Here are a couple of ways to use audiobooks to get your sons and daughters interested in reading:

Pair Books with Unabridged Audio Books: Look for both formats at your library or bookstore, then experiment and choose the best strategy that works for your child:
Follow the book as the audio book plays. This helps with word recognition and awareness of phrasing; or
Listen to a chapter, and then read it. This helps students understand main ideas before they are read, which can improve fluency; or
Read a chapter and then listen to it to self-check for understanding.
Create Their Own Books on Tape: Make your children the stars of their own audio books! Have them read into a tape recorder. During playback, help them follow along in the book and help identify errors. You can stop the tape and demonstrate correct words and phrases. Some research has indicated that as your children listen to themselves and hear their own reading growing better, their skills will likely improve. Reward children for the errors they find and correct as well as for their successes.

Powell has volunteered for nearly 17 years with Read for Life, an all-volunteer nonprofit with two primary goals — provide books for babies and children and to educate parents about the importance of reading to their children.

Read more at….http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20120424/PARENTING/304240002

2. Promote reading as a social experience, something they can do with parents, siblings and friends. As noted in a previous post, having your son or daughter join or from a book club is a fun way to share reading with others, and keep them motivated to read.

3. Reading aloud to your children shouldn’t stop when they learn to read on their own; continue the practice throughout elementary school. It’s a wonderful way to stay close to your kids, and impresses on them the importance – and enjoyment – of reading.

4. There are so many ways to read today: online, e-readers, notebook computers, smartphones, iPads and more. If “old-fashioned” printed books don’t appeal to your child, technology might.

5. Practice what you preach! If you want your children to read, be sure they see you reading – often. Talk with them about what you like to read, and get them talking abouty what they might like to read about.

6. You can get your child to do more reading by “hiding” it behind other activities, such as asking them to read historic landmarkers while traveling, or looking up interesting facts online or in encyclopedias (remember those?!)

7. Help your children find books that are challenging, but not too challenging. Kids often get frustrated and turned off to reading when they encounter books that are just too difficult. An appropriately challenging book is one in which she can fluently read about 95% of the words. Keep in mind that encountering unfamiliar words will help children enhance their reading skills.

HUMOR: Kids love to laugh and be goofy, so a good place to start reluctant readers is laugh-out-loud funny books.

SYMPATHETIC CHARACTERS: Whatever genre the story, the main character must be someone the reader can empathize, sympathize or identify with.

CONCISE, “PUNCHY’ PROSE: Reluctant readers won’t slog through lengthy or convoluted text.

FANTASY: Kids love to ask “what if?” Alternate worlds, magical happenings, and aliens capture reluctant readers’ imaginations.

ACTION: With ever-growing competition from TV and video games, books must hit the ground running, with every page propelling the reader to the next.

SUSPENSE: A book that promises something will happen early on will keep kids reading, the same way it does for adults.

SERIES: Series provide familiar characters in a familiar world that may be easier to keep reluctant readers reading.

STRONG VISUALS: Graphic novels and comic books will grab their attention – especially boys and ESL readers.

Boys age nine and older often read well, but prefer more action-oriented activities. Though they can read, some boys still choose not to read. Hosting a book club “marries” reading with activity by motivating boys to start and finish books as they meet the challenge of a deadline.

Talk with your son(s) about starting a book club made up of friends from the neighborhood, school, church, sports teams, as well as cousins and siblings his age. You probably want to initially limit the number of members to about 6-7 including your son, but invite more than that because not all will join.

When, where and how often should his book club meet?
You could always meet at the same place – your son’s house – or you could rotate homes with each meeting. Determine a day and time, probably right after school, or on a Saturday morning – although the latter might interfere with household chores, sports and other weekend activities. Whatever you choose, be consistent and keep it to a set time period, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Given the number of activities in kids’ lives these days, meeting more than once a month may be difficult. Plus, it gives boys an entire month to read the book. If they want to get together more frequently, great – as long as everyone agrees.

What are they going to read?
One thing to remember about any reading program you get your son involved in, whether his own book club or activities through church or school: it doesn’t matter what he reads, so long as he reads! Online are a number of recommended reading lists for girls and boys of all ages, general as well as genre-specific. You can also ask your son’s teacher for suggestions.

At the end of each meeting, introduce the next book and give a copy to each boy in the group. Don’t quash their enthusiasm by having to wait until they get to the library or the bookstore. If the book has been made into a movie, you could watch its trailer; if not, read the back cover summary and talk about it for a few minutes. Ask boys what they already know about the book’s premise to be sure the subject is somewhat familiar and/or one they’ll be interested in.

Another fun idea is a book and movie club – boys who like movies will be able to connect with the characters, the plot, and the setting, and reading the book helps them expand on the adventure of the movie. For more ideas, go to www.pondpunkies.com

Humor is underrated on school reading lists, but boys love it, says Sciezska, whose own hit, The Stinky Cheese Man, is a playful book that pokes fun at classic fairy tales. “Calvin and Hobbes, Lemony Snicket, those books get them excited about reading, because it’s fun.”

Be a role model for reading. Studies show that when parents read and have books around, both boys and girls are more likely to be readers.
Give your boy a book. Choose one that’s related to a hobby, an interest, or is just fun.
Don’t give up! “Sooner or later…. you can hook any child on reading. It’s all a matter of patience,” says Von Drasek.

{Source: Scholastic.com}

I have written a sci-fi series called Pond Punkies, designed to help the struggling reader. I wrote this series based on what I learned are the most important ingredients to help young reluctant readers. I came up with a list of ten.

1. A cover that catches the attention of the reader.
A cover suggests that the book is fascinating or humorous enough to merit reading. The cover art is clever and visually stimulating, giving a glimpse of what is inside for the reader. It should never have anything printed on it suggesting that it is for the reluctant reader.

2. Unquestionably distinct and likable characters.
Struggling readers need to care about the characters and what happens to them in the story. The reader should be able to connect with the characters dilemma and personality.

3. A lively plot that accelerates in movement.
The story arrangement should be uncomplicated and progress the reader through the book at a steady pace. Action should not be spared because of plot simplicity.

4. The interior book design should have larger text, ample margins, and enticing illustrations.
Small paragraphs and chapter headings are more pleasing for the struggling reader. Chapters and illustrations offer places for the reader to take breaks.

5. Sentences are understandable and simple.
Straightforward and clear vocabulary help the struggling reader stay on task. Sentence length should be short and the words should be easy to pronounce.

6. Inside pages are cream or off-white in color.
The consensus is that cream paper is easier to read than black print on white, especially for dyslexics.

7. Let the struggling reader choose the book.
Make sure you have many books for the reader to choose from, but let the reader make the final choice. The more actively they are involved in choosing the book, the better chances are they will read it.

8. Must have compelling content.
Books must ignite the struggling reader in the first few pages or they will not continue reading. Action and conflict automatically grab the reader’s interest. Humor and action in fast-moving stories keeps the struggling reader turning the pages.

9. Series books tend to attract struggling readers.

Series have memorable characters and predictable themes. The reader connects with the principal characters and can relate to what is happening with them in the series. The reader gets captivated with the series.

10. Space between lines should be wide and words should not be hyphenated.
Line spacing is important. If the print is spaced too closely together, the struggling reader will become frustrated and close the book before connecting with the story. Larger spacing between the lines is easier on the eyes and helps the reluctant reader to stay on track.