How to help your reluctant reader

Do you have a reluctant reader? If so, the key to helping them is to find out why they are reluctant to read in the first place. What is the best way to do this? Have a conversation with them. Ask them why they don't enjoy reading and listen to their response carefully.

In my experience, there are a few reasons why children don't enjoy reading:

1. They find it hard to read the words.

2. They don't understand what they are reading.

3. They haven't found a genre that they enjoy.

4. The font is small and the lines are close together. Therefore there are a lot of words on one page and it can look overwhelming.

5. There aren't many pictures.

6. The book is too large. Again, this feels overwhelming.

Here are my top tips to help with the points above:

Point number one: They find it hard to read the words

If your child struggles to read the words, then this can be very challenging for you both. My advice here is to practice phonics as much as possible. Find out what scheme your child's school uses and follow that. Have the sounds in sight of your child and get your child to say the sounds when they see them. Do this yourself as well. For example, you could have the sound they are learning that week at school written on a post-it note on the fridge door, on your bathroom mirror, etc. Think of places your child regularly visits in your home and place them at eye level. Every time you see the sound, say it, and get your child to do the same. There are also plenty of fun card games and board games on phonics. Practice, practice, practice!

Your child will bring home books for their reading level, so there's no need to buy extra books unless you really want to. Remember, reading should be enjoyable and not seem like a chore. When your child reads their book to you and gets frustrated, you could try reading a page each. Also, it's a good idea to read the same book at least 3 times so that they have a chance to practice the words more than once, allowing for deeper learning. You could also create a chart to show how many books your child has read to you. They will feel proud to see the list of books increase. Go to my shop to purchase my reading charts.

Here is an example of one reading chart I have created. Please click on the link above or the image to see more.

Lastly, read TO them. Hearing you read different stories has so many benefits. Don't make it a book at their reading level - a book suitable for their age group is perfect. And read with expression. This shows them that books should be enjoyed, not just for homework.

Point number two: they don't understand what they are reading

Point number two can be tricky for both you and the child. My advice here is, when you are reading to your child, ask them questions about the story while you are reading. Not all the time, as your child could find it annoying. Here are the types of questions to be asked:

• 'Do you know what this word means?' If they don't, then you have a few options: look up the word together in a dictionary (this could be an online dictionary as well, but a book is best practice), tell them what the word means, or ask your smart device. My children have smart devices in their rooms, and we often ask them what a word means.

• 'How do you think the character is feeling? What makes you think that?' Writers won't always say how a character is feeling; they show it. For example, 'Realising there was no food, the bunny's ears drooped.' Here, the character is sad because there isn't any food. We know this because the bunny's ears went down. Normally bunnies' ears are up. It doesn't say, 'the bunny was sad because there was no food,' It was inferred. When you ask your child these inference questions, they may not know the answer as these can be the hardest ones to answer. You explain your answer and reasoning if they don't know the answer. If they misunderstand the inference and give you an incorrect answer, don't tell them they are wrong. You could respond by saying, 'That's interesting, I thought.....' then explain your answer and reasoning.

To help with your child's comprehension, I have created guided reading ebooks to go with popular children's books. Please visit my shop for these. An example is shown below for the very popular book: THE 13-STOREY TREEHOUSE by Andy Griffith and Terry Denton. Click on the images to be taken to my shop to purchase the ebook: An Unofficial Reading Guide for 'The 13-Storey Treehouse'. AND IT'S ONLY £6! In these ebooks I give you examples of questions to ask your child while they are reading to you, or while you are reading to them. And I also give examples of answers.

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11828/9781035019540 click on this link to purchase the actual book from my bookshop on BOOKSHOP.ORG. This is an affiliate link, so I will receive a small amount, and some money also goes towards independent bookshops. Please support independent.

Point number three: they haven't found a genre they enjoy

Yet! Finding a genre that your child enjoys may take some time and effort. Start with funny books. Most reluctant readers I know always enjoy funny books. There's no need to buy them either - borrow them from your local library to start with. Think about what interests they have: Do they love Minecraft? There are loads of unofficial Minecraft storybooks out there. Do they love fairies? Again, there are lots of fairy books. Do they love insects? There are lots of non-fiction books on insects suitable for all ages. Reading for pleasure doesn't have to be fiction; some kids love non-fiction just as much, sometimes more. Once they have found a genre they love, research books with the same genre and get those. It doesn't matter if they read the same genre, as long as they enjoy reading it. You could also find books by the same author. Remember, they don't have to read these books to themselves - they can read to you, you can read to them, or you can share the reading. And if you are reading to them, you could choose a different genre other than the one they like. This will expose them to different types of genres.

Point number four: The font is small and the lines are close together

This one frustrates me a little bit. There are lots of books out there where the font is larger and the lines aren't so close together, but I do wish publishers would publish larger children's books like this. Larger children's books tend to have small fonts and lines close together. Books for younger children usually have this and lots of pictures, which is great. This is where I think ebook readers are great, as you can change the font size and the paper colour. I would definitely recommend these for older children who still need a bigger font and find it easier to read on a coloured background.

Point number five: There aren't many pictures

This is another point that frustrates me a little bit. There are lots of young children's books with lovely illustrations, but as soon as they are out of the nine-year-old mark, the books available to them tend to have fewer pictures. This is such a shame. My advice is to let your child continue to read books with images even if you think the book they have chosen is too young for their age group. If they enjoy it, then that is the most important thing. Remember that reading should be a joy and as soon as you take that away from them, it becomes a chore. You can still read age-appropriate books for them, ensuring they have exposure to a wider range of vocabulary and themes.

Point number 6: the book is too large

Again, as children get older, the books also get bigger. However, there are plenty of books for the older child that are not so big. Check out your local library or bookstore for books suitable for your child's age that don't have too many pages. Remember, you can still read larger books to your child if you wish to - exposing them to longer stories and multiple storylines is beneficial.