Every major city has its own version of the Yellow Pages. Back to Articles Home Page Motivating Young Readers Children want to imitate their parents and, so, are eager to read. If lessons have been too long or too tedious, by their standard, they are likely to look for an excuse to avoid the work. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to encourage the perseverance needed. First, keep lessons short and varied, but schedule several of these mini-lessons throughout the day.
Young children have short attention spans.
A rule of thumb is one minute of attention per year of life through age 7. That doesn't mean you have to switch subjects, only that you need to change the way the child interacts with the materials. For example, if he has been listening for a few minutes, switch to participation. If he has been sitting quietly, give him an opportunity to move as part of the lesson. Your child might begin by reading a list of words based on an initial phonic sound.