I am passionate about motivating struggling readers. Many kids don’t think
of themselves as readers at all (or as good students) because of dyslexia,
ADD or other challenges. It’s human nature to avoid doing things that are
difficult or just plain monotonous. This is especially true of children.
But what most children don’t generally comprehend (I certainly didn’t) is
that we don’t learn to read just for the sake of reading. First, we learn
to read, and then for the rest of our lives, we read to learn. The sad
truth is that many children with learning difficulties view reading as a
chore. How can they be motivated to persevere? Two successful approaches
include helping children develop a love of story, and helping them create
self-identities as readers.
As a dyslexic, I know what it’s like to struggle to read. My grandmother
regularly read aloud with me, and this helped me develop a love of great
stories. That exposure to the wonder of books planted a new idea in my
brain that said, “Even though reading is so hard, these stories are great!”
I wanted more. The reward of stories made the effort of reading worthwhile,
and that love of story is what helps me persevere as a reader, and now as a
writer.
As a kid, reading stories helped me see myself differently. That was
important, since nearly all of us who are dyslexic, or who struggle
otherwise to learn, judge ourselves harshly. We compare ourselves to our
peers who seem to learn with little or no effort, and unfortunately, we can
gain the impression from even well-meaning educators that we’re
unmotivated, stupid, slow or lazy.
Motivating the frustrated dyslexic reader goes beyond just teaching the
mechanics of reading. The mechanical act of reading will never be
effortless for the dyslexic. Without a love of story, most struggling
readers won’t persevere. So what are some ways that parents and educators
can help foster a love of story?
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Provide children with materials and prompts to draw illustrations
depicting story ideas.
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Encourage children to make up their own plays and dramas based on
beloved characters. What adventure would they like to see their
hero have next?
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Read and/or listen to stories together regularly.
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Audiobooks are a wonderful way to help your child fall in love with
great stories. Bookshare.org
offers free audiobooks to people with dyslexia or other print
disabilities.
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As you read together, ask your child to describe what they see in
pictures in books, and have them guess what will happen next.
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Look for stories that include heroes of self-reference for your
children. Heroes of self-reference are characters who have
struggles similar to those your child faces. As they see their
beloved characters discovering their strengths and contributing to
the success of the adventure, the children begin to believe in
their own potential.
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Develop questions around the main characters that the child can
fill in from his own imagination: What would this character’s room
look like, and why? What would his favorite hobby be? What is he
most afraid of? What is he most proud of?
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Discuss ways the child may be like a character in the book. Does
she share feelings or experiences? Is there common ground in
talents or gifts? Reading about the experiences of others helps
kids learn about themselves.
Conversations involving questions like these help children use their own
imaginations to become participants in the story. By helping them to
stretch their imaginations and enjoy the “worlds behind the words,”
children can learn to see that the reward of reading is worth the extra
work.
Finally, the words we as parents and educators choose to use as we
communicate about reading can be powerful motivators. For example, children
are much more likely to help clean up their messes if they have been
encouraged to think of themselves as “helpers” – a noun – instead of
someone who is supposed “to help” clean up – a verb. The reason for this is
that using a noun (the word “helper”) ”
may send a signal that helping implies something positive about one
‘
s identity, which may in turn motivate children to help more,
” according to Christopher J. Bryan, Assistant Professor of Psychology at
the University of California, San Diego.
A reader is someone who reads.
And these kids do read. In fact, they work much
harder to read than those without learning challenges. If we are measuring
effort, not just results, struggling readers are actually greater readers
than those who are not challenged. To echo Dr. Bryan’s words above,
wouldn’t using nouns instead of verbs when talking to kids with learning
challenges also imply something positive about their identities, thereby
improving motivation? In a world focused solely on results, not effort,
discovering personal motivation based on a positive identity concept can be
a force for good for the struggling student.
Here are a few suggestions:
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Instead of saying, “Let’s read a story,” say, “Let’s be readers.”
Get even the youngest children used to the idea that they are
readers.
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Replace “How was school today?” with “Were you a good student
today?” Encourage them to share the reason for their answers.
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Tell kids stories about things they have already learned or
mastered. Statements like, “You’ve always been a curious learner!”
or “You worked so hard at that until you figured it out!” help them
recognize that they have a lifelong history of being good learners
and hard workers, not just struggling students. Feeling the mantle
of success on their shoulders helps build motivation for them to
continue to learn and grow as readers and students.
