What can you do if your child doesn't like to read? Many parents who read a lot to their children in the early years are understandably mortified when their kids get older and have no interest in reading a book. There can be many reasons kids don't like to read. Too many distractions like TV and video games can be one. But another possible cause of disinterest in reading may be poor reading ability, resulting from a lack of broad general knowledge.
A child may do fine when it comes to decoding text. But if they don't understand much of what they are reading they understandably will not enjoy doing it. Parents may assume that their children have good reading skills because they have good decoding skills.
Decoding and Comprehending
Reading ability requires both decoding and comprehending ability. Decoding refers to the ability to sound out words and recognize sight words. Comprehending refers to understanding of what is read. This requires a broad general knowledge base. In the elementary school years much of the focus is on building and improving decoding skills. However, it is a big mistake to neglect comprehension and general knowledge. Parents should focus on building a child's comprehension ability and knowledge as early as the toddler years. Schools should put equal focus on both decoding and comprehension starting in Kindergarten. Unfortunately, many schools fail to do this.
Many parents assume that any reading is beneficial. I know parents who don't care what their children read, as long as they read. But not all reading is equal. A child who builds up a strong general knowledge base in many different subjects will have better reading ability than a child who doesn't. Reading tests up to the 5th grade level focus largely on decoding ability and often consist of topics that most children would already know something about. Tests of 6th grade reading ability and beyond tend to be far more knowledge focused. So, a child's true reading ability may not become obvious until they have reached middle school.
@NiRaaLi_Man0 @SweeeT_AnGeL
A child may do fine when it comes to decoding text. But if they don't understand much of what they are reading they understandably will not enjoy doing it. Parents may assume that their children have good reading skills because they have good decoding skills.
Decoding and Comprehending
Reading ability requires both decoding and comprehending ability. Decoding refers to the ability to sound out words and recognize sight words. Comprehending refers to understanding of what is read. This requires a broad general knowledge base. In the elementary school years much of the focus is on building and improving decoding skills. However, it is a big mistake to neglect comprehension and general knowledge. Parents should focus on building a child's comprehension ability and knowledge as early as the toddler years. Schools should put equal focus on both decoding and comprehension starting in Kindergarten. Unfortunately, many schools fail to do this.
Many parents assume that any reading is beneficial. I know parents who don't care what their children read, as long as they read. But not all reading is equal. A child who builds up a strong general knowledge base in many different subjects will have better reading ability than a child who doesn't. Reading tests up to the 5th grade level focus largely on decoding ability and often consist of topics that most children would already know something about. Tests of 6th grade reading ability and beyond tend to be far more knowledge focused. So, a child's true reading ability may not become obvious until they have reached middle school.
@NiRaaLi_Man0 @SweeeT_AnGeL