Easy Ways to Improve Reading in Young Children

  Reading is such a valuable activity for young minds. It has proven benefits to your children’s alertness, intelligence and memory. In addition, reading is one of the best ways to teach your children about the world and social norms, as well as how to develop skills and build knowledge.

 What Books To Encourage? 

 Introducing your children to a wide breadth of authors will show them interesting, diverse writing techniques and content nuances that will benefit young children as they develop their reading skills.

 Not every child is keen on books from a young age. When dealing with reluctant readers, it can help to let them choose the perfect book that will get them engaged. Every child is different. Even at a young age, reading is a very personal experience and, if a reluctant reader feels forced to read a book that’s not for them, it may put them off altogether.

Pre and Post Read 

 Give a little context on the book's main themes and subjects before even opening up the new book. This will give the child a solid background and help them relate together elements they pick up as they read. Research and discuss keywords that are specifically relevant to the topic. Like contextual research, this practice can give the children things to learn about and remember, which will help them assimilate and retain the content. This can also be a fun practice with the use of flashcards and pictures.

 Asking your child questions about the topics covered in the book will help to stimulate deeper thought and discussion about what they've been reading. This practice is not only good for retention, but also a test of their comprehension, as well as being a brilliant learning and development technique.

Regular Reading

 Increase your child's reading time. The more time they spend reading, the more books they can consume and the quicker they can progress onto more mature books. A great tip for getting your kids to read more is to start them on a gripping series of page-turners. Although this goes against our earlier idea of reading lots of different authors, if your children can find authors that really get their heads stuck in the pages, they’ll be up and away. Encourage a regular reading routine and ritual. When young children know they have a set time to read every day or every week, they'll be subconsciously preparing themselves to read. Even the regular activity of slumping into a settee with a glass of milk can be enough to set your child’s mind in reading mode.

Social Reading

Reading aloud in groups can be a great way to improve kids’ reading ability and confidence, by giving them a really supportive atmosphere to reinforce all the good reading they’re doing and correcting mistakes they make in their reading. This also gives the children a friendly, social environment to enrich their reading experience.

Tutors

The techniques outlined above are by no means an exhaustive list,just offering some ideas of ways parents can make their children’s reading experiences even more enriching, dynamic and enjoyable. If you're a busy parent, some of thiscould sound like a lot to take on, so it may be a good idea to take on a private tutor to lighten the load. They're paid to nurture and encourage young minds, so there are no better candidates to help your children learn to read. Register with TutorExtra to browse through the wide range of reading tutors available for you.