10 Games To Improve Your Child’s Reading Skills

“My child doesn’t read books”

“I have bought my child so many books but he is just not interested. What can I do?”

Such laments from parents frequently come my way when in my Parenting workshops – I ask parents to encourage reading. And after several years of offering solutions to this problem in my workshops – I have decided to write an article on it.

This article is a step by step guide about what you should do if you want your child to read books. And this guide does not involve buying books or taking children to the library at all.

10 games that will teach your child how to read without books

Children will not enjoy reading until they are able to read fluently and effortlessly. Because if they are struggling to figure out what a word is and what it means – they will not be unable to grasp the story that that lies hidden in the words.

This is where most parents find themselves caught in loop.

Vocabulary, reading speed and reading fluency they realize will be built only when a child reads more books – but they are unable to get their child to like and read books.

The solution to this seemingly complicated problem lies in playing games that have no connection with books – but which build certain functions of the brain that are required to read fluently.

10 games you can play with your child to build reading skills without even touching a book

1. 1. 1. Find rhyming words

         Finding words that rhyme with each other is a great way to learn word sounds and spellings. How to play – The game can be played with two or more players – so you can play it with your child or with a group of children. Start a word eg “Clock” ask your child for a rhyming word. Keep saying one word each until you run out of words. Tip – Avoid being serious. Be silly and fun as you say the words. It is great if you can find rhymes and poems to recite with these rhyming words – or you could make up your own
         Also Read How To Get Your Child Interested In Reading This Vacation

      2. Make smaller words out of a large word

         This is a great game to learn how to combine letters to make new sounds. And of course it strengthens and builds your child’s vocabulary. How to play – This is a great game for children of all ages. Adults can enjoy it too. Take a large word say “Dictionary” and try to make smaller words out of it. Almost a hundred words can be made out of the word dictionary. Tip – play it such that the players are making words alternately instead of each player working on his own. This shows the child that everyone struggles and he is not alone.

      3. Read alternate lines of a story aloud

         This is a fun game that helps you bond while lightening the load of reading on your child. Reading aloud and rereading the same text helps to build fluency. How to play – Select a magazine or some fun reading material and you read one line and then let your child read the next line.

      4. Guess the meaning

         Guessing the meaning of words is a very important skill that must be mastered.This is because – it is only when children are confident that they will be able to guess what a word means even if they have never heard it before – that they will lose the fear of reading something new. They will feel confident about understanding the text even if it is unfamiliar. How to play – Read out a paragraph from the newspaper and ask children to guess what a word means because of the context in which it is used. The dictionary can be used when the word is very difficult. But guessing should be the focus.
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      5.  Read to find out how a craft activity or a recipe must be done 

         With the availability of video – the effort people make to read and decipher instructions has been shelved. Make the effort to do things the old-fashioned way so that children learn how to comprehend or make meaning out of the written word – while following instructions to do something they want to do.

      6. Spot the wrong spellings       

         Spellings must be remembered as much as they must be composed. You can look at a word and say that it is spelt wrong because you remember what the correct spelling looks like. It can be fun to play spot the wrong spellings. It makes the child feel like a teacher and can be done with a red pen in the hand – to make it even more fun. How to play – Write out a paragraph with a mix of correct and wrong spellings based on your child’s age and reading ability. Give her/him a red pen to mark out the mistakes. Ask her/him to give you a similar paragraph. Then pick out mistakes together from some text working alternately.

      7. Memory game  

         Memory game
         Memory games that come in various levels of challenge are a great way to build memory of sight words. Sight words are words that don’t have the right phonetic sound and must be remembered separately – eg – the word “one”. How to play – Write the sight words on small cards and place them face down. Pick up two cards and see if you can remember and find the matching word among the other cards. This can be played by two or more players. In order to keep it interesting the memory game can be played with various other things. Many board games use memory – and games like Pictureka are good fun to play.
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      8. Games like Chinese checkers or chess   

         It is important for children to learn to process sounds accurately in order to read properly. This can be turned into a fun activity when you sit down and try to decipher the words of favorite songs by listening to them. Figuring out the meanings of new words and making sense of the lyrics can take this a step further.

      9.  Writing out the words of favorite song

         It is important for children to learn to process sounds accurately in order to read properly. This can be turned into a fun activity when you sit down and try to decipher the words of favorite songs by listening to them. Figuring out the meanings of new words and making sense of the lyrics can take this a step further.

      10. Scrabble

          Scrabble is a great game to build vocabulary and spelling skills. For younger children – scrabble can be played with words written on cards to help them to get an idea of the game. Words written on cards are mixed up and must be rearranged by players to make sentences with varied meanings

          Also Read How to Bring Up A Creative Child
          Reading is a skill that is mastered over a period of time. It requires sustained effort. But when the effort becomes boring it feels like a load. Building reading skills by doing activities other than reading can make the reading challenge a far more fun challenge to overcome.
          When a child learns to read – he/she becomes independent and feels confident in any situation. And so it is important to help children learn to read as early in life as possible. Start playing these fun easy games to build your child’s reading skills today

      Also Read How to Bring Up A Creative Child

1. Reading is a skill that is mastered over a period of time. It requires sustained effort. But when the effort becomes boring it feels like a load. Building reading skills by doing activities other than reading can make the reading challenge a far more fun challenge to overcome.
   When a child learns to read – he/she becomes independent and feels confident in any situation. And so it is important to help children learn to read as early in life as possible. Start playing these fun easy games to build your child’s reading skills today