Primary Times North London Summer 18

Inspirethem…
to read all summer
Avoiding ‘Summer BrainDrain’and
maintainingliteracylevelsinthe holidays
Summer is atime for
children to relax, get
outdoors and take a
break from school. However,
many parents are aware that a
summer without reading can be
detrimental to achild’s literacy,
and the terms ‘summer slide’ and
‘summer brain drain’ are widely
accepted in education.
Yetwhat if your child refuses
to read? “Make them” Ihear
an authoritarian voice cry! The
problem with such astrategy is
that it is unlikely to be successful
in the long term and at worst
turns reading into apunishment.
The key is to get achild ‘reading
for pleasure’ which by definition
from the National Literacy Trust
implies ‘reading of their own free
will, anticipating the satisfaction
they will get from reading.’
So how can we bring about
achange in the reading
Did you know?
Reading for pleasure ismore
important for children’s cognitive
development than their parents’ level
of education and more a powerful
factor in life achievement than
socio-economic background –
source: The Reading Agency.
habits of children who refuse
to pick up abook? Change
happens, in my opinion and
having spent several years
working with children who
struggle with literacy, when there
is achange in their perception of
reading. In the words of Albert
Einstein: “The world as we have
created it is aprocess of our
thinking. It can’t bechanged
without changing our thinking.”
Here’s how you can try to
change that perception:
Encourage joy
Create an environment full of
meaningful resources that are
welcoming to aspecific child,
encouraging them to delve
further. “Idon’t like books” and
“reading is boring” are common
phrases Ihear as aLiteracy and
Dyslexia Intervention Specialist.
What is it they enjoy doing?
When achild has reached
the point of refusing to
read it isn’t about what
they are reading, it is
about getting them to
start the process of
reading –magazines,
comics, movie reviews,
football cards, fact books
– praise any ofthose
toencouragethejoy
thatcancomefromthe
writtenword.
Reading is not arace
Even from ayoung age children are
acutely aware ifthey are different
and they will likely give up or not
try
if they feel they have already
lost the race. Reinforcing with a
child that reading is not arace
is crucial. Areportrt published by
the Department of Education on
Reading for Pleasure noted that
akey reason children don’t read
relates to how it makes them
feel. The tortoise and the hare
approach is perfect here: focus
on the progress your child makes,
whatever the speed. Concentrate
less on how well the child is reading
but more onfostering an enjoyment
of it. Any progress is positive and
needs to be encouraged with praise
and rewards.
Targeted rewards
Iamafirm believer in the use of
incentives for children who are
struggling to read. Most children
respond well to this approach
and rewards don’t have to cost
anything. Achild once told me
that the best reward would be
if his Dad played football with
him after school on the days he
read. There isevidence to show
that literacy targeted rewards can
work well in fostering the reading
for pleasure goal. Whatever the
carrot, I say dangle it and feel no
shame doing so.
NATIONAL
READING
SCHEME
With the expense of summer,
parents may be wary of
stocking up on books at home.
This is where the Reading
Agency with its National
Reading Scheme supporting
literacy, the Summer Reading
Challenge, comes in.
Set up in 1999 this program
works with local libraries to
encourage summer reading
among children aged 4to11.
The success of this program
is evident with over 82% of
parents/carers reporting that
their child was encouraged to
read more during the summer.
An outward mindset
Studies into change have
typically shown that permanent
change happens when the
individual ‘thinks outwards
towards others’. Encouraging
your child to have an outward
mindset, seeing beyond
themselves, can foster reading
for pleasure. Asking your child to
read to apet, afavourite toy or
afamily member can encourage
them to think outside their own
needs when it comes to reading.
Set attainable targets…
…only then will children develop
confidence in themselves and
their abilities, and gain trust in
themselves. Setting atarget of
“I’d like you to read to me for
aminimum of five minutes and
amaximum of 15 minutes” is a
good target for achild struggling
to pick up abook. Motivating
them to start
can be as simple as
“I’ll count down from five.”
By Juliette Laliberte
(BSc. Hons, PGCE (SpLD),
QTS, ATS, PATOSS)
Juliette is themother of a
childdiagnosed with
dyslexia and a classroom teacher
with over 15 years’ experience.
She specialises in literacy and
dyslexia, and was named
Teaching Support of the Year
2017 by the British Dyslexia
Association (BDA).
Contact your local libraryor
email info@readingagency.org.uk
forfurther information