Keep Kids Reading

Five Ways to Keep Kids Reading During the Holidays

Schools out! And the children have stuffed their bookbags and school papers under the bed, not to be seen again until the new year begins.

I don’t blame them. They’ve worked hard this fall, and they deserve this much-needed break from deadlines and assigned readings.

But it’s because they have worked hard that I hate to see them lose even a small amount of the momentum they’ve gained in their reading this fall. So I’ve devised a plan to keep them in the groove of reading -- without them even knowing it! Here are five shrewd ways to keep those kids reading during the holidays:

• Let the children open the Christmas cards when they arrive. I think this is the one most sought-after standing in our house -- to be the one who opens the Christmas card. But of course, the one who opens it should also have the privilege to read the card to the rest of the family. (Benefits: sounding out new words; reading aloud)
• Pull the family around the piano, the guitar, or the CD player and sing your favorite Christmas carols -- with words on paper, of course, to read along. Not only will the children learn the words to these wonderful songs, but they’ll be learning to read these new words in a fun and non-pressured atmosphere. (Benefits: hearing bigger words pronounced; repetition for greater learning power)
• Send each child a special letter from Santa, stuffed into their stockings, for them to read on Christmas morning. Even my older children (who knew mother is really the author) enjoy receiving a letter praising them for their accomplishments and growth over the year. (Benefits: great motivation to discover what Santa has to say!)
• If you plan to go to the movies, have the younger children help look for the proper listings in the paper and write down the showing times. Older children can read reviews. (Benefits: real life use of reading skills)
• When the gifts are opened, and you have the new toys, games, and mini-appliances spread across the floor, it’s time to learn how to use them. What do they come with? Instructions! Rather than reading them for your child, ask the child to read the directions himself (assisting him, of course, at the level that his reading skills need such assistance). (Benefits: real life use; motivation to use the new product)

Teaching younger children to use their reading skills in daily life becomes a great motivating factor in developing those skills. Children receive a great feeling of accomplishment when they are able to do something on their own, rather than always being dependant on an older person to help them out. Reading the instructions, finding the movie, and other ways of using their reading empowers them to believe in themselves and in their own abilities. By encouraging them to benefit from using their reading -- at whatever level they are -- helps increase the motivation and desire to continue growing those reading skills to the next level.

Have a great holiday season -- and keep those kids reading into the new year!

-- Ginia Dible

-------------------------------------------------------> about Ginia Dible

The Ultimate Motivational Tool...

... is a personalized e-novel.

What child would not want to read about himself? Add friends, history, and adventure, and you've got reading, fun, and learning all happening at once. A personalized book from Custom Books Online interweaves your child's name (and two of his friends) into the life of a significant historical person, so that your child will feel as if he is really there, in the story, living out the adventure along with people such as Magellan, Mother Teresa, Dr. Joseph Lister, or Nathan Hale.

Click here for more information.

-------------------------------------------------------> Return to Top

Get new reading tips by email on an occasional basis.

Enter your email address here:

-------------------------------------------------------> Return to Top

How to Determine the Reading Level of a Book

To determine the reading level of a book, one can count the number of syllables, words, and sentences in a passage and run the results through a formula. One of the simplest formulas available is the Flesch-Kincaid Index.

Here's how it works:

Take a passage of about 100 words from the book. Even better, take 2-3 passages from different spots in the book.
Count the number of words, the number of sentences, and the number of syllables.
Determine the average number of words in the sentences and the average number of syllables per word.
Finally, put those numbers into the following formula:

0.39 x Average No. of words in sentences
+ 11.8 x Average No. of syllables per word
- 15.59
Result = Reading Level

For example, the score may be 4.3, which would mean fourth grade reading level.

An Even Easier Way:

Do you have Microsoft Word? Instead of counting you can type the selected passages (which, personally, I'd rather do than count all the syllables, etc. myself). Then you can let Word do the counting and calculating for you. Here's what you do:

Click on Tools/Options. Choose the Spelling/Grammar tab.
On the lower left, you'll see an option to "Show readability statistics". It may be grayed out, but can be chosen after you click on the box for "Check grammar with spelling". That done, click on OK to close the window.

Choose Tools/Spelling and Grammar. Word will run a spelling and grammar check. Just click on "ignore" to get through everything.
When finished, you'll get a readability score for the Flesch-Kincaid Index (the last item in the window).
Talk about easy!

Keep in mind that reading indices may differ one from another. This formula may be different from what your child's school uses. That's okay. Simply find a passage of text from a school book your child was comfortable with reading and perform the readability test on that passage. You'll get a score which you can use as a base, and then choose books for the child's reading which are at the same level or a bit higher, to provide growth and challenge.

All the books in the Custom Books Online series list the reading level generated through Microsoft Word.

------------------------------------------------------->Return to Top

Reading Goes "to the Dogs"

An elementary school in Stonington, Connecticut is experimenting with therapy dogs to encourage struggling first-grade readers to practice reading aloud. Principal Ken Sherwood comments that many of the children are intimidated about reading aloud, and that allowing them to cuddle up with the dogs and read to the animal, their fear of rejection or correction melts away. The dog's presence helps the children to relax and focus on sharing the story with the animal.

The practice is still in the experimental stage, and results are not available. However, if your reader enjoys time with your family pet, perhaps he or she would enjoy reading aloud to this special friend. It's worth trying, don't you agree?

Information from "Readings For The Dogs," by Joe Wojtas, in The Day, New London, Connecticut. January 15, 2005.

------------------------------------------------------->Return to Top

Create Your Own Reading Program

Every summer hundreds of libraries offer reading programs to motivate children to read throughout the summer, which much success in terms of the numbers of children joining and actually completing their programs. What do they do to make it succeed? They motivate children to read through commitment, accountability, and reward.

Perhaps you can create your own family reading program - and you don't have to wait for summer! You'll want to include:

• Asking them to sign a commitment as to how much they will read over a specified period of time.
• Specifying what rewards they will receive according to the amount of reading they do.
• Keeping track of their reading, either by number of pages, number of books, or number of hours the child reads.
• Closing off the program at a specific deadline.
• Rewarding the child's reading in accordance with the original agreement.

Prizes our library offered last summer were phone cards, book bags, and books. You can choose your own rewards which you know your readers will enjoy: perhaps puzzle books, fancy pens or pencils, candy, or a night at the movies.

------------------------------------------------------->Return to Top

The Power of Choice

Studies have shown that leisure reading helps children's language abilities grow. Spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, even reading speed are all enhanced the more the child reads for pleasure. Perhaps it's the relaxed atmosphere. Perhaps it's because he's reading something of his own choice. But whatever the reason, it's a great idea to let the kid choose his own reading material for a regular reading session every day.

That being said, it's been my experience that a child who doesn't really care about reading is not likely to take the initiative to pick out a book for himself. So how do we allow him to choose when he has no desire to do so?
Here's what works for me: I look through the library shelves for four or five books at his reading level which I think he might like. Then I take them home and offer him the choice of one of those books. The first day, I ask him to read the teaser on the back of each book or, if there is no teaser, the first page of each one. And then he must choose. Then I require him to read one chapter a weekday.

With this method, I've never had the child complain that he didn't get a choice. And he does a good job meeting his daily reading requirement. Perhaps, if you have a reluctant reader, giving some choice will help you, too. You might plan a trip to the library this weekend and see what you find!

------------------------------------------------------->Return to Top

What Works for You?

Share your tip with us, so that we can share it with others who read this website. If we choose to publish your tip here so that it may help others, we'll include your first name and last initial, unless you request otherwise.

Thanks so much!

------------------------------------------------------->Return to Top

About Keep Kids Reading

These motivational tips are copyrighted by Ginia Dible. However, you are welcome to copy and distribute these tips in whole, with reference to www.keepkidsreading.com. Feel free to link to this page. Questions? Email me.