How to Encourage Your Middle School Student to Read: A Tip Sheet for Parents

 

1. Leave reading material all around the house. (especially the bathroom!!)

2. Clip articles you come across in the newspaper that would interest your teen. Post them on the refrigerator.

3. When friends and relatives ask what gift they can buy for your child, suggest a magazine subscription or a book that reflects his/her interests.

4. Make it a morning ritual to have your teen read you the morning newspaper headlines or your horoscope over breakfast.

5. Read the same book as your child, so you can discuss it and see the movie together. (this tip highly recommended by Jen Hubert)

6. Read the lyrics to their favorite CD together. (No judgments, please!)

7. Stick funny cartoons on your refrigerator.

8. Buy your teen a reading journal. At the very least, have them list the title and author of each book they read. More ambitious types can write mini-reviews.

9. Have a “Family Reading Time.” Prepare popcorn and let everyone sit and read quietly.

10. Have your teens read aloud to you or younger family members.

11. Encourage everyone in the family to share something they’ve read at dinner.

12. If your child is going on a long trip, pack a little “entertainment kit” with some word games, crosswords and magazines.

Originally prepared by the Queens Borough Public Library’s Project LIFE (Literacy in a Family Environments) with some tweakings by Jennifer Hubert Swan, MS Librarian