How do you inspire a love for the written word in prep school age children?

The relationship between reading for fun and educational success is well established. In 2011 Clark and Douglas published a report showing a positive relationship between reading frequency, enjoyment of reading and academic attainment, but how can parents help young children begin that journey and inspire in them a love of the written word? Samantha Gibbon, Deputy Head at Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School in Kensington, offers her top tips on how to encourage and engage children in reading.

Reading for fun

It must be remembered that the written word comes in many forms: storybooks, e-books, newspapers, such as First News (aimed at children aged 7-14) and The Week Junior (for children aged 8 to 14), and magazines such as National Geographic Kids. Any of these can be engaging for children, particularly those who are less interested in fiction, and can be a wonderful way to ignite interest in both reading and the world around them. It can also help children for whom the transition to chapter books can seem rather intimidating. However, it is important that children are still encouraged to read fiction as the grammar and sentence construction tend to be more complex in fiction books and it is important these are modelled for the children, as they will have to reproduce this type of writing in their English lessons in the years to come.

Specialist subjects

Central to the idea of reading for fun is that children are able to read books on topics that interest them, so if football is their passion, books about football will inspire them; if unicorns or fairies light their fire, these books can develop their interest in reading and a wider variety of subject matter can be introduced later, as their confidence in reading grows.

Where a child has older siblings, it can be very tempting to pass down the older siblings’ books, particularly if the siblings enjoyed them. The potential pitfall here is that the younger child misses out on the experience of looking for a new book, whether in a library or bookshop, and the excitement of taking home a book he or she has chosen.

Keep the pressure off

There is a tendency for parents of a prep school age child to think they can measure how successful their child is at reading by how fast they complete the school’s reading scheme. In fact, completing a scheme is far less important than ensuring that a child understands what he or she is reading and is really enjoying it. I can guarantee no one ever got a job by writing on their CV “Excellent reader – finished Oxford Reading Tree Scheme by age 6”. It is important that children are given time to become confident in their reading at each stage before moving on to more challenging books; if a child is constantly being pushed up to the next level, he or she is likely to feel less confident in reading which can be discouraging.

Joining in

Once children have mastered the technicalities of reading, it is easy to think that now they are off, they can read on their own. This can be a false dawn and children should continue to read aloud to parents or carers, if possible, to the end of their primary school years and beyond. If young children are always left to read on their own, there is the temptation for them to start to skim read which, although a skill in itself, can detrimentally affect their comprehension skills. Detail is often missed in favour of finishing the book to find out how the story ends, and it is this detail that is often the focus of comprehension questions. Furthermore, once a young child is in the habit of skipping words when reading it can be hard to break.

Reading to children or reading books together as part of a child’s bedtime routine, is a popular and constructive approach. It can also establish in the child’s mind a link between reading and relaxation – a link which can be carried through to adulthood. But reading to children at other times in a more active way can also be beneficial. For example, discussing the story, possible alternative endings, even drawing out the plot on paper or a white board can all be of significant benefit and this type of kinaesthetic approach will enhance a child’s comprehension of the text. Discussing new vocabulary is also essential, using it in a different context or posting new words in a jar which can be revisited another day, can make the experience more active and exciting. Reading to your children can continue to be beneficial right up to the teenage years.

Becoming a bookworm

Reading can be done in chunks; for young children, 5 minutes here and there is more manageable, so one idea is to put baskets of books (a mix of fiction and non-fiction) in places where children may otherwise be bored, for example, in the car or the bathroom. Sometimes a child may want to read the same book over and over again. This can be beneficial in cementing understanding of grammatical structures or vocabulary and can help them comprehend a concept or idea contained in the book more thoroughly. We know ourselves, as adults, that when we re-read a book we can often get something new out of it.

So, apart from listening to your child read and reading to them, what other steps can parents take to inspire a love of reading? Family reading time at the weekend or on holiday is a great way to get everyone together, even for just half an hour. Reading together and discussing with each other what we are reading can be a really powerful way to inspire children – even the most uncooperative of teenagers seem to enjoy this time as long as parents are not too prescriptive about what they have to read! The opportunity for you to ask questions about what your child is reading or for your child to ask you questions about vocabulary or the meaning of aspects of their book is invaluable.

Make the most of your local libraries

Local libraries are a treasure trove for young children. They regularly hold story time sessions and holiday reading challenges. Being surrounded by other children enjoying reading may be just the ticket to cement your child’s enjoyment of reading. Reading clubs, so popular now among adults, can also be a good way to get children together and an opportunity for them to recommend books to each other.