughter and entertainment featuring books! Many children (parents, too) regard reading as a serious activity. A joke book, a story told in riddles, or a funny passage read aloud can reveal another side of reading.
17. Extend your child's positive reading experiences. For example, if your youngster enjoyed a book about dinosaurs, follow up with a visit to a natural history museum.
18. Offer other special incentives to encourage your child's reading. Allow your youngster to stay up an extra 15 minutes to finish a chapter; promise to take your child to see a movie after he or she has finished the book on which it was based; relieve your child of a regular chore to free up time for reading.
19. Limit your children's TV viewing in an effort to make time for other activities, such as reading. But never use TV as a reward for reading, or a punishment for not reading.
20. Not all reading takes place between the covers of a book. What about menus, road signs, food labels, and sheet music? Take advantage of countless spur-of-the-moment opportunities for reading during the course of your family's busy day.


Source: RIF Parent Guide.

Tips For Choosing Good Books.

Children’s reading interests and needs change as they grow.

Here are some basic things to look for as you help kids choose good books.

INFANTS AND TODDLERS (BIRTH TO AGE 2)

• Books with big, bright, colorful pictures of familiar objects.
• Durable books made of cardboard,plastic, or washable cloth. These books are usually a good size and shape for small children to handle.
• Books that appeal to their senses, suchas fabric books, books with textures, and books with scents. Stories told in short, simple sentences with pictures that explain the text.
• Poems and rhymesthat are fun forparents to read aloud.

PRESCHOOLERS (AGES 3 TO 5)

• Illustrations and photos that are clear, colorful, and engaging.
• Simple, fun plots. The action should move quickly, so each book can be read in one sitting.
• Lively rhymes and repetition that childrencan repeat and remember.
• Stories about everyday life and events.The stories should encourage childrento ask questions and explore their world.
• Stories that review basic concepts, such as letters, numbers, shapes, and colors.
• Main characters who are your child’s age or slightly older.Playful animals, both real andimaginary, willalso hold a child’s attention.

YOUNG READERS (AGES 6 TO 11)

• Clear text that is easy to read.
• Colorful, attractive illustrations and photosthat bring the text to life and give cluesto the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Books that appeal to your child’s interests.
• “How-to,” craft, and recipe books with clear, simply worded instructions and helpful illustrations.
• Other books by your child’s favorite authors and illustrators.
• Books with your child’s favorite characters.
• Stories your child enjoyed hearing when he or she was younger. These are great books for children to begin reading on their own.
• Books that encourage discussion.
• Chapter books that can be read over several days instead of in one sitting.

ADOLESCENTS (AGES 12 AND UP)

• Books about subjects that interestyour child.
• Novels that might help your child cope with daily challenges of growing up by featuring characters dealingwith similar experiences.
• Books that introduce new experiences and opportunities.
• Fact books, such as world recordbooks, trivia books, and almanacs.
• Biographies, classics, folk tales, historical fiction, and mythology.

Quick Tip!
Knowing how to choose good books is a skill your children will keep for the rest of their lives. Take time to show them how. Encourage them to select books on their own as soon as they show preferences.