Some children are natural-born readers and will read anything that is put in front of them. Others need a little more coaxing. If you are trying to help your child improve her reading skills, offer her books that involve her interests. If your daughter enjoys riding horses, give her horse-related stories to read. Or if she likes to play video games, you might be able to find fantasy books of a similar nature.
When children are stimulated by their interests, they may be more inclined to pay attention to the material and may find that they enjoy the reading process.
To get your child into the habit of reading, schedule story time every evening before he goes to bed. Story time is where you and your child select a book to read together. You can take turns reading different pages, or you can allow your child to do all the reading as practice to improve his reading skills.
Another idea is to institute a question-and-answer session at the end of the book to help your child develop his comprehension skills. Questions may be, "Why did the main character feel sad?" and "Who was the main character's enemy?"
Vocabulary is at the core of a child's ability or inability to read. If a child does not know what the words mean as she is reading them, then it will be difficult for her to follow along in the story and say the words phonetically out loud. Therefore, reading improvement activities should include practicing vocabulary words.
For example, you can put the new vocabulary words learned in school on flash cards. Then each night you can quiz the child on the vocabulary words using the flash cards. The child will have to say the words out loud and sound out all of the syllables. This activity also helps children learn about phonics.
Repetition is key to reading success. Children learn through repetition, so start improving your child's reading abilities by reading to her every night. As you read, make up a new game to give the story a twist.
For instance, one night you might stop after every page and ask your child to come up with a word that rhymes with a word from the book. Another night you might ask your child to act out the scene that is going on in the story. Such activities stimulate children and help them pay attention and develop an interest in reading later on.