Getting a child hooked on reading books can be a cinch with some of these easy-to-do reading hacks.
So, books are ready, a story is selected, and the room and floor are all set for those little feet to tread on and sit down. Then begin reading and storytelling time. In the middle of turning pages, one of the kids starts to absently sift through pages without even taking two seconds to glance at what’s inside. Another kid starts to throw a tantrum, throws the book to the floor, and drops any pretense of reading. The teacher asks themselves, “How in the world do we get these kids interested in learning how to read and love reading?” Nelibeth Plaza’s Is It Santa? is an entertaining children’s book about the story of the kids, Mya, Charlie, and Jacob, who came home from school and found out that the cookies their mother, Rebekkah, baked are all gone.
Who took the cookies? How will the kids’ go about and solve the case of the missing cookies? Is Santa Claus the culprit who took the cookies? These plots are enough to stir anyone’s imagination, especially the kids’ imagination. These are reasons enough to keep them turning page after page, to keep them glued to the story, and to see the story through and finish the whole book!
But there will be times when getting kids to learn how to read and keep them interested in reading will seem daunting. That’s when teachers and parents alike should have tricks ready up their sleeves. That’s the time when crucial reading hacks need to come in.
Reading Hacks
Teaching kids to read and to love reading can be a challenging task. The teaching process can be a bit long and complex, but here are simple tips and tricks of the learning trade that people can use to start them off that road to help build foundational reading skills and a love for reading in kids.
Using songs and nursery rhymes
To start building on foundational skills, the best way to get kids to sit and pay attention to learning how to read is to make the teaching time a fun and engaging moment for them. Incorporating nursery rhymes and sing-song songs is fun to get those little ones’ attention. But more than just the songs, it’s that phonemic awareness that educators want to instill into the kids. Those sounds, syllables, pronunciation of words, sound repetition, sound representation, and everything in between can get kids successfully hooked into learning.
So, don’t think twice. Singing the ABC song may be overused, but it certainly still does the trick!
Richly printed word cards
These are cards of symbols and objects representing basic and commonly used words printed and designed colorfully to attract kids’ interest. Word cards are one of the traditional ways of teaching kids to read but are still very effective. These cards can be used as tools for word games anywhere and everywhere a kid goes!
Letting kids stay up late to read books
Once the kids have the foundation of reading, it’s time to get them to learn to love reading. There are some topics or books that children are particularly interested in. If these books tell suitable moral lessons and values, go ahead and encourage their interest.
One way to keep them engaged is by letting them spend as much time as they want when reading. Even if it means staying up late at night, let them! Staying up and fully engrossed (undisturbed!) is any bookworm’s dream. Letting kids be enthralled is one life hack for them to become fully pledged bookworms in the future.
Make books “come to life”
Books coming to life here doesn’t necessarily mean coming to life! It simply means making the book, story, and characters easily accessible and visible everywhere and anywhere the kid goes. Take the Harry Potter book series, for instance. Seeing the book and movie merchandise displayed in so many parts of a mall is enough to get kids reminded and interested in the Harry Potter characters.
The same goes with the home setup. Buy bags and other school stuff designed with book characters, especially the kids’ favorite characters. This is a sure way to get kids captivated by the stories, and if not, get them hooked on to grab the book from the nearest bookstore!
Create a home library
Kids model off on what adults are doing, and if kids see their parents reading all the time, rest assured that this habit can easily rub off on them! One way to pull this off is to build a mini home library and create a corner in the house that is very conducive to reading. Seeing books always will sooner or later pique a kid’s interest to grab one of those books off the shelves.
Nelibeth Plaza’s Is It Santa? is one of those books that can get kids interested in reading and trapped into becoming a bookworm! Starting on that route to becoming readers can be challenging but undoubtedly worthwhile once people see those eyes widen, unblinking, and enraptured from what they’re reading.
These are some helpful hacks both educators and parents should have up and ready on their rolled-up teaching sleeves. Time and actual proven tested hacks.
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