It will probably come as no surprise that I was a HUGE reader as a kid. I’ve always loved books, since my early years when my Dad took me to the public library. He fostered my love of reading for which I’m so grateful.
What about you? Do you enjoy reading? Have you always? Was there a parent, teacher, or adult influence that furthered your passion for reading? Do you have kids? Do they read?
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Once I became a teacher, I quickly realized that not all kids grew up being encouraged to read like me. Because I find it so important, I incorporated it into my classroom any chance I could get! (We even read a book in class for our WWII Case Study).
At the start of every school year, I took my students to the school library to select historical fiction or non-fiction books to read at the start of 
my class each day. I had read about SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), and the wonderful benefits of getting kids interested in reading and also warming them up to focus on the lesson. I shared with them that I believed that HISTORY WAS AWESOME! If you’re not passionate about it, why teach it!?
But I knew that a lot of kids came into a high school history class expecting a boring, droning teacher at a podium. That’s not me. I wanted kids to see that history is everywhere.
Think of your favorite movies, TV shows, video games, books… are they set in a historical period? Covering a historical event? Historical Theme? See? Then history can be “cool.”
If I gave kids a little power to choose what they wanted to read that was “historical-ish” for 10-15 minutes at the start of each class, then they were much happier, more focused, and more willing to see what I had in store for them during the next 45 minutes. You might not be interested in the Aztecs, Greeks, Romans, Soviets… and that’s why you can read about whatever group or time period you want during your (SSR) time, before we dive into our lesson.
It completely changed the environment in my classes. I was able to observe many students come to find that they LOVED to read, they just didn’t love the books that had been assigned in school. That’s fine, I told them. You don’t have to love every book, but that also doesn’t have to mean that you hate reading. Steve Gardiner wrote a book on SSR-check it out here.
I had so many students tell me every year that SSR was their favorite part of the school day… getting to read whatever they wanted (within reason). Oftentimes I’d have at least five or more students arrive early intent on escaping the noisy halls and getting a jump on reading. I remember complaining to a mentor teacher that a few of my students were insistent on reading graphic novels or truck magazines, refusing to read “real” books. And my mentor just laughed and said warmly, “you can guide them into the content you want, but never put down what 
a student reads. They may choose a graphic novel or a manual about trucks and you meet them right where they’re at with encouragement. You show them that everyone can enjoy reading, it’s just a matter of finding something that they want to read. That’s the point of SSR.” I’ll always remember that conversation… and have since becoming a parent.
I always hoped I’d have a child that liked to read, and yet when you adopt an older kid, they come to you with their own hobbies, passions, opinions, likes and dislikes. We didn’t meet our daughter until she was nine-years-old. But upon getting to know her, I’ve found that reading and STORIES are a huge part of her life. Isn’t that fantastic!? I can’t take credit for it at all, she is a reader all on her own. What I can do though is make sure to support her love for reading, as I tried to encourage with my students.
My daughter and I visit our public library weekly (when we’re not in quarantine). She loves 
comics and graphic novels, and I look back on my experience as a teacher and can only smile. I fully support her love of comics and memorization of jokes from joke books. If that’s what she wants to read, then we will scour every shelf in the library in search of new books! Minecraft manuals? Why not? The fact is, she’s reading… and that’s all a parent really wants. By supporting her rather than dictating what is and is not considered a “real” book, she has begun to broaden her reading and now reads many chapter books too.
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So, if you’re a parent, a teacher, or a role-model in a child’s life, I’d encourage you to think on these tips for raising a reader.
-Libraries are where readers are born.
*How are you going to get reading material in front of the child? Letting them choose a book is a huge bonus, and they feel more connected already. Take kids to a public library and let them grab what they want (or find a Little Free Library near you!). You might be surprised with what they choose… then take note of their favorite authors and continue adding more books in when you can. Of course, if you can afford to buy a lot of books and have the desire, bringing kids to a book store is a great activity too. Or give them a Barnes & Noble gift card for their birthday, for example, so that they can still pick out their own book(s).
-Provide/Create Reading Time.
*Kids may not always gravitate toward a book over a video game, but if the expectation is that they must read before they play, or that every day they get “reading time” before bed, they may just begin to look forward to it. Many of my students who laughed when I said they’d be reading in class for fun, ended up excitedly telling me after they finished one that it was the first book they’d ever finished reading, asking for more book recommendations.
And at home, many times a bedtime story with your child can prove to be a very wonderful bonding activity. Reading is an excellent activity especially during this season of distance learning (see my article here).
-Model the behavior.
*While first teaching I knew that SSR would be a nice way to begin my classes, getting them focused, and allowing me time to get organized: Pass out papers, grade, respond to an email, take attendance, etc. But the kids seemed squirmy and it never was as peaceful and focused as I’d like. My
mentor called me out and said that’s because I was being disruptive and that kids look to authority figures. If I’m not reading or taking it seriously, why should they?
It totally changed everything. From them on for the next few years, I’d read a historical fiction or non-fiction book during that time as well. I modeled the behavior, and we’d talk a few minutes about our books, and swap titles. All of a sudden, I saw my classes go from only being able to read for 4 sustained quiet minutes, to them begging me to let them keep reading after 15 minutes. I had felt guilty about sitting and reading (especially on the job!), but my Mentor emphasized that if I truly believed that it was important for my students than I must be willing to make that point by modeling it. And thus, many wonderful books were read, and many students became avid readers—some for the first time in their lives. (And, I truly did find that they seemed more engaged for our lessons).
As a parent, my daughter knows that I’m an avid reader, and read every single morning and night. She likes to ask about what I’m reading, and I ask her what she’s reading about. We may not read the same stories all the time, but we feel connected from our love for books.
-Audiobooks-
*Hear me out… I know not all adults like audiobooks, but if you have a kid who is super whiny in the car, for example, why not try a kid-friendly audiobook as a distraction? This worked wonders for my daughter to ease her before-school anxiety (see my article here). Many libraries have Audiobook CD’s available for checkout. We’ve listened to all sorts of things by C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Chris Colfer, Rick Riordan. Find something that you want to listen too, and it makes for a great bonding activity.
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