Archives for October 2020

The day was going so well. Virtual learning was successful. The grades are good…great, actually. On the surface, there is a healthy, smart, successful kid. No worries, right? Then the evening hits, technology is banished and the nightly reading is scheduled to begin. This is when the fight ensues. “I HATE READING!” and, later, “Why do I have to read?”

The reality sets in, and parents ultimately find themselves admitting the terrible truth: “My child hates to read.” The fight may be even more frustrating to the parent if the child is a capable reader. Why is reading such a battle? Reading is fun! Parents who love books may be absolutely dumbfounded that the fight is even a fight.

There are many discussions about struggling readers and how to help them. Parents may be advised to talk to the teacher, take the child to the pediatrician and seek out evaluations and possibly referrals to specialists or even hire a tutor. When a child is a good reader, when that child tests well on standardized reading tests and excels in school, there may be few resources to help a parent when that child hates to pick up a book.

How can a parent get a child who hates reading excited about books? The answer isn’t so simple. The underlying problem of the disdain for reading, though, could be attached to other issues. One of the simplest reasons for loathing literacy may simply be that the child views reading as homework.

Remember the Book Report?

From the time most children enter kindergarten, reading nightly is an expectation. Typically, the assignment is 20 minutes. Some schools may encourage children to take quizzes about the books they read to help gauge understanding. What’s ultimately missing from the way parents—and maybe even teachers—now handle reading, however, may be the fun.

Decades ago, kids often were expected to read a specific number of fiction and nonfiction books as part of their instruction and reading curriculum. After completing the book, the child had to write a book report that summarized the book and maybe even included commentary on why the child liked or didn’t like the story. There was a sense of accountability with this type of instruction, but there also was a bit of open-ended leniency for children.

Many kids could read any book they wanted from the fiction/nonfiction categories (although, some schools might have had restrictions). Books were sometimes read in class, but, often, they were finished at home. While some schools still use book reports in their reading curriculum, others have dropped them.

Reading Expectations: Stop the Clock!

At home—in ye olden times of the ‘60s, 70s and ‘80s—there were no reading timers. No set minutes. There was simply the understanding that the child had to finish the book and write about it. That book report, while a homework assignment, provided an opportunity for kids to process what they read and think about the book. It opened up a bilateral discussion between the child and the teacher. The takeaway was simple: this is what I read and this is why I liked it.

Are discussions about what a child reads at home part of the reading journey at school? That may depend on the school district and the teacher. However, these earliest years may be crucial in framing whether a child learns to either love or loathe books. Clocking minutes could lend to love, but it also could lead to serious disdain.

How is a parent supposed to help a child with no reading struggles to learn to love to read? How can anyone teach that—a love of stories? Maybe the best solution is to simply stop the clock. Stop nagging nightly. This doesn’t mean kids shouldn’t meet their teacher’s expectations—they absolutely should and must. However, when the clock stops running and a child is engrossed in the book, the time limits won’t matter—they will be hit.

Tips to Help Kids Like Reading

What works for one child might not work with another, but there are a few tips for parents who want help transform their child’s hatred of reading into at least a mild like.

1.   Set page goals. Sit down with your child and create reasonable goals for their book. This allows them to see an endpoint. Kids who read 20 minutes each night without any direction but time may just read one or two pages and run out the clock.
2.   Let them pick their books. If a child isn’t interested in a book, why would they get excited to pick it up every night?
3.   Ask them questions about what they liked and what they didn’t. Embrace the old days of the book report. It’s ok if a child hates a book that they’ve read. Not every story or character appeals to everyone.
4.   Make sure children aren’t reading beyond their level. Talk to your child’s teacher if you need more info about individual reading levels.
5.   Read together as a family. Kids need to see parents reading. Make books and read a nightly part of everyone’s routine. Gather in the living room and quietly read.

Some kids—and adults—may simply not love books. However, the more a child reads, the better they may become at reading. Even if a child reads at grade-level and meets (or even exceeds) expectations, failure to read regularly could cause them to fall behind. 

Help transform the reading routine into something that doesn’t resemble homework; stop the clock, and work on ways to help children embrace the books. Parents also need to put down their own devices, pick up a book, and read, too. Set the example, show kids that reading is a journey and help them discover that some of the greatest adventures exist within the binding of a book.

Digital learning is becoming ingrained into virtually every educational curriculum in America. Using digital tools to help my son with reading comprehension is a great way to prepare them for formal education, while improving their reading routine at home.

How your child interacts with the story can make a significant difference in their success and understanding as they’re learning to read.

Read on for five easy ways to help your child with reading comprehension using technology.

1. Help your child draw conclusions.

Reading comprehension skills are essential for piecing together essential pieces of the story, and sometimes new readers need a bit of help to connect the dots.

Your child can get more information out of the first read through by helping them identify the parts they know, which will bring more clarity to the aspects of the story they don’t quite understand.

A great way to help your child make connections as they’re reading is to draw attention to places, subjects, and characters that they might understand based on their own life experience. Tapping into knowledge they already have helps the reader dig deeper into the subject matter, which will improve their comprehension of the story as a whole.

2. Ask (and answer) questions about the story.

Another effective way to boost reader understanding is to ask your child questions before, during, and after reading a story.

Using questions to spark emotion from the reader is an ideal tactic for making children more invested in what they’re consuming.

Consider asking your child questions like:

• What do you think will happen next?
• How does XYZ character/place/action make you feel?
• How is the character feeling?
• Why did the character make that choice?

This strategy puts the child in the driver’s seat, and helps them control the lesson without hindering the learning process.

3. Use sensory tools.

All children learn differently, and sensory cues play a major part in the divide. Auditory, visual, and tactile learners will respond better to teaching styles that support their learning method.

Learning aids like mind maps, organizational charts, and drawings will resonate with learners who respond best to visual information. On the other hand, using clay or repeating thoughts out loud might work better for children who process information differently.

Visualization is another effective tool that can help confused readers identify key elements in the story.

Play around with different tools and techniques until you find something that works for your young reader’s unique needs.

4. Look for and identify context clues.

Making connections is the single most difficult part of learning reading comprehension for most new readers. Sometimes a little push in the right direction is all they need to connect critical elements of the story, especially if there are words that are new or unfamiliar to the reader.

Re-reading specific sentences and pointing out words that your child seems to struggle with can help their confidence, while bringing more attention to the context of the story.

Also bring attention to the words that precede and follow the terms that your child is having trouble with. All of these elements can help your son or daughter with reading comprehension by giving them more background information that they can take with them to the next story.

5. Review and check for understanding.

Repetition and review is proven to improve cognitive understanding and learning efficiency across the board. When it comes to learning how to read, this step couldn’t be more important.

After your child is finished with a passage, talk about what was covered in the new material. Also discuss how this portion of the story fits in with the rest by asking contextual questions such as:

• How did ___ character accomplish ___ task?
• What emotions did ___ character express in the story?
• At what point did ___ character reach their goal of ___?

Repetition and review are successful teaching tactics that have been proven to help students across all styles and learning preferences. This method can also help them in their other school subjects by building an internal thought process that promotes inquiry and problem solving.

Reviewing questions and themes you discussed earlier in the lesson is a great way to tie everything together. This will also help your child read by retaining key information after they finish any story.

Reading comprehension is essential for any new reader to advance their educational plan. If you’ve mentioned to yourself “I don’t know how to help my son with reading comprehension,” consider taking the measures above to speed up their learning process.

By fourth grade, many children are reading chapter books. This could be a time when kids are discovering their own unique reading personalities and uncovering favorite authors, genres and characters. Some children may struggle to keep track of the plot lines of longer books and parents may worry about reading comprehension struggles.

If you’re wondering: “How can I help my 4th grader with reading comprehension?” there may be other concerns as well. Parents might not know if a book is just too hard for their child or if there are underlying issues like a learning disability or simply a deeper reading struggle. A child’s struggles affect how a parent can better help them at home.

Readers who have more profound reading struggles may need further evaluations, and parents should, ideally, be in touch with the school and the child’s teacher to address these concerns. Parents also could contact the child’s pediatrician.

However, for children who are simply struggling with more complex plot lines (and who, perhaps, do not have pronounced reading struggles), here’s how parents can support their fourth grader at home.

Don’t Just Look at the Age-Level of the Text, Review the Subject, Too.

Sometimes the quickest solution is also the easiest. If your fourth grader is trying to read a book that might be assigned in high school, they may not have the emotional understanding to comprehend the story. Many books include text that may, technically, be written at a fourth-grade level but the subject matter is beyond the maturity of that age group.

This is how “age-level” text can work against parents who don’t look beyond the reading level. Just because a child can decode the text doesn’t mean they can fully grasp the nuances, especially if the subject and emotional issues of the book are aimed at an older audience. Younger children also might not yet have the life experiences to understand the book’s topic or plot complexities.

If your child is struggling to understand the meaning, do a quick deep-dive of the book and figure out if the subject is at level with their age.

As a side note, some children may be able to understand both the text and the topic. A fourth-grader could read complex and mature books; when choosing books, every child is different. Their personalities and understanding of the world differ, too.

Delete Distractions

We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to read something over and over again to grasp the meaning. Sometimes this has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with distractions in our environment.

Where a child reads could affect their comprehension of the material, especially if the child is easily distracted. A blaring television, parents talking, and songs on the radio could be distracting a child from focusing on a story.

Help your child find the ideal reading environment so they can lock on to their book and focus their attention on the characters and plot. Noise cancelling headphones could help, too!

Let Kids Pick Their Book

By fourth grade, some teachers may begin assigning books for the class to read. However, when a child has free reading time, let them choose the book. If a child is resistant and reluctant to read, have them create an interest list to find subjects that they like and want to investigate. Parents can even theme interest lists for holidays.

For Halloween, ask kids what scary or unique Halloween topics they find interesting. Are they curious to learn more about the Salem witch trials, the history behind trick-or-treating or maybe they want to learn how Halloween even started as a holiday. Don’t celebrate Halloween? Parents can pick a religious holiday, too, or a day that’s special in the family’s culture. The idea is to get kids thinking about their interests and all the ideas they can learn from books!

Make a Reading Comprehension Bookmark

In fourth grade, kids may or may not like parents sitting with them and asking questions about the book. To ensure kids focus on the ideas behind the story, though, parents can create a reading comprehension bookmark. These page setters also provide prompts on what kids need to think about as they read. The comprehension bookmark could focus on the “wh” questions or maybe prompt kids to think about the story plot.

Parents can get ideas on how to create these bookmarks by visiting Teachers Pay Teachers; the site has many great examples! Parents also might want to let kids craft their own bookmark.

Use a Reading App

If a child is really struggling with comprehension, parents also can use a reading app at home. Readability provides an integrated AI tutor that provides auditory feedback when a child stumbles during reading lessons; the virtual tutor also asks questions about the story to better gauge understanding. Kids move through lessons at their own pace, and stories are never too easy or too difficult. Parents can even monitor their child’s progress via the Parent Dashboard; not only can parents review reading levels, but they also can see how long a child used the app each day.

Parents can try out Readability with their child for free for seven days; the trial period provides children with access to all the content and features of the app. Sign up for your child’s free trial today!