Reluctant readers, unmotivated readers, whatever you call them, parents and teachers alike are running out of ideas to help increase reading scores around the country for students that just will not pick up a book to read. Students have so many other preferred activities, like video games or scrolling TikTok, that reading falls by the wayside and feels more like a chore than anything else. However, reading for extended periods of time is a predictor of student achievement and one of the best ways to improve standardized test scores. So what are teachers and parents to do?
My middle school students are no different. This year, when talking with one of my student’s parents, she shared that she truly did not know what else to do to help her child spend more time reading. She had spent hundreds of dollars on books that sat unopened on a shelf, and every time she tried to force her child to read, it ended up in a huge argument that left mom and child frustrated and upset. She wanted advice and to know she wasn’t alone, which she absolutely is not!
Here’s what I told her:
Reading is a habit, just like brushing your teeth before bed or exercising first thing in the morning. At first, these things feel strange. They take effort to remember and to initiate. But over time, your brain becomes wired to include them in your daily routine. You may feel like something is missing if you get in bed without having brushed your teeth or you may notice that you start to wake up with the urge to start working out when that had never been the case in the past.
This is the magic of creating habits. It takes effort, time, and intentionality to create a lasting habit, and creating a reading habit is no different.
- Make it obvious. Put the child’s book in an easy-to-find place where it can’t be missed, like on the dining room table or coffee table. When books are out of sight in a backpack or can blend in on a bookcase, they are easily forgotten! Keeping reading material in a location where it can’t be missed can help remind everyone about this reading habit in the first place! In addition, all habits start with some kind of cue to tell your brain it is time to do the action. Over time, seeing their book should start to act as a cue to your child’s brain that it is time to read.
- Make it routine. It takes repetition to build a habit, so working reading into a specific part of your child’s day can help. Maybe, as soon as your child gets home, they read for a few minutes before they do anything else. Another option is while a parent makes dinner, the child is reading at the kitchen table. Maybe the entire family finds time to stop and read at the same time. As long as it can be consistent and fairly natural, working reading into your daily routine will help solidify your reading habit.
- Make it easy. If your child or student is a “reluctant” reader, starting with a large chunk of time for required reading feels like a mountain you will need to fight your way up. Starting with smaller increments of time or pages over time can help build a reading habit in your child. You may start with 5 minutes or even just one page, and slowly increase this over time once your reading habit is starting to take root. Forcing your child to read for 30 minutes may be a huge fight, but asking them to read 1 page when they come home from school isn’t that bad. Think of it as a gateway to being a reader. You wouldn’t start running an entire marathon on Day 1. You would build your way up mile by mile, and it’s the same with readers!
- Lastly, make it satisfying – this is where your knowledge of your student really pays off! What are they rewarded by? When reading becomes tied to a positive reinforcer, your student’s brain starts to crave reading over time, thus creating a habit! Think about what your child is motivated by, and use that to help them build their habit! Below are some examples of how this reward could look.
- If you have a child who loves video games, let them play one minute for each page they read!
- If you have a child who loves tangible rewards, each page read could mean a penny or nickel towards something they want to buy. If they need something more immediate than that, your student could earn a candy after reading for 5 or 10 minutes.
- If your child loves attention, take time immediately after they are finished reading to talk about the book! Ask questions, relate it to other activities, and lay on that positive praise!
Remember – it takes multiple weeks of consistency to see a habit start to take shape. Don’t be discouraged while this process takes form! Stay positive, consistent, and intentional to help your child or student become a reader!
How do you build a reading habit in your students? Let me know in the comments below!
