Games to help build reading in kids

A child tries to read in class.

A child’s reading skills are important to their success in school, work, and life in general.

Published Nov 11, 2020

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Reading provides children with background knowledge of their young world, which helps them make sense of what they see, hear, and read. The more children read, the larger their vocabularies will grow and the more they will know and understand about the world and their place in it, assisting their cognitive development and perception.

But what if reading books does not come naturally to your child? What if reading is not one of their favourite things to do?

Don’t worry, there are various activities, including games, which can help you grow your child’s love of reading – without even using any books.

School Psychology suggests the following games to build reading in children without books:

1. Find rhyming words – learn word sounds and spelling

2. Make smaller words out of a large word – build vocabulary

3. Read aloud alternate lines of a story – build fluency

4. Guess the meaning – build confidence

5. Read craft or recipe instructions – build comprehension

6. Spot wrong spellings – correct spelling errors

7. Memory game – learn sight words

8. Write out favourite songs – improve comprehension

9. Scrabble – build vocabulary

Yet, reading is not the only way to help with your child’s language and literacy development.

Telling stories, singing songs, and saying rhymes together are also great activities for early literacy skills – and your child will probably have a lot of fun at the same time. Sometimes your child might enjoy these activities more than reading itself.

Find out what engages your child and through that build towards a love of reading.

Once there, the simple act of reading can have a big impact on your child’s life. You can use your local library to find stories your child loves and enjoy some special time together.

Happy learning to read!!!

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