Reasons Why Passive Reading is Important in Childhood
Not only in an imaginative sense and for pleasure but also in the development of important literacy skills. Reading provides growth of knowledge, a pleasurable hobby to escape from our busy lives and the development of critical thinking. Developing a love for books in the early years will set your child up for reading readiness and help lay the basis for your child’s success inside, outside and beyond school.
This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Wang P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
What kinds of books to choose for children
Choose books that are kid-friendly and have topics or stories that are relevant to them. Select books that are age-appropriate, such as fabric books for infants and board books for toddlers, minimal print, and picture books.
Instilling a love of books is about having them accessible, we have books in the bath, car, bedrooms, play area and we take them on small trips and holidays. Sometimes they come with us to the shopping trolley and pram. They are everywhere!
Visit the local library regularly and browse around the variety of books. Talk about the different kinds of books and select books on particular topics that are an interest to your kids.
We have gone to the library to find books on the weather and seasons because this is what they were interested in or learning at school.
How to Stimulate an Interest in Reading for Enjoyment
I hope readers will not make my mistakes and instead begin reading for pleasure at a much earlier age. There are different good ways to stimulate an interest in reading. They are as follow.
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1. Tell Stories to Children at an Early Age.
All kids like listening to interesting and exciting stories. At the age of two or three or perhaps younger, children are ready to listen to fairy tales or to look at pictures while stories are being told. I employed this strategy when teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to fifth-graders in Thailand. It greatly stimulated interest in reading in my classes.
2. Encourage Kids to Be Curious and Imaginative.
People who love reading for pleasure do it to satisfy their curiosity and imagination. Words on a page are translated into images to fulfil curiosity and imagination. At the age of one or two, you could give kids books with incomplete pictures and encourage them to finish drawing the pictures and tell a story.
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3. Let Children Have Many Playmates.
In their play, kids will role-play stories based on their experiences. This play will later encourage children to read books. Through conversations with friends, children will be exposed to new ideas and books which will satisfy their curiosity and imagination.
4. Encourage Kids to Develop Interests and Hobbies.
If children cultivate interests and hobbies when young, they will more likely want to read books. These books might be about sports, music, drawing or collections.
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5. Try New Experiences When Young
When children are young, they should be allowed to try new experiences. These experiences could be in the form of playing a sport, learning a musical instrument, being active in churches or participating in the Cub Scouts, Brownies or other clubs.
At a later age, young people should have the experience of working during the summer or doing domestic and foreign travel. Based on their own experiences, young people will be curious to read about the experiences of others.
6. Watching Movies
There are many movies on television and in the cinema which are based on books. By watching a good movie, you could be stimulated to read the book from which the movie is adapted.
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The effective reading skills that children develop now will be invaluable for them both at school and in their futures beyond the education years, regardless of the paths they take. Reading is a habit for life and something that we take great pride in promoting at Huili.
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