Expert Reading Advice for Grades 6-8
Answers to the most frequently asked questions posed to our panel of experts.
How can I get my 11-year-old daughter interested in reading?
How can we help our 12-year-old son try new books?
Help! How can I get my child to read more?
Q: How can I get my 11-year-old daughter interested in reading? Even when she picks books out herself, she says they are boring.
A: You are right to be concerned about your daughter's lack of enthusiasm. As researchers have observed, the more kids read the better they do in school. Try these strategies:
- Keep reading to and with her. Even though she is 11, it is still a good idea to read aloud to her. You can read more difficult material than she can read on her own. You can also talk about the book when you are both into it.
- Join or start a mother/daughter book club. You could also work with your daughter's teacher to select a book for the whole class and their parents to read. You might also read required books with your daughter. Talking about books will help you see if she understands the books. It doesn't have to be boring. You can do it in the context of questions such as "Who do you think should play the part of the main character in a movie?" "What parts of the story would you include in the movie?" "How would you change the book if you were a writer?"
- Remember reading is everywhere. Try newspapers, magazines, and cookbooks.
- Discuss the situation with your daughter's teacher. Be sure that the problem is a motivational one and not one of reading difficulties. If she doesn't feel successful, she will continue to resist reading.
Q: How can we help our 12-year-old son try new books? He had difficulty learning to read but now will read for pleasure. However, he reads the same books over and over (he's reading Harry Potter for the fourth time!).
A: Let's be glad that your son is seeing himself as a reader because that doesn't happen for all kids. Rereading also helps increase vocabulary and fluency. Kids your son's age should read a million words a year and rereading counts toward that goal. However, I do understand your wanting your son to get involved in more books and to experience the wonderful world of literature. Try these ideas:
- Counterprogramming: Just as TV executives do when they put a romantic movie up against a major sports event, try to get your son to read something entirely different. Books that he might enjoy are the Shiloh trilogy by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. These books are realistic fiction and will take your son to a different time and place but with an emotional resonance that will engage any reader.
- Stick to what he likes: If your son likes Harry Potter, he may also enjoy other books that create new worlds or look at time and place in new and interesting ways, such as The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke or The Giver by Lois Lowry. Ask your son's teacher, a librarian, or a bookseller about other books that capture the imagination.
- Go for the classics: Your son may be interested in reading books you enjoyed as a child. Have you read Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge? You might read the first chapter aloud as a kind of a "commercial" for the book and then let your son read the rest.
Q: Help! How can I get my child to read more?
A: Kids today are super-busy — lots to do and little time. However, just like playing an instrument or a sport, reading requires practice, practice, and more practice to be really good at it. Here are three ideas for getting kids to practice more:
1. Read all about it. Involve them in activities that have a reading element.
- Cooking: recipes and labels
- Traveling: Maps, signs, and guides
- Keeping up with current events: Magazines and newspapers
2. Read together. Schedule a time each day where everyone reads. It is a good time for you to catch up on your reading, to set a great example, and for your child to do reading homework.
3. Keep a reading record. Help your child keep track of books read by recording the book, author, and a brief impression.
Meet the Expert
These represent some of the most common queries posed to Francie Alexander, a former teacher and now a vice president at Scholastic who creates materials that help kids learn to read and help teachers teach reading.
