First Grader Not Interested in Reading

Have you tried the web site www.starfall.com It is a great site for new readers. She may fell frustrated and is being resistant to learning how to read. I know I was. Good Luck.

K.,

What does she love to do? What does she love to learn about? Whatever that is, find an easy reader about it. Maybe take her to the library or book store with you and pick out some books together.

Also, perhaps magazines would pique her interest. There are so many good ones out there.

Good luck!

First grade is still young. I would not try to push too much. I suggest that you make books about something other than reading. For example, get her a where's waldo book & have her look for him. Get her the books with the crazy pictures that when you stare at them for a while you suddenly see something else. Get her math workbooks. Make her comfortable with the idea of a book before you try to get her reading again. I would also go to the library & get some books on tape. Sit down together for five minutes listening to the book. Then each of you draw a picture about what you heard & share them. Or act out that part of the story. Get her interested in stories. Tell each other stories. When you feel she is comfortable with this. THen try to introduce a chapter book, which you read to her. Keep the reading sessions really short & follow them with acting out the story or coloring. Have her tell the story to other people, maybe she can call grandma each day & tell her about the story. I think the most important thing right now is to get her to enjoy stories. it should not be work or something she dreads. You want to make her excited about it. As for learning her words, make that entirely separate from reading. Cut out strips of paper and write words on them for objects around the house and put them on the objects. Doors get signs with the word "door". The refrigerator would get a sign saying refrigerator. A stuffed dog could get a sign that says dog. If there are words she needs to learn for objects you don't have in the house, then draw pictures of them, label them & hang them up. Make up songs for the words & spell them in the songs. Like Dog, Dog, D-O-G, spells dog. They don't have to be complicated. Finally, don't force it. If she doesn't get it, that's ok. If she needs to repeat first grade (b/c she may not be ready) that's ok too. Don't push too hard b/c then she will hate reading & will hate school (b/c everything in school involves reading). And you will be battling for the next 17 years. One last thing, talk to her teacher. See if she has any insight. Ask her if you think your daughter should be tested for a learning disability. Most likely its just development & she will be ready soon. Give her the time she needs. Good luck.

K.

gosh i dont know my second grader LOVES to read - what is she into? get her books (american girl etc) that interst her - OR go a bit higher than her reading level and get science/math books that she HAS to read in order to learn more about that. try to be creative and create LONG word problems for her to read/do- make sense?

hope that helps!

also- do your or your hubby read for plesure? thats important for kids to see - my hubby and I BOTH read for pleasure and i think its taught our daughter that reading can be a fun, relaxing thing to do.

Hi K. L,

When did your daughter turn 6?

My daughter was a summer birthday and struggled in first grade. She had a great vocabulary, but wasn't able to read or learn her words. It was like pulling teeth, even with incentives. The teacher wasn't sure if it was developmental or a learning disability. The district we lived in would have promoted her to 2nd grade & had her in learning support.

Thankfully we moved to another district that had a transitional 1st grade. She was able to do 1st grade again and she is now doing very well. (Her "reading lightbulb" went off when she turned 7). Obviously her case was developmental. We were very lucky.

I hope this helps. Some children just aren't ready.

A. D

I agree with Denise P. about reading chapter books with your child. The Harry Potter books first became popular when my son was about six. We would sit together in the evening before his bedtime and I read to him. The adventure drew him in and by the time we got to the third book, he told me he wanted to read it himself. He absorbed those books. Each time a new one would come out, he would read all of the others in order to catch up on where the story left off before the new book. If he didn't recognize a word, he would ask me what it was. The point is that instead of forcing your child to read a chapter of a book every day, thinking she will magically fall in love with reading, you may want to show her you enjoy it too and make it a special time set aside for both of you until she feels she is ready to do it on her own.

I had the same problem with my now 7 yr old son who is in 3rd grade core courses but 4th grade advanced math. I homeschool through a online public school. I used the fact of showing him that I have a love for reading. My three other children love reading. We spent lots of time going to the library and letting him choose the books he wanted. We did alot of I would read a page then have him read a page. His teacher would allow him to read subjects that he was interested in for silent reading and things like that. Hopefully this will help you!!

I have two daughters, one of which is in second grade. She loves reading,but she would not read anything. What she really likes is Junie B Jones and Katie Kazoo. These are chapter books, but they are very funny and keeps the child interested. She read all these books in 1st grade, but even now she loves them. Go with her to a book store, pick one of these books and read to her to see if she would be interested.

Try going to the library or book store and find some topics he might like. Let him try to pick out books. Maybe find books that match the shows or movies he likes. How about flip books or pop up books? He may not be a book lover. I'm not, lol. For me, it had to really be something I liked. When I was very young I picked Dr Seuss. Nothing else interested me. When I entered 7th grade and all the girls were reading one popular book after another, I had no interest. I liked Little House on the Prairie though cuz I loved the show when I was a kid. On a far stretch, keep an eye on him and talk to the teacher about how he's doing. If he has a hard time concentrating or has a minor learning disability that no one is aware of yet, that would turn of a child to read as well.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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Hi K.,
I'm sure it's upsetting that she doesn't want to spend time reading. How does she do with it in school? Is she doing OK with reading skills at school?
I know that sometimes if you push something too much they go the other way--so be careful of that. I am a real book nerd, reading junkie, and I really want my son to enjoy reading too. He shows most interest in books about what he's REALLY interested in--like trains and Nascar. I'll buy him any book he wants, even if it's above his age level. He loves me to read those kinds of books with him--even if they are geared for older kids/adults.
Also, have you tried doing a chapter-book with her? I read Treasure Island to my son O. chapter per night and he enjoyed the suspense from day to day of what would happen next. Just a few thoughts...hope this helps. Good luck!

My first grader loves to play teacher, when she is not interested I have her pretend like she is the teacher. She reads the page and then holds out the book and fans it back in forth so everyone can see, she really likes that. She also has a younger brother and I make him listen to her read. I have her dad and grandparents listen to her read and they all exclaim how well she is doing. I also have purchased a few books that are below the current reading level. These books are real easy for her to read on her own and it gives her good practice. Try to show that YOU really love to have her read to her. Make it a very special time. Also show her that you enjoy reading. Start a family reading night. where there is no TV. She does not have to read out loud. Spend a half an hour in a room where you are all looking at and reading books. Pop popcorn and light candles or a fire in the fire place, what ever it takes. I even created two reading spots in my daughter's room. One is a "fort" in her closet which I put his little sparkley light in so she can read by it. The other is a chair with a mesh net canopy over it and I hung a sparkley light in there as well to read by. Try to remove pressure and ad fun. I know it is hard. We struggled. We even ended up putting our daughter into transitional first grade last year because of her unwillingness to learn. But know we both know how to make learning fun and not stressfull. Best of luck. if there is any more questions you would like to ask, or ideas, please feel free to drop me an e-mail.

First count yourself lucky that she loves math. Many children, especially girls, do not. Your child may not be developmentally ready yet for reading. Some children read earlier than others. Be patient. Continue to work with her, but don't push it or make it seem like a big deal if she isn't progressing. One thing I did to encourage my kids was take turns reading. They read one page, I read the next. Use easy books. Rhyming books worked well for us. She could play a educational computer game that teaches reading. I used word flashcards and rewarded my kids for each one they read correctly. Praise her when she is doing well. Try not to react negatively when she isn't.

Make reading fun, not a chore. Maybe if you made up story problems for math that would encourage her to learn to read so she can solve the problems. Take her to the library and let her choose the books. Library and bookstore reading clubs may help.

Two of my kids read early and love to read. Two read late and love to read. So it doesn't really matter if they are early or late readers. They can learn to read well and love it if you are patient and encouraging.

There are a couple of strategies. You know your daughter and know what she enjoys. Take her on a field trip and than ask her to pick out a book that she likes. You can read the book to her or ask her to read to you. Does she like pets? Motivate the reading through her interests. The tutors that work with me do a great job with kids motivating them to read and those are some of the strategies that they use. I hope that helps.

B. Harvis
President
Harvis Educational Learning Program
http://www.harviseducation.com

Try to find some books that she would find interesting. I know there are Easy REaders that are math related like Even STevens and Odd Todd.
Try and make learning her words for school fun.

I taught 2nd Grade for 8 years and I saw so many parents pushing for their kids to be the best readers and it only turned them off to reading. There is a great section of Dr. Brazilton's books about pushing your child too early to be academic.
I sat back with my daughter when it came time for her to start reading. She finally came to me and asked if I could help her learn. I wanted her to want to read, want to find out about books, want to show me what she knew. When she had ownership over her own learning, she thrived. It was hard at first because she seemed behind the rest of the kids in 1st grade. She was barely reading the first few months, but by the end of the year, she was reading chapter books. Now she's in second grade and she is one of the top readers in her class. More importantly, though, she loves reading.

Think about if your husband took you aside, sat you down and said, "I want you to read this difficult to understand article and while your trying to read it I'll be hovering over you and correcting you as you try to understand it."

Then think about the same article sitting on your coffee table and you notice it when you have a few quiet moments. You're interested in the topic and you explore the article on your own and take pride in the fact that you got through it, even though it was challenging. Then later, you excitedly tell your husband what you learned in the article.

See the difference? She might just need to discover reading on her own, with your job being to model reading yourself and to expose her to lots of opportunities to be around books.

It's sounds like you're a wonderful caring mom who only wants the best for your child. Good luck!

i used to teach first grade for 7 years before i had my boys and saw this happen a lot. some children are often interested in one subject or excel at it much more than another. i would try to get her interested by writing her own books. she can draw the pictures first and write sentences or words with your help. maybe create a reading/writing area in your house with supplies and maybe a word wall with words on it for her to copy. hang letters a-z and place words under them when she tries to write a word she can't spell. write it for her on a card then put it up. you can play games with the cards later. ask her teacher for sight words or frequently used words. when she can read her own books, she'll be more interested, hopefully. good luck, first grade is tough!!

How about a magazine subscription? There are so many great child geared magazines. Choose one that focuses on your daughter's interests. Check out the magazine section at your local book store or search for children's magazines on line. With the holidays around the corner this could be a gift that keeps on giving all year long - and maybe for a lifetime changing her view on reading.

I had the same problem so i went to the school and put her in a reading class.
jade

My daughter is 9 and still hates to read. She hates it!! I have taken her to the book store with no money limit an she found nothing. So I make her read a chapter of a book everyday. I do not care what it is or what it is about. She just needs to read. Maybe take your child to the book store. Maybe you woudl have better luck.

I have 2 suggestions: One is you can go to your local library and see what kids programs they have like pizza time or kool kids. These are programs that help get kids excited for the library. Let her pick out books she is interested in. Does she have a hobby - ballet, swimming - look for books on these subjects. Does she like any TV characters like Barbie, Dora - you can look for books with them. You can also try your local bookstore for the same things - kids programs, certain books. For learning words you can try alphabet activity/sticker books - you can find them in Target, bookstores or teacher stores. Colorful flash cards and word games are good to for learning words too. Becker's Teacher store is good for these. You can even make up your own games or flash cards - with every five words she reads she gets a star on the chart. With every 20 stars she gets a small prize or treat. The key is try to make it fun for her. I hope this helps.

Good Luck -
G. D.

How about a book that has to do with the upcoming holidays? That may kickstart something...