|
It’s
no secret that most middle schoolers simply aren’t reading enough outside of
the regular school day. Yet daily reading time is key to improving comprehension
skills and expanding vocabulary – skills your child will need to succeed on
important state exams in middle school and beyond. Reading is also an important
way for children to expand their horizons, explore interests and form opinions
about the world and their place in it.
So
what’s a parent to do when reading starts to take a backseat to the lure of
online chatting, extracurricular events and social activities? Take heart! With
a little creativity, even the most resistant middle schooler can be coaxed into
reading. What follows are some tips from teachers, librarians and parents
who’ve been there:
•
Read with your children. Just because they are growing up doesn’t
mean that they won’t enjoy reading with you. The Read-Aloud Handbook by author Jim Trelease and How
to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell (also at Web site
www.planetesme.com) offer booklists and suggestions for reading with your young
teens. If you find that your
children resist being read to, find a book that you can both delve into
separately and make time to discuss it as you go. The topics they choose may
surprise you—many young adult (YA) themes deal with dark topics and heavy
issues—but can also help you learn more about your growing children’s
concerns, friendships and ideas about life.
• Introduce
them to other authors/books in the genre they like. If your children
like science fiction books like The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, they’ll probably like books
from the Artemis
Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (or vise versa).
Local and online booksellers and youth librarians can help you and your children
find books that will continue to spark their interests.
• Help
them bookmark online news sites and other Web pages that tap into their
interests. As kids become more technologically savvy, they’ll
likely read and learn from electronic formats like the Internet and online or e-books
as well as paper. Regardless of the format, what matters is that what
they read is well written and gets them thinking. There are many kid-friendly,
online news sites and entertainment magazines, such as Sports Illustrated Kids
(http://www.sikids.com) and Time for Kids (http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK).
Families will also find a good collection of Web sites, organized by subject, at
http://www.ala.org/greatsites.
• Subscribe
to magazines they’ll enjoy. With resistant readers — those who
don’t want to tackle the language-arts “classics” or be told what to read
— a pleasure read about skateboarding or fashion might be what it takes to
inspire the reading habit. Try browsing the YA section of local libraries and
bookstores together for a selection of magazine aimed at young teens.
• Write
notes to give your children “real life” reasons to read. As they
move into the middle school years, you may find that you and your children have
less time for long talks. To keep the lines of communication open while
encouraging them to read, drop a letter in their backpack, tack a note of
encouragement to the bathroom mirror and/or write family news and appointments
on a wall calendar.
• Make
the library a regular stop. School and local libraries have expanded
young adult (YA) sections that feature books and other media specifically aimed
at young teens. Ask about book discussion groups and other library-based
programs for middle schoolers. Youth services librarians can also help steer
children toward books that match their special interests.
• Don’t
dismiss genres like graphic novels. Growing in popularity, graphic
novels are a lighter form of reading that mix literature and comic book art to
tell a story. Many well-known novels and “classics” are now available as
graphic novel adaptations. Most graphic novels are written at fourth to sixth
grade reading levels — comparable to Time magazine. When helping children choose graphic novels, look for
age recommendations and advisories. Some books contain violence, inappropriate
language and adult situations. A great Web site for reviews of graphic novels
appropriate for middle schoolers is No Flying/No Tights at http://noflyingnotights.com/core.html#middle.
• Watch
the movie version. With reluctant readers, seeing stories on the big
screen may provide the spark needed to pick up the book version — or tackle
the next in a series, like the Lemony Snicket tales, Harry Potter adventures or
Lord of the Rings trilogy. Movies can also be a fun way for children that have
already read the book to experience the story from a new perspective.
•
Establish a nightly reading ritual for the whole family.
Parents can help encourage daily reading time by modeling the behavior
themselves. Try carving off a few hours each week when everyone in the family
agrees to “unplug” from the television, online chatting and video games.
Instead, curl up with a good book, magazine or newspaper and discover how
rewarding this can be for everyone!
Reading
resources on the Web
There
are many wonderful online reading resources for families of middle schoolers.
Here is a sampling:
Great
middle school reads:
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/booklists/MiddleSchoolReads.htm
http://www.reading.org/resources/tools/choices_young_adults.html
Books
that boys will love:
www.guysread.com
Starting
a mother/daughter reading club:
http://www.scholastic.com/dearamerica/parentteacher/club/index.htm
>
Back
For permission to reprint this article, please
contact the Capital Region BOCES Communications Service
at (518) 464-3960.
|
