I know many parents who ask me what they can do to get their child to read more.  I have a fun suggestion for the summer.  Every week, you and your child should pick a magazine or two out — something other than People — but one still very interesting to both of you.  Make a list of three articles to read for the week, and set three times for when you will have a discussion about each article.  Nothing like formal debate — but a dinnertime conversation would be great!  I find that students respond better to nudging about reading if they see Mom or Dad or both joining in the process.  Also, I know from years of experience that students retain information better if they engage interactively with the material, and having an active discussion where one is challenged on one’s interpretation creates precisely the kind of stimulation needed to encourage better critical thinking skills.

So there you have it…a simple summer recipe for better reading.  Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 3:42 pm and is filed under For Parents, Mentoring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.