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I have a second grader and to get him to practice reading is like pulling teeth. It's hard for me because I am a reader and have been reading to him from day one. I've tried letting him pick the books and that helps some. But..he has books from school that he has to read and I just can't get him to do it. Any ideas? How do I get him to want to read? Lisa
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have you tried an incentive chart? like for each book he reads he gets a mark on his chart, and when you finish the chart maybe he can get a hot chocolate and a new book at borders....or something like that?is he a struggling reader? are the books he is being asked to read too difficult for him? if so, then he may need some reading intervention before he can see reading as more than a chore. if you haven't already, talk to his teacher and see what she thinks about his reading ability and level in class, and go from there. good luck! when my older son was in third grade he detested reading, and now i have to pry books from his hands so he'll do other things. lol. as he became a more confident reader, and we REALLY limited tv viewing...books really became an escape for him that he now truly enjoys. it just took time, a little assistance, and some opportunity(less tv for him).
Do you read with him? My neighbor's daughter was struggling and the teacher told mom she should be reading with her at that age (a child alone struggling with a word can get very frustrated and turned off to reading). Maybe have him read a page, you read a page etc. Additionally, you may need an incentive chart as well.
Thanks for your replies. He struggles a little bit but he isn't too far off from where he should be at his grade level. We do work closely with the school - last year he received extra help from their reading specialist and this year I'm sure he'll get to work with her again. She also provided us with books over the summer that were appropriate for his reading level so that he wouldn't fall behind. They really push reading at his school. I always sit with him when he reads and he can do it. I just can't get him to do it willingly or happily. Maybe I'll have to try the incentive chart. Thanks again, Lisa
Has he had his eyes checked by a good pediatric eye doc? He'll need a cycloplegic refraction (make sure you request it) and a binocular vision assessment. At least half of the pediatric patients I see that hate reading are either very farsighted or have accommodative infacility... they hate reading because it's a LOT of work for their visual systems, and it slows reading comprehension. It's amazing what the right prescription does for kids. I do free eye exams for foster/adoptive kids that are with the same agency I am because typically the docs that take med assistance don't have the time for comprehensive eye evaluations (MA pays very poorly, so they have to see many more patients an hour to meet overhead costs than I do in private practice where I choose not to take poorly paying plans). The most recent girl I saw was a 14 year old that hated reading. She picked up her bifocal glasses a week ago and is doing extremely well with them and is reading more and for longer periods, with better retention. These things are easy to treat, sometimes single vision glasses, sometimes bifocals. It kills me how much goes undiagnosed in kids due to no eye care or lousy quality eye care.
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Lisa,My son is in 2nd grade as well, and reading is a huge component in their school...Do you all do Accelerated Reader? My son basically has to read and test out on 80 books (20 per semester) from now until June, and if he misses any points on his tests, he'll have to read more...UGH!My son pretty much has 2 hours of homework, 4 nights a week, so reading is not something he willingly wants to do...What I do with him is alternate pages. He reads one page, I read the next...he goes, then I go. It's just something fun that we do, it takes some of the pressure off of him, and it gets him to do his work.I've promised him a dinner and a movie each semester that he finishes his A/R program.I also have a list of age appropriate books if you're looking for more ideas.Good luck!ETA: I just noticed you're in Michigan...where are you at? We're on the east side.
We live in Lowell just outside of Grand Rapids. Our school does the AR point too. We have started alternating pages with him and that has helped. He has been doing much better this week. Last night he actually asked if he could read a book before going to bed! Then when he was done we talked about the book and all the fun things he can learn from reading different books. I did tell him I would give him a small toy for attaining a certain amount of AR points. Thanks for all the ideas. I think we are making progress.
Another idea is to get some books on tape from the library that he can follow along with while reading.Build a reading corner that he can make into a cool place he wants to be while he reads. My dd has a little nook in her room she has some floor pillows on, her radio and a poster on the wall she likes. It's a comfort reading zone basically. Makes it a little more fun.Is he a "mover and a shaker"? My middle boy actually loves to read but he is not the kid that likes to sit and read. Usually he is hanging upside down, walking around, going outside, standing up etc. but I kid you not...he is reading while doing this stuff. LOL! It's so weird because for other homework, he sits at the table and just does it. Reading is on the move though.You might also try doing a couple of role playing or dress up games associated with the books if he likes that type of thing. If reading a book on animals, let him pick one to be or a little sticker of that animal on his hand where he can see it while he reads.Our school is big on the reading push too. And I get it, but at the same time, I think it backfires a bit with many kids and their actual ENJOYMENT of reading.
Kill the tv, kill the playstation, xbox, cellphone, whatever. Tell him, its time to read for one hour each night or no tv for the next day. You can give him the weekend off if he does the reading "every night" during the week without saying, awwww mom c'mon. Also, make sure he has material that he is interested in. For example, if he enjoys surfing, or wish he could, get him a subscription to surfer mag, etc.,
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With our son, who's 9, I've found that it goes better if I sit and let him read to me so that if he is struggling with a word I can help him understand what it means. Also, we go over each page to make sure he understands what he's read. When he read on his own, he would get frustrated and if one asked him what he just read, he couldn't tell you. I think a lot of it was a language issue. Also, an incentive chart might not be a bad way to go, since it gives the child something to work for as a reward.Elliott[url=http://snapshotsfromourjourney.blogspot.com/]Snapshots From Our Journey[/url]
I know this is an older thread, but M also hated reading when we met her. During her required reading time for homework, she would get maybe 4 pages read. We started just reading to her at bedtime until she came to love the stories, then we told her, though she had to be IN BED by bedtime, she could read by flashlight AS LONG AS SHE WANTED until she fell asleep. No music, electronics, puzzles, coloring, JUST READING. Well, she would rather read than have to go to bed on time. Worked better than any chore chart and she still only stays up an extra twenty or thirty minutes. Now at least she is in her room the whole time. We do have her read aloud for homework a few times a week so we can see if she is on level, having trouble understanding any vocab, etc. and she still resists reading anything SHE does not choose, but I am of the opinion ANY age appropriate and on-grade level reading is positive. She now reads 10-12 pages in the same time it took her to read 4 last year.