by Angie Haggstrom

Created on: August 13, 2007

There are a wide variety of activities that can be used to improve reading in children. Improved reading skills not only increases the ease with which your child reads, but the amount of knowledge that your child gains from the content. It also strengthens thought processes such as problem solving. There are four main concepts to develop a child's reading skills.

* Maintaining Interest
* Fluency
* Vocabulary and Spelling
* Comprehension

Maintaining Interest

Maintaining interest is crucial to widening one's reading skills and can also be a sizable challenge. The activities chosen to enhance reading proficiency should be entertaining as well as educational. Choose topics and activities that match the child's interests. If a child likes animals, pick stories that focus on one of their favorites or on one that they may not have heard of before. Choosing a wide variety of materials also adds interest to the activity. Alternative materials include newspapers, educational toys, television, the internet, and even comic books. Try to including the child when deciding on the subject of the material. This allows them to feel in control of what they are reading and ensures they will find it enjoyable.

The use of incentives is a great method that allows children to visualize their progress. Children will get discouraged if they feel they are not getting ahead. Make a chart with each of the children's names on it and reward them with a sticker for each book they complete. When they receive a preset number of stickers, they receive a reward.

Children learn by example. If others around them read often and take pleasure in it, children will often regard reading in a similar light. It is also very important to make reading a daily routine by reading in the same place at the same time. This makes children comfortable with the activity and may even begin to anticipate the daily event.

Fluency

The ease with which a child reads will increase both the knowledge and the enjoyment he or she will gain. Reading favorite books often will not only increase fluency, but the child's self-confidence as well. Taking turns reading allows children the opportunity to listen and follow along. It also makes a longer piece such as a novel much less of a daunting task. Books on tape, audio, video and even the internet are additional ways children can hear their much-loved stories. Reading books in a series or by the same author is beneficial because they are often written in the same style or with a unifying

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