Reading motivation is a huge factor in your child’s reading success.

Reading motivation is affected by your child’s values and beliefs about reading, as well as their reading behaviors.

Interest

Interest is often the first thing we think of when we think of motivation.  This factor of motivation is seen when your child enjoys reading a book or they get excited about an author or excited about learning new information.

When considering interest, there are two types of motivation that is described by researchers: intrinsic and extrinsic

We are intrinsically motivated when we do something for its own sake. For example, we are intrinsically motivated to read, if we choose to curl up with a good book on a Saturday morning instead of doing something else. We are not getting a reward for reading our favorite novel, we are reading for the pleasure of reading.

We are extrinsically motivated when we complete a task for a reward. One example of extrinsic motivation is winning a prize for hitting a target while playing a game at a fair or carnival. We often see rewards given for reading. While this may work short-term, research has shown that it does not support long-term success (Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997).

“Believeing in oneself is more closely linked to achievement than any other motivation throughout school” (Guthrie, 2011, p. 178).

Confidence

John Guthrie, a leading researcher on reading motivation gives the following example:

The link between believing in oneself and reading achievement is forged when a child who reads fluently and understands well thinks of himself as a reader. Another example is when your child reads one page of a book successfully, they believe they can read the next page in the same book proficiently. This link can occur in a negative way too. If your child doubts themselves as a reader, they may begin believing they are worse than they really are and may even stop trying all together

Dedication

When your child has dedication to reading, they believe that reading is important and they persevere in reading no matter what challenges they face. A child who values reading shows dedication by devoting effort, time, and persistence to their reading.

So How Do We Help Our Child Become More Motivated??

1.) Model

Model Reading Behaviors

Modeling reading behaviors can influence how your child views and values reading. You can model positive (or negative) reading behaviors in many different ways:

 – How you talk about reading and books demonstrates motivation and effects your child’s motivation

– If you frequent book stores or libraries

– Where you keep books in your home

– How many books you own

– Whether or not your child sees you reading

– Talking about your thinking as you read

– Sharing how you approach your reading

– Share how you plan your reading. When you sit down to read, do you plan to read a specific section or a chapter or only a few pages? Show how you adjust your plan for different kinds of texts or for different amounts of time.

–  If you set reading goals for yourself, share those with your child. Do you read for a set time every night? Do you have a goal of reading a book a month? Whatever it may be, when you share your goals, your child benefits by realizing that goal setting is important and they can also set reading goals.

–  Share how you make time for reading. Do you have a book by your bed and read 20 minutes before going to sleep? Do you take a book with you to read while waiting in line for carpool? When you make time for reading, it shows your child how important reading is.

One way that you can model reading is by showing how you read in your everyday life. For example, I always have a book with me so when I am waiting in the carpool line or waiting for an appointment I can use that time to read. My children see me doing this and they want to carry books too. I often listen to books in the car which has inspired my children to request books on CD. We keep several in the car for them and we purchased a CD player for my daughter to listen to books in her room. Also, as I am going throughout my day, I point out the signs, the recipes, the labels, and the instructions I read. I let my kids know that reading is all around.

Model by Reading Aloud

Reading aloud to your child is another way to help your child’s reading motivation. Reading aloud to your child can be so beneficial. Read more about that here. “Reading aloud to children is a simple and research-proven way to motivate children of all ages to become readers” (Cunningham & Allington, Classrooms That Work, p. 15). Reading aloud to your child can motivate your child by introducing them to new characters, new topics, new authors, and new series. Reading aloud can also give your child confidence as they begin a new series. For example, my daughter loves Rebecca Elliot’s Owl Diaries series. I have read aloud several to her and now she feels confident in knowing the character’s names, how they will behave, and how the story line will go. Because she feels confident with these things, she is now going back and independently rereading one of the books in the series. The confidence she gained by listening to the book being read aloud has motivated her to independently read a challenging book.

We often think that reading aloud is for younger children or less experienced readers but reading aloud to older children provides the motivation for them to read increasingly challenging texts. Reading aloud to older children can be incredibly motivating and help them use the literacy skills they have learned.

Knowing the benefits of reading aloud, we made it part of our nightly routine (which is a you can read about here) and included it in our daughter’s homework expectation chart (read about that here)

2.) Time

Another factor in your child’s reading motivation is time. Linda Gambrell (2011), an expert on reading motivation, found that children are more motivated to read when they have ample opportunities to read for longer periods of time.

In our busy schedules it is often hard to find the time to slow down and sit with a book for an extended amount of time. I found that we weren’t always making it a priority afterschool as we rushed from after school activity to after school activity. This is why we made sure to include independent reading as my daughter’s homework chart. Overtime, when the habit is fully established, we won’t need the chart. But for now, it is helping us make the time for the kids to read on their own for longer amounts of time.

If you have a young child, you can encourage your child to get in the habit of reading even before they can do it. Check out ways to support your reader here (There is More Than One Way to Read a Book). You can also check out KidsHealth.org for development milestones for your young child.

Your child may be even more motivated to read for longer if you encourage them to read to a pet, younger sibling, or even a favorite toy.

3.) Choice

Choice is widely recognized as the leading factor in reading motivation. For your child to successfully read independently, it is crucial that they are able to choose their own reading materials and have plenty of materials to choose from.

To improve motivation, here are 4 choices your child can make:

* the topics they read about,

* the kinds of books they read,

* the strategies they use,

* the way they respond to a book

Each of these choices can increase your child’s motivation. Research has shown that many children can read more challenging books when the topic is interesting (Halladay, 2012). I have seen this time and time again with my daughter. If the book has a fairy, unicorn, or mermaid in it, she will be much more willing to read it even if it is well above her independent reading level. (See here for more about reading levels).

Interestingly, researchers have even observed that children are more eager to use effective reading strategies when they are given choices of when and where to use them especially when they are reading texts they are interested in. Check out these posts to learn more (4 Ways to Boost Non-fiction Comprehension and Scaffolding without Suffocating) 

 Help Your Child Make Good Choices

Choices can be hard for some kids. Helping your child find books that are a good fit for them can help them be more motivated and more successful. Here are some steps you can take to help your child find books that are good fit for them:

Talk to your child about their book selection.

You can show your child two good fit books. If you have a reading level, you can use that to help you make your choices about the books to show your child.

Ask your child to look at each book.

Ask your child what they notice about the books.

Support your child in selecting other books that are a good-fit.

While your child could be more successful with books on topics they are already interested in, encourage them to take on new challenges and learn about new topics. They may just find something else they love to read about.

4.) Talk

Have you ever been a part of a book club or shared with a friend how much you loved a book you were reading? These conversations about your reading motivated you to read even more. The same can be true for your child. When your child can talk with others about what they are reading, they can be even more motivated to read. Not only can conversations get them excited about reading more, conversations and discussions about books greatly support your child’s understanding of what they read (Nystrand, 2006; Wells, 1999). When we talk to our children about books we can encourage them to think deeper about what they are reading.  Our conversations with our children can help them not only communicate their knowledge, they can also encourage kids to clarify their understanding and apply comprehension strategies (Moses & Ogden, 2017, p. 10).

Before, during, and after reading aloud, talk with your child about the book you are reading. You can ask questions like:

What do you know about this topic, series, or author?

What do you think will happen in the book?

What are you thinking about the character’s choices, behavior, etc.?

What do you think will happen next?

Does this remind you of something else you’ve read?

What did you learn from this text?

Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not?

Also, make sure to ask your child about their independent reading. You can ask questions like:

Would you recommend the book? Why or why not?

Was this book similar to anything else you’ve read?

What was your favorite part of the book?

Were there any confusing parts?

Were there any parts you had to problem solve? If so, what did you do to figure it out?

We encourage you to focus on some or all of these recommendations to help motivate your child to read more and more. This is especially important as your child ages. It has been shown in numerous studies that motivation often declines over the years (Pressley & Allington). By implementing some of the recommendations above, we hope you can continue to improve your child’s reading motivation as they continue through their schooling. If you have other tips or resources you use to encourage your child’s reading motivation, please share below in the comments.

References:

Gambrell, L. B., Malloy, J. A., & Mazzoni, S. A. (2011). Evidence-based best practices for comprehensive literacy instruction. Best practices in literacy instruction, 4, 11-36.

Guthrie, J. T. (2011). Best practices in motivating students to read. Best practices in literacy instruction, 177-198.

Halladay, J. L. (2012). Revisiting key assumptions of the reading level framework. The Reading Teacher, 66(1), 53-62.

Moses, L. & Ogden, M. (2017). What are the rest of my kids doing? Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Nystrand, M. (2006). Research on the role of classroom discourse as it affects reading comprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 392-412.

Wells, G. (1999). Dialogic inquiry: Towards a socio-cultural practice and theory of education. Cambridge University Press.