how to get my son to practice reading at home?

Jill - posted on 07/18/2009

For those of you who have children not reading on grade level but they are interested in subjects that are above their reading level try books on tape.. They can also check out the book and if they are younger follow along, older might decide they want to read ahead or they might decide they like a certain author or series and want to read other books by that author or in the series. For boys the Hank the cowdog series is pretty good and most of those books are on tape or CD at you local library.

Erin - posted on 07/17/2009

but how to instill a love a reading, not just make them do? any ideas?

Carly - posted on 07/17/2009

my son is 11 and i just say if you do your reading and homework straight away then you have your night to yourself and if i dont have to ask you to do your homework then once a month we will do something special of your choice, thats good incentive havent got any problems i have same rule for 8yr old son too it works well, and ive noticed if you as a parent show interest in what there reading thry enjoy telling you about there books, hope this is of some help to you, all the best.

Heather - posted on 07/17/2009

Read to him! Just because your child is older doesn't mean they don't like being read to. I still read to my 12-year old son every night.



Also, let him read whatever he wants! Even comic books are better than nothing. If it is something that interests him, he will read it. Make a habit of going to the library together and letting him pick out what he wants to read. Get him his own library card.

Ruth - posted on 07/17/2009

I spoke to the author of a book called "The Book Whisperer." She teaches middle school and has great info for helping kids learn to love reading. She also suggested some great Web sites to get ideas for books kids in early adolescence and adolescence like to read. Her ideas were great. You can Google - Donalyn Miller and Book Whisperer. She has a blog on Education Week. Here's a link to what I wrote. (I'll probably get bumped off of here because Circle of Moms thinks I'm trying to make a buck, but I'm not. Here goes:
http://suchasmartmom.com/2009/06/03/help...

Yudit - posted on 07/14/2009

My 11 year old is not a great lover of reading, but he reads with me (he sees it as special time with Mum). He likes funny books, won't read anything scary! We try to pick a book together and read on his bed at night when the house is quiet. Of course, we don't do this every day, but even once or twice a week is good.

I've recently discovered that he's happy to read bedtime stories to his little sister (age 6).

Monetta - posted on 07/12/2009

Thankfully my 13 year old loves to read - he takes books everywhere - to a restaurant, doctors office or even shopping - but for a child that is less enthusiastic - I suggest reading with him - you read a page and have him read a page. I also agree with letting him choose something he is interested in - the love of reading has to be from reading stuff you love.
My son loved the Lemony Snickett books - The Series of Unfortunate events - they were funny and entertaining for all ages.

Pamela - posted on 07/10/2009

I have 2 girls ages 11 and 6 and actually they both love to read but 1 way I get them to read over the summer is I take them to our public library and they have a Summer Reading Program and the more they read the more prizes they get. So after only 1 month both of my girls have read 20 books each.....hope this helps :)

Angela - posted on 07/10/2009

My 10 year old step daughter hated to read and was to be going into 5th grade, but when she moved in with us we held her back a year. She was tested and was reading at a 2nd grade level. She had to read every night for 20 minutes before she could play outside or watch TV. We also got her eyes checked and found out she needed glasses. By the end of the school year she was almost to a 4th grader reading level. It takes a lot of work, but it is well worth it. We kept in close contact with the teacher and worked together. Good luck!!

Dianne - posted on 07/08/2009

My 10 year old used to love to read about 12 months ago then hormones arrived the only way I can get him to read now is if we read together .He won't read a novel and so we read all of the old funny ones Dr Seus and sometime Andy Griffiths are good whatever we read it has to be read from cover to cover in no less than five minutes also we read about five books so doing the maths its about 25minutes of reading time .I am hoping we can pick some other longer books with around 50 pages in them soon .He hates to read out loud but this way he has no choice because we both do it.Good luck!

Rose - posted on 07/08/2009

I have 2 words for you
Comic Books
The way I look at it is a book is a book So what if it has pictures. you can even get some history or science based comic books. Boys are hard to get interested in reading so what ever you can get them to read thats what you should try

Jayme - posted on 07/07/2009

I am so glad to hear that other people face the same dilima I face trying to get my 10yr old to read and enjoy it as I do!!!! He actuallly cries when he has to read anything...It's like he becomes frustrated and gives up. It breaks my heart to see him that way and knowing I've tried and still trying to do all I can!!!!!

Patricia - posted on 07/07/2009

My son was not a gteat lover of reading however with the move to the new district I made him join a book club and volunteered at the school during the time. He actually enjoyed the books that were chosen so it may be what he is reading. Becuase he likes skating get books on skating and also read with him. I agree with Shannon check out the web site she reccommended and start slow 5 or 10 minutes and build also make it fun be creative see how he could change the book if he were the author or if he could possibly come up with a game to go with the book.

Karen - posted on 07/06/2009

I've got 3 boys (20,14 & 10) -- the older & younger ones LOVE to read -- my middle son is less enthusiastic. Reading labs at school & tutoring at Sylvan Learning Center when he was younger got him up to grade level, but he still doesn't like to read "for fun". Finding something that interests him is HUGE -- but we have also done some reading as a family. Have him choose a book and then read it TOGETHER. We've checked out 2 or 3 copies from the library, each of us read a chapter each day and then discuss it over dinner (kind of like a "book club" -- you can also invite friends to join in). When the boys were younger, we would read books out loud each night -- I'd read a page, then they'd read a page, and so on. If he likes movies, suggest the book that the movie was based on -- then ask questions -- how was the book different from the movie? Which did you like better & why? My husband & I also will ask our boys to "research" a topic on the computer and report back to us with the answer. Weird or interesting facts -- like left handed presidents or how to make guacamole -- this gets them reading without even thinking about it! The interaction has not only gotten them to read more, but has also helped us to connect with them.

Shannon - posted on 07/03/2009

I was a remediation aide for our school district and we have a program here called REAL and SIPPS. My oldest son is also two grades behind. He is 10 and the only way I can get him to read is to sit down with him. Have him pick out a book and we both sit down and read our books. Also, when starting off reading 20 minutes is a really long time for someone who is not interested. Ask him what he likes to read. I see by your picture that you might have a surf board? What does he like to do? What movies does he like to watch? Also, ask the school if there is any kind of reading program that they offer at school. It might not be that he doesn't like to read or it is not interesting, it might be that the books he is reading are too hard for him to read. Go to www.lexile.com and type in the title of the book if the book is a lexile 500 or more it might be too hard for him to read. Just some suggestions. The main thing is let him decide what he reads about. I hope this helps.