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Tips for encouraging your boy to read:
5
Suggestions from Michael Sullivan
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Also, see the Seattle Times Article by Jerry
Large,
"Teaching
Boys the Joy of Books." (March 11, 2004)
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Take it easy:
Becoming a reader has little to do with reading difficult books
and everything to do with the amount of reading a boy does. So let your boy
choose books that are below, even well below his reading level. If your son
chooses books that are very easy, he may be feeling unsure of his abilities and
is looking for some reassurance that he can read and enjoy it. This is called
regression, and it is perfectly normal. What you don't want to happen is for him
to give up on reading altogether for any amount of time; it may be very hard to
get him reading again.
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Let him choose:
As much as possible, let your son choose the books he wants
to read for pleasure, it will fight the impression that reading is a chore that
is imposed on him. He might choose the same types of books (even the same books)
over and over again. He is showing signs of regression (see above). He might
choose books that make you crazy: books that center on action and even violence,
books that are gross and humor that is edgy. He is testing the limits of his
freedom and your forbearance. This too is perfectly normal. Try to remember that
he is exposed to these types of things from the media all the time, and that he
will deal with such things better in context, that is, in a book.
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Read with him:
Reading is hard for many boys, but stories are still
appealing. Share the reading, so he only has to do half the work. If the reading
is too hard but the story is too good, just read it to him. Listening to things
being read encourages boys to read.
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Model good reading:
Even when you are not reading with your son, make sure he
sees you read, especially you fathers out there! We men have been trained to
read in isolation, either because that is natural for the women who educated us,
or because we felt uncomfortable being seen reading. Break the cycle! Read in
front of boys, yours or anyone else's. If you can't bring yourself to read, at
least prop yourself up in plain view of as many boys as possible with a book in
your hands and daydream or nap or whatever. Boys need to see men with books.
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Show respect for mental activities:
Reading is just part of a rich life of
the mind. Show the same respect for that world as you do for the more physical
world (sports, outdoors, etc.). Involve yourself and your son in library and
school activities, chess and other challenging mental games, crossword puzzles,
and the like. The mind needs to be exercised just like the muscles.
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