Not everyone is born with a love of the written word, and in an age of iPads, laptops and smart phones, it\u2019s even harder to encourage students to put down their gadgets and get stuck into a book. While reading for school is necessary, reading to maintain a well-rounded life is vital: reading not only helps encourage the imagination to grow, but helps increase vocabulary, as well as teaching students valuable lessons, that may not always be obvious.<\/p>\n
However, you can\u2019t force a student to love reading. You need to plant a seed, water it, and let it grow. Each pupil will have something that leaves them lying in bed at night reading in the dark, and it\u2019s your job to find it. You don\u2019t need to worry about books not being academic enough, or not being high-brow, the important thing is, is to light a fire that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n
Find out what films your students love and what books they enjoyed, and use your research skills to find more. With websites like Good Reads, and recommendations on Twitter, it isn\u2019t hard to discover a trail of books leading from your pupil\u2019s interests. Depending on age groups, start with some of the past few years\u2019 bestsellers: John Green\u2019s \u2018The Fault in our Stars\u2019, Suzanna Collins\u2019 \u2018The Hunger Games\u2019 series, David Walliams\u2019 collection of stories, and Lemony Snicket\u2019s \u2018A Series of Unfortunate Events\u2019. You could try going back to classics, such as Noel Streatfeild\u2019s \u2018Ballet Shoes\u2019, and Arthur Ransome\u2019s \u2018Swallows and Amazons\u2019.\u00a0 All of these books are easy to read, gripping stories, that won\u2019t seem like a chore to start \u2013 and that will be a disappointment when they end.<\/p>\n
Another route to try is to set vague discussion terms: lead the conversation onto films, and move into the field of film adaptations. Not only is this a great way to incorporate use of subjects like English, History, Media and Art, but also to start moving down a path towards literature.<\/p>\n
Find out what your student dislikes about reading. Is the level they are expected to read at? Or the fact they can\u2019t engage and interact with a book? These problems can be solved in your sessions, and overcome over a period of time.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no right or wrong way to help a student fall in love with reading, but it\u2019s one of the most influential and important things you can impart on someone\u2019s life: use your passion, your literary knowledge, and your love of books to help guide more people towards thousands of unexplored worlds between the pages of a book.<\/p>\n
Written by JC (Guest Blogger) Not everyone is born with a love of the written word, and in an age of iPads, laptops and smart phones, it\u2019s even harder to encourage students to put down their gadgets and get stuck into a book. While reading…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,108,11,49,27,788],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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