Get Kids Reading: 10 Ideas that Actually Work
In my classroom, I have so many parents tell me “I have done everything I can think of, but my child just doesn’t want to read.” I am here to tell you to carry on soldier; you are not alone. In the world today, there are more distractions than ever and kids not caring about books is a legitimate problem. If you are a teacher or parent out there feeling like you have tried everything you can think of to encourage reading, but sports, TV, iPads, etc. all get in the way… you are in good company. Here are 10 ideas that actually work to get kids reading and off those screens!
1. Keep Track of the Books you Read
It is now easier than ever to track the books your child reads. I think Goodreads is one of the best ideas of the century. What is phenomenal is that you can use that iPad in your favor with an app called Book Crawler. This app enables you to scan all of the books your child is reading (or wants to read). You can keep track of the number so that you can win prizes from libraries, bookstores, Pizza Hut, school, etc. There are hundreds of places your child can send or bring in their book list and feel the immediate gratification of winning something.
With Book Crawler, you can scan books (saving loads of time), find the book you want at the closest bookstore/library, and keep track of books you bought (yes, having little people means you forget immediately:). With Book Crawler, you can also connect your Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter account to share books you and your child love.
For children 0-5, a huge movement called 1,000 Books before Kindergarten which is available at almost every library in America now. They too have their own app for tracking books. The community of the book sharing world will inspire both of you.
2. Make Books Accessible
Parents/Caregivers who read to their child and provide literacy rich environment from birth will ensure that by the time their child reaches 3rd grade, they will be proficiently reading ANY text given to them in school.
If you don’t have many books in your home, there is the place to start. This doesn’t mean spending a house payment on books; the easiest and cheapest way to fill your home with books is to get a library card. Books should be front and center in each and every room.
Fill each room (including bathrooms) with interesting and beautiful books. When we lived in West Africa, we bought tons of handmade woven baskets that make perfect places to put books in a corner:). Take kids on a fun field trip or virtual field trip and then have reading materials to encourage further reading.
Bonus: place journals and writing utensils next to the books; this way they can read or create something to read for others.
3. Learn about a Different Culture
The first time my husband and my mother in law put pigs feet on my plate for Sunday dinner, I had to take deep breaths in order to keep a straight face. I had no idea it was such a favorite in the South. It was certainly never served when I was growing up in California. Sometimes you are able to travel and meet people different than you are in real life. Our story of raising multiracial kids is a LOT of compromise and discussions about the differences in our cultural backgrounds.
Books can serve as the bridge to build empathy and knowledge about different cultures and race. Ignorance can be harmful to any child’s future and reading books that highlight strong characters from other cultures is vital as a young and impressionistic child develops reading and critical thinking skills. You can learn about food, holidays, religions, etc. through books and have a fabulous reading experience with kids.
Click HERE for a great list of multicultural books.
4. Choose Books from Movies
So very many of the popular children’s/young adult books are being made into movies. This gives you an easy way to connect a special outing with a book. Going to the movie theater or renting a movie on iTunes can be followed by reading the book together.
For example, with my 6-year-old, we watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (while eating gobstoppers), and now we read one chapter aloud either during dinner or bath time. She loves it and keeps saying “remember in the movie when ____”. This book might have otherwise been a little challenging, but because she has a visual of the characters and plot from the movie, she is able to soak in so many details. To get you started, click HERE for a list of 50 books that have been made into movies.
5. Take Away the Words
When I was learning the Turkmen language, my teacher started without text on the page. She used the pictures from Frog and Toad series and we had to make up our own story using descriptive sentences. Reluctant readers can make up stories for their favorite books. This will also inspire a child’s imagination which in today’s world is desperately needed.
Asking questions while a child “reads” a book can also be very engaging as your child is not intimidated by having the “right answer”. Because your child is making up the story as they go, they will feel more open to responding to comprehension questions you ask.
You can use any book with text by covering up the words. However, for a great list of wordless picture books, click HERE. (My personal favorite is Zoom by Istvan Banyai where readers play a fun game to guess what the picture is from mysterious landscapes of pictures within pictures.)
6. Make Food from the Book Theme
Making spaghetti and meatballs after reading Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs… yes please!! The possibilities are endless here. Dinner time is often overlooked as potential reading time with the family. Whether is a chapter from a favorite series, or a simple picture book, you can really engage your blooming bookworms with this strategy.
The most amazing website I have found that is full of creative ideas such as Sleepy Hollow slap jacks and Harry Potter peppermint toads, click HERE.
(Bonus: Tips on how to teach reading through cooking, click HERE.)
7. Make Your Own Books
You may have been inspired already to make a special reading corner at school or at home. If so, I want to encourage you to take it one step further. Set up a writing and art center or just a box in the reading corner will encourage kids to make books, posters, or collages with their own pictures and writing. I have seen proof each year in my classrooms and with my own child that kids absolutely love to read things they’ve written themselves. They love to proudly share their creations with family and friends.
My students always grabbed our classroom books that I had simply bound or just tied together with a piece of yarn full of their classmate’s stories and poems first. Having journals and writing utensils next to favorite books will definitely inspire your young reader to be the author as well.
8. Give Kids a Book Challenge
9. Be a Reading Role Model
10. Choose Books Intentionally
Also, be sure not to tell children the book they chose is “too hard or too easy” EVERY time. I read books that are too hard or too easy for me to fit my current mood all the time. Airplane books I take with me are too easy; research books and classic literature books are often “too hard”. They take a very long time to get through even with the help of a dictionary. They should be choosing “just right” books the majority of the time. However, every now and then, let them indulge in books that are too easy/too hard.
I hope you find inspiration or something new from this list. Please feel free to share in the comments with strategies you use at home or in the classroom. Let’s get kids motivated and find the joy in reading!
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07/14/2017 @ 1:20 pm
Great reading tips! I can’t wait for my kids to start reading so I can introduce them to all the books I loved as a child.
07/14/2017 @ 9:25 pm
I love it Katie! Generations of readers is music to my ears!
07/13/2017 @ 11:23 am
I adore reading and both my boys are bookworms as well… nothing better than curling up with a great book!!!
07/13/2017 @ 12:09 pm
I love connecting with other families whose favorite activity is to curl up with books. It can be in your living room, on an airplane, or in a foreign country.. doesn’t matter where you are. The books are there to bond with those you love. Thank you so much for commenting!
07/13/2017 @ 8:14 am
Do you have any thoughts on keeping teenagers engaged in reading? My daughter’s always been an avid reader, but I can’t get her to read new books! She reads her old ones over and over again. Should I be trying to change that or just roll with it?!
07/13/2017 @ 10:46 am
I love that you have created such a bookworm, you can’t get her to stop. Kudos mama. That is what I want for my little girls when they are teenagers!! I don’t see a problem with reading the old ones at all. However, I would use cultural experiences/traveling to peak an interest in new books. For example, we always buy books as souvenirs when we travel to a new national park/museum/restaurant/city//country, etc. We also seek out local book festivals where they give away (or sell) many books and the authors are there to sign them. Nothing like meeting the person who wrote the book to get you to open it right!:) Exposing her to diverse and multicultural events may give her a reason to widen her book enthusiasm. I wouldn’t push hard since she IS reading. But subtlety encouraging broadening her horizons through food, music, traveling, languages will help her see another perspective and she will be more inclined to read more about it. Great question and thank you so much for stopping by to comment!!!
07/13/2017 @ 1:50 am
I pinned this for future reference. I love all the ideas you have to go beyond just reading the story and making it a full experience!
07/13/2017 @ 10:07 am
Thank you Kristin! I am so happy this is helpful to you!! I hope you and your bookworms have a ton of fun!
07/12/2017 @ 1:35 pm
great ideas! Making your own books seems like a great idea
07/12/2017 @ 2:59 pm
Thanks Ryan! Such a fun way to turn the reading time on its head and be the author!
04/23/2017 @ 9:15 pm
A fab list! I love reading and am so pleased I’ve passed this on to my two boys! I feel pretty lucky they do but know I have to keep working at it to keep their interest so these tips are great!
04/25/2017 @ 12:31 am
You are lucky but you as their reading role model is a wonderful gift you are giving them! Keep up the good work mama! Thanks for commenting!
04/23/2017 @ 12:48 pm
This is great post.
The important flag for me is ‘be a reader yourself’. I always used to read voraciously, but with children and work etc, it never seemed to be on the top of the ‘to do’ list. I also couldn’t persuade them to just pick up a book for fun.
When we eventually went on holiday, I took a pile of books and actually started reading them. the children were actually shocked at first, but the effect was almost instant, and they both started to pick up books to read for fun.
04/25/2017 @ 12:28 am
Amazing what can happen when you get them to actually open the book. That is the hardest part for sure!! Happy reading to all of you! Thanks for commenting!!
04/23/2017 @ 8:14 am
These are great! My daughter is just wanting to start to learn to read, so I will have to check back on this list often! We read books all the time and have so many they can choose from, and I think this is a good reason why she wants to learn to read so early!
04/25/2017 @ 12:27 am
You are just wetting her appetite by reading all those books! That is so great to hear!! I have a free eBook available for making your read aloud even more magical plus a list of over 500 books I love and adore that I read with my emerging reader kids! https://www.biracialbookworms.com/ebook-page/
Thanks for commenting!
04/23/2017 @ 5:03 am
I love the idea of making food form the book theme and the characters! What a fun way to make the book memorable and help comprehension! I also agree with the idea of having the kids make their own books. I have made class books in my kindergarten class and made a copy for each student to read during their quiet or partner reading time, and they love it! You are never too young to be an author!!
04/25/2017 @ 12:24 am
100% agree! Never too young! When you make reading enjoyable, kids can never get enough! Thanks for commenting!
04/22/2017 @ 10:40 pm
I’ve always been grateful that my parents worked as hard as they did to read to me (ever since I was a baby), take me to the library and tell me stories. I wasn’t able to read until late…but as soon as I learned, I became one of the top readers in my class! Now, it isn’t unusual for our whole family to be reading books some nights! 😉
04/25/2017 @ 12:23 am
That is wonderful! Family literacy is so critical! It’s a gift that your kids will treasure forever! Thanks for commenting!
02/18/2017 @ 12:05 pm
Very helpful article. Thanks for sharing. My daughter loves reading stories.
http://www.learn2livefully.om
02/18/2017 @ 12:12 pm
Happy to hear you have a little bookworm!! Thanks for commenting!
02/17/2017 @ 8:45 pm
These are awesome tips! I love celebrating an author’s birthday. Never would’ve thought of that, but it’s a sure way to get kids interested in an author!
02/18/2017 @ 12:12 am
So glad you found this article helpful! Thanks for commenting!
02/17/2017 @ 3:06 pm
Very informative article! I never heard of World Book Day but now I want to celebrate it!
02/17/2017 @ 3:08 pm
Very happy to virtually celebrate with you!! Enjoy! Thanks for commenting!
02/16/2017 @ 11:35 pm
These are great ideas! We are already reading to Clara, even though shes only a month old, in the hope that she will develop a love for books and reading.
02/17/2017 @ 2:57 am
Clara is a lucky girl! Cheers to you mama!! Thanks for commenting!
02/15/2017 @ 10:27 pm
Love the idea of making food from the story. We are a family of book lovers and I love to cook so this would be a win win! Thanks for the big idea
02/15/2017 @ 11:42 pm
Cooking as a family based on a book is so much fun… Hope your little bookworms continue to find new ways to dive into books! Thanks for commenting!!
01/13/2017 @ 8:04 pm
Great advice! Totally keeping this in mind. I hope my kids become as avid readers as their parents!
01/13/2017 @ 11:06 pm
Consistency is the key right?! One day at a time and no doubt your littles will follow your lead! Thanks for commenting!!
01/11/2017 @ 11:51 am
These are all such great ideas! We read with our kids every nights and are now encouraging them to pick up books themselves. They’re both 3 years old so were just at the beginning stages but i’ll save this list.
01/11/2017 @ 11:57 am
So glad it was helpful to you! Cheers to you getting your kids started young! They will appreciate it their whole lives!! Happy Reading!
01/10/2017 @ 6:41 pm
This article is timely as I have been attempting to think of some ways to get my niece and nephew involved in reading. Thanks for the article.
01/10/2017 @ 7:17 pm
So glad I could help. Sometimes we all draw a blank; so nice to have cyberspace in those moments!:) Happy reading to the three of you!
01/09/2017 @ 8:02 pm
I love these. We have a suitcase in the living room full of books that the kids love, like Mo Willems’ Pigeon series. We’ve found that reading out loud to the kids, especially when they’re little, helps them stay interested in books when they start getting a little older.
01/09/2017 @ 8:09 pm
Mo Willems is a favorite in our house too! I convinced adults to read with my daughter with the hilarious Pigeon books! And I love that you use a suitcase. Such a great metaphor and a wonderful decorating strategy. We keep our passports out for the same reason. Travel is life! Thanks for commenting!!
01/09/2017 @ 5:07 pm
This post give me gratitude. I loved reading as a child and now my kids love to read. I don’t know what I would do if they didn’t. Thank you for taking the time to write this.
01/09/2017 @ 4:39 pm
This is great, I love these suggestions as a teacher and a new mum. My favourite was always making books with the kids – I liked to make class books that they each contribute to and then we put in the class library. They’d love going to read it during independent reading time (I was teaching Year 2 for this!)
01/09/2017 @ 4:47 pm
There is something magical when kids feel they are the authors! Thanks for commenting!