Q&A DEARTEACHERS
BY PEGGY GISLER AND MARGE EBERTS
TRICKS TO ENCOURAGE SUMMER READING
Local libraries’ summer reading progra ms are a great way to keep yo ur child reading. Check out KCPa rent.com for info on programs an d events.
QUESTION: With my daughter’s compulsion to be
a week when
on the internet and her mobile phone, my tween just
the entire family
about stopped reading for pleasure during the school
will sit down together
year. How can I motivate her to become a reader once
in the same room and
more? When she was younger, she could scarcely be
read for a half-hour,
seen without her nose in a book. – Not Reading
perhaps right after dinner or some other time when everyone is likely to gravitate toward the electronic
ANSWER: Unfortunately, when the technological
world. And if she has younger siblings, assign her the
world takes over a child’s life and she stops reading for
task of reading books to them instead of your reading
pleasure, she is missing out on a lot of benefits. Reading
to them every night. She might find this to be fun if she
beyond classroom assignments has the advantage
is reading entertaining books to them. Subscriptions to
of building vocabulary, writing, spelling and grammar
age-appropriate magazines can also encourage your
skills. And it is also likely to boost test scores. There
daughter or any tween or teen to read more.
is even some evidence that it helps kids think more clearly and solve problems more effectively. Today, it is very common for children your
Recently, we talked to children from elementary school to high school about what they will be reading this summer. Most of the older children admitted that
daughter’s age and those who are teens to sharply
they will be doing most of their reading online. This will
reduce the amount of reading they do outside the
include browsing online websites for topics that interest
classroom. You will need to be creative to reawaken
them, and some say they will be taking classes online
her interest in books. You definitely should encourage
to learn new skills. A few said they would actually read
her to read books that are tied to her interests. Other
books—mostly fiction—however, some wanted to read
books that may reignite her desire to read are those
nonfiction, especially history. Genres especially popular
that are parts of series or books that have been made
with middle schoolers and high school students were
into movies.
fantasy, adventure and science fiction books. And,
Though you can try motivating your child to read,
interestingly, we found a second grader who limited his
she still may not willingly put down her mobile phone
reading to reading aloud rhyming books to anyone who
or stop her online activities. You can try doing some of
would listen. Overall, most agreed they actually read
these things. Resume reading to her before bedtime
more in the summer when the pressure of having so
or after supper and discuss what has been read. This
much schoolwork disappears.
can encourage her to complete a book on her own. Another suggestion is to set aside a definite time twice
14 june 2022
kcparent.com
Do talk to your daughter about what she is looking at online. She may be reading more than you think.
