Top 5 Tips

Read UK brings you their top 5 tips on helping your child become a better reader.

1. Surround your children with reading material.
Children with a large array of reading materials in their homes score higher on tests. Tempt your kids to read by having a large supply of appealing books and magazines at their reading level. Put the reading materials in cars, bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, and even by the TV.

2. Have a family reading time.
Establish a daily 15 minute time when everyone in the family reads together.Seeing you read will inspire your children to read.

3. Encourage a wide variety of reading activities.
Make reading an integral part of your children's lives. Have them read menus, road signs, game instructions, recipes and other practical everyday information. Also, make sure they always have something to read in their spare time.

4. Look for and get help promptly for reading problems.
Teachers do not always detect children's reading problems until they've become serious. Find out if your children can sound out words, use context to identify unknown words, and clearly understand what they read. Reading problems do not magically disappear with time. The earlier children receive help, the more likely they will become good readers.

5. Use a variety of aids to help your children.
To help your children improve their reading, use textbooks, magazines, computers and other materials. Games are especially good choices because they let children have fun as they work on their skills.