School-aged children who are excited to read begin as young children who eagerly await storytime. Parents can ignite the imaginative love of books in their preschoolers by reading to them daily. Read stories that interest your children. Ask children questions to keep them thinking about the book and characters. Frequently read the same stories. With several readings your preschoolers will anticipate the story and may even act out the plot. Parents and caregivers should bring plenty of expression and enthusiasm to their reading to make the books come alive for children.
Prepare the children to read a book. If the children understand the setting and background information the books will be more meaningful for them. David Schwartz, writing for Manchester College, suggests helping children research the topic of a book before reading. For example, he recommends learning about frogs before reading a book with a frog main character. As children begin reading period books, parents and teachers may need to teach students about the time period. Understanding the story's setting will help children understand the characters' motivation and behavior.
Correlating activities help children gain excitement for books and reading. After your children initially read a book they can act out the story. Children are usually very excited to dress up like their favorite character and dramatize the plot. Parents and caregivers can serve a meal or snacks that go along with the book's theme. For example, green food coloring tints eggs for Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" or oatmeal can stand in for porridge from "The Three Little Bears." Children also enjoy drawing pictures of scenes from the book. Any activities that integrate fun and excitement with book's theme will help children understand and enjoy reading.
As children grow older parents and teachers can employ different strategies to help reading come alive for older children. Adolescents can gather together in circles after reading a particular book passage. They can discuss plot, theme, characterization, literary devices and their general thoughts on the book. Teenagers also enjoy creating with clay, markers or paint. Parents and teachers can encourage them to create what they envision while reading. Children can keep a journal and write down their feelings and questions they have after each reading session. Reading comes to life for older children through interaction.