As a mom, educator and president of a tutoring company, I never would have thought that getting my children to read would be a struggle. In our home, my husband and I always played games that promoted literacy, we read tons of books with them and they read to us, we visited libraries and bookstores weekly. We had book chats and did book clubs. We constantly read in front of them and we have books in every room. Reading is something we foster and promote in our home on a daily basis since the girls were babies. Then teenage years set upon us and the distraction of technology has been a constant presence in their lives. This is a constant struggle I hear amongst my friends and my clients, how do we get our teens reading again?
Here are a few tips that have worked for us, I hope they can help you too!
Connect Movies & Books: Pair books with movies. Offer your teen the book before they watch the movie. Chat about the similarities and differences between the two. Here are some teen books made into movies to get you started!
Graphic Novels: Graphic novels are all the rage for young readers! They come in a variety of genres ranging from historical fiction, adventure, fantasy to biography and memoirs. Here is a list of great graphic novels for teens.
Listen To Stories: Audiobooks are an excellent way to promote literacy for your teen. They can download a book on their phones and listen on the way to school or on long road trips. This helps build their listening comprehension skills too!
Discus the “Why”: Young adult novels often have themes that are similar to what our teens are dealing with such as peer pressure, stress at home or school to grief and to boy/girl crushes. Whether your teen is experiencing these issues or not, teens tend to gravitate towards topics that are relatable. Here is a list book reviews to consider.
Do you have suggestions to help get your teens reading again? Share with us!