It’s fairly common to say that children should focus on the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Never mind that only one out of those three words actually starts with the letter R. Thankfully, it’s the one I want to talk about today. Reading skills are a big deal. It’s through reading that children (and adults) gain knowledge. It’s also how they come to better understand the world around them (and us).
Now, I can only speak from personal experience with one bookworm of a child, so your mileage will obviously vary. Through some combination of the seven techniques described below, our little first-grader is reading books at a third or even fourth grade level. Maybe she’s an exception. Or maybe these kind of work. Either way, here’s my take on how we can encourage young children to improve their reading skills.
Listen to the audio version of this blog post:
Turn On Closed Captioning
Managing screen time has become a big challenge for parents. As we tried to navigate the pandemic last summer, it became even harder. We let some rules slide, joking that we’re limiting screen time to “no more than one hour per hour.” All kidding aside, you can still make the best of your time watching PAW Patrol, Pokemon and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.
When you get into the habit of turning on those captions, children will start to pick up on some of those written words if only through osmosis alone. Kids improve reading skills particularly with sight words. They’ll recognize them over time.
Play Animal Crossing
Okay, hear me out on this one. It follows the same line of reasoning as the closed captions above. The difference is that the characters in Animal Crossing only speak Animalese. Children can’t understand the characters based on sound alone. They need to read. And, they need to understand other items on the screen, like the names of objects and menu navigation.
Timing may have played a role in this for our daughter. She was three years old when Animal Crossing Pocket Camp launched on mobile devices. Naturally, she couldn’t read yet, but wanted to know what was going on. It started with some basic recognition of key words and items. By the time we started playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch last year, she really wanted to know what the dialogue was all about.
Today, she plays way more Animal Crossing than I do. And she has no problem reading what all the characters have to say, what tasks she wants to complete and so on. The game provided motivation to improve her reading skills. She knew that she couldn’t really play the game without learning how to read.
Read a Bedtime Story Together Every Night
This might feel like both the most obvious and most cliche tip on this list. That’s because it works. We’ve been reading bedtime stories together since she was a newborn. It’s just a part of the usual routine at this point, right alongside brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas. Make developmentally appropriate adjustments along the way.
We read simple picture books at first, of course. Over time, I’d use my finger to follow the words as I read them. Eventually, she’d remember parts of familiar stories. These days, she’s got a growing reading list of children’s books of her own. Many nights, she reads to me just as much (if not more) than I read to her. Reading together is a positive, bonding experience.
Set a Positive Example
It’s really easy for parents to fall into the trap of “do as I say, not as I do.” I know it happens to me when it comes to screen time addiction. We all know that our children are watching our every move. If they see us doing something, they probably want to do it too. If you want your kids to improve their reading skills, you should be reading too. In plain sight. As a normal, natural, everyday thing.
As you may already know, I’ve been doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge for a few years now. Last year, I read 33 books in all. She sees me curl up on the couch with a novel, and she’ll cuddle up next to me with one of her books. I imagine it’s much the same with being physically active and enjoying the great outdoors. (We need to do both of those a lot more, I’d say.)
Explore a Variety of Book Types
Reading needs to be fun and engaging. If your kid likes dinosaurs, get lots of dinosaur books. If she prefers stories about superheroes, save the day with stories about superheroes. Fiction, nonfiction, comic book style, lift the flap, fantasy, science… whatever they like. Embrace it.
Sometimes it takes experimenting with different genres, formats and topics until the child latches onto something. If they love the Peppa Pig TV shows, get Peppa Pig books. If they’re fascinated by the animals at the zoo, get a book that talks about some animals they might’ve seen. A visit to the public library is great for exploring topics both familiar and new.
Improve Reading Skills With Workbooks
If we’re being perfectly honest, this tip might be the toughest sell for your children. I get that. That being said, I think workbooks like the ones from Kumon are really good at teaching the fundamentals. As neither of us are educators by trade, my wife and I don’t really know how to “teach” reading skills to a child. Books like these provide structure and exercises that are appropriate for each reading level. Keep it simple and manageable. A page or two a day is plenty.
Capitalize on Everyday Opportunities
Part of encouraging kids to work on their reading skills is showing them why reading is useful and applicable to their daily lives. Animal Crossing is one example. But, also look for opportunities in your everyday life. What does that street sign say? Can you read the kids menu at the restaurant? Can you find which supermarket aisle has your favorite cereal? What do the instructions say for your new toy or game?
Reading Is Fun-damental
It probably won’t be easy. Nothing in parenting ever is, really. But, if you make reading skills a priority, integrating its improvement as part of your regular routine, you’ll hopefully see positive results soon enough. Until then, keep playing Animal Crossing, reading lots of books together, and leaning into your kids’ interests. They’ll all get there on their own time.
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Awesome tips. I teach English on the side and have my students use most of these techniques. I had never thought of adding the subtitles for my children though, I will be doing that as soon as Luca moves on from The Night Garden. Alice is old enough though. Hurrah. New knowledge. Thanks
I even leave the subtitles on for myself these days, especially if I’m watching late at night and don’t want to disturb anyone.