Reluctant reader tips

[zikreetdreaming]

DS (5 next week) is in the equivalent of Primary 1 (we're expats, IB school). He's a really reluctant reader and I'm keen on tips on what I do. I'm not sure whether I force him to read to me (in the hope practice makes it easier for him) or whether I don't push it (with the thinking that by pushing it I'm making things worse).

Background is his phonics knowledge is reasonable and he can blend. I've just struggled through an ORT 'red' book with him and he can read it (not necessarily all of the 'tricky' words but all of the rest). However, it's a struggle to get him to read more than two words in a row without him starting to whine and I had tears when sounding out even common words like 'and'.

Maybe he needs to go down a level (the book was a borrowed book, just happened to be what I had). However, school had him on pink all last year and I had pretty much the same problem although better as the books were much shorter!

Any thoughts on how I can get him to want to read?

When do you read? Maybe try doing it in the morning after breakfast with fun reading at bedtime?

Does he like computer games? If so, try 'teach your monster to read' a free site run by the Usborne foundation. You navigate your monster around various games that require blending, decoding and reading short phrases. Level 1 is single sounds, level 2 sounds better for him.

It's the weekend here Iggly so it was the middle of the day. Could try breakfast time. Bedtime us fun reading I.e. he's read to.

He loves computer games so will def try that one. DH and I were the type of kids always reading so the reluctant reader has come as a shock.

Oh and thanks!

My DS was reluctant to read until he realised it allowed him to operate the sky planner .

Likewise, he was allowed to play moshi monsters but I refused to help with instructions.

Read anything. Magazines, cereal boxes etc.

DS1 seized up as soon as the book bag came out.

Hmm how complicated are the instructions on moshi monsters? That could be a plan. Knows his phonics well enough to work the roku but he only needs 'oc' to find his octonauts!

Both of mine were reluctant readers until about age 7. I think for some children, learning to read is just not fun.

My two only started reading for pleasure when reading became easy. I just pushed on regardless but if he's finding reading sentences hard, maybe try going back to single words for a while. I think it can feel like a mountain to climb when you have whole sentence to read and some children (i.e. mine!) gave up before they'd even started.

It's really hard for them to enjoy reading a book when every ounce of effort goes into working out what each word is.

Take it back a notch. When I started reading with DD i expected that she would read and I would listen. But if she won't, or can't, read the whole sentence it just descends into tears and frustration and crucially she doesn't really learn anything.

We went back to basics and I started reading her reading books TO her, with a pointy finger. It started with her just doing the word 'a' and me doing the rest, or she would do the first word on each page and I'd read the rest, or she would point to each word in turn and I would read it. It was a lightbulb moment for me when I realised that she actually learned more from looking at a word and hearing me say it, than from me making her do it. Yes, she didn't progress very quickly, but at least it was positive and she adores reading now (is 7). Keep it fun, which is oh so hard, and read lots of other stuff to him too. Preferably picture books. And see if he can read all the 'Sam's or 'and's while you do the rest. Slowly change the balance towards him doing more. One day he will pick up the book and read you the whole thing, for fun. Reading familiar, favourite books that he knows by heart, with a pointy finger, is also a really good tool. I think DS learned a lot of sight words that way.

Take it back a notch. When I started reading with DD i expected that she would read and I would listen. But if she won't, or can't, read the whole sentence it just descends into tears and frustration and crucially she doesn't really learn anything.

We went back to basics and I started reading her reading books TO her, with a pointy finger. It started with her just doing the word 'a' and me doing the rest, or she would do the first word on each page and I'd read the rest, or she would point to each word in turn and I would read it. It was a lightbulb moment for me when I realised that she actually learned more from looking at a word and hearing me say it, than from me making her do it. Yes, she didn't progress very quickly, but at least it was positive and she adores reading now (is 7). Keep it fun, which is oh so hard, and read lots of other stuff to him too. Preferably picture books. And see if he can read all the 'Sam's or 'and's while you do the rest. Slowly change the balance towards him doing more. One day he will pick up the book and read you the whole thing, for fun. Reading familiar, favourite books that he knows by heart, with a pointy finger, is also a really good tool. I think DS learned a lot of sight words that way.

When you say ORT are they books he can easily read with his phonics skills or do they contain too many words that aren't easy for him to decode with his current level of knowledge? The old ORT scheme was written to include words that children can only "read" by guessing from picture clues

My first thought on reading this is that he's still very young. I get that he's got the phonics grounding, but my DD3 who is 5 is only beginning to blend and read really basic ORT books. I think her school deliberately take this slowly (as the whole class seem to be at this stage - I am 'that mum' that worried about it so asked). Having had a very reluctant reader as DD2 (still would never choose to read a book) who's 10, I would definitely give him some space. If it isn't a fun thing to do, and if he can feel your tension, it will become something he resists.

He could decode all the words in the book I tried him on except the ones that were in the list of ones he might need help with at the beginning (he, one, very and similar). It was a songbirds one (Ox and the Yak).

Tried him on a normal reading book snuggled up in bed this morning and it didn't help - still whining (and it was words like 'in' I was asking him for). Seems to be about the fact he doesn't want to read and he says it's boring. Basically it's an effort and he can't be bothered (which is a general theme!). My instinct is that by trying to force him it will only make him more resistant but then if he isn't practising he's not going to start finding it easier.

They also go in fits and starts. Instill love of books first and foremost. Stories, audiobooks, let him see you reading.

His own reading will come later.

Sometimes I used to deliberately get words wrong and DS1 would correct me

Dd1 was also reluctant in Reception. Even though she could blend well, but for the first half of the year it was a struggle to get her to read her school books. And, they were boring too - I must agree.
We didn't push - if she didn't want to read herself, we read it to her.

Sometime after Xmas it clicked. She was happier to read th school books and they became a bit more interesting - more words, more of a story. By end of her first year of school she was on simple chapter books. She is now in Year 3 and reads non stop.

I would be careful with I computer games. While they are good to teach reading skills and new letter combinations, I do think that they don't help in getting they kids to love reading books. No book can compete with colours, sounds, interactivity of the screen. And, in my experience, a lot of computer time at the young age is highly correlated with finding reading boring.

I'd stick with it and, most importantly, continue to read TO him. It's the best thing you can do to make him enjoy reading.

A book that could help, and could be enjoyable for him to use, either on his own, or perhaps with support until he gets used to things, is in the MN Book Reviews area.

In "Children's educational books and courses" section is the Oxford Phonics Spelling Dictionary, and from the review you can link to sample pages from it, and also purchase if you so wish. It is colourful and entertaining, and could help encourage his reading, and later also his writing.

Ferguson, you write exactly the same post for every 'reluctant reader' thread I've come across.

In sales perhaps?