Getting Children into Reading: Part Two - Ages 5-12

‘You can find magic wherever you look.  Sit back and relax all you need is a book!’ - Dr. Seuss

In the last post of this series, I looked at getting under five year olds into reading. In this post, I’ll talk about some of the ways you can make your five to twelve year olds fall in love with reading for life. Primary school is a crucial time for a child’s relationship with reading. Reading can easily become something associated with the bind of school and homework and academic attainment, so it’s important to make sure that your child is having time to actually enjoy and cherish books.

• Get them to write a letter to their favourite character. They could write to Matilda and ask what it felt like to have magical powers. Or they could write to Newt Scamander about some of the magical beasts they’ve discovered.

• A wonderful way to get children to interact with a book is to get them to illustrate a story or scene. This will encourage them to draw out the imaginative, striking images within the text.

• Watch adaptations of their favourite books. Encourage them to think about how watching a film is different to reading a book.

• Give them book vouchers and encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. The novelty of being able to buy a book will give them a sense of excitement about reading what they choose.

• Heighten their reading experience by employing sensory techniques. Employ a range of textures, sights and sounds for them to explore as they read.

• Let them read to you. This is a great way of bonding over books as well as being an opportunity to help them with pronunciation.

• Now is a great time to get children into creative writing. Staple together some sheets of paper so they have a ‘real’ book to work with. It’s a good idea to give them a prompt of some kind like ‘heroes and villains’ or give them a starting sentence like ‘I opened the mystery door and…’

• Take trips inspired by your reading. Open up the worlds they are exploring a little more by visiting museums and other places connected to a book. Reading Goodnight Mister Tom, for example, could be enhanced, by visiting the Imperial war museum.

• Ask them questions about what they read. This will help them to draw out the issues being explored in their storybooks, develop empathy and increase engagement.

Coming Soon: Getting children into reading – teens.

Which of these ideas appeals to you? Let me know in the comments below…