One of the strategies that I recommend for reluctant readers, particularly during the summer, is something I call “dipping.” Dipping ensures a child does at least some reading daily, but because of how you approach it, you won’t get the pushback that comes when you tell your children they have to read a book, whether they want to or not.
Dipping into a book is what you do when you are looking for specific information or ideas. The book is generally, but not always, nonfiction. Rather than reading the entire book, you dip into those sections that have the information you are seeking.
Below you'll find seven different challenges that involve dipping into books for information. They include related recommended books. These challenges and books should appeal to kids somewhere in the 8-14 age range. Each day, choose one or more of these to challenge your kids. These books should be available at your public library and in a variety of formats.
Kids love all the wild and wacky records that can be found in the annual edition of Guinness World Records. Pick one of the subjects listed in the table of contents and challenge your child to look over that section, find the most interesting/weird/unusual record and be prepared to read it to you later in the day. There is so much information in the book that kids who love world records and other intriguing facts tend to dip into this book again and again. Find out more about the contents of Guinness World Records.More »
Pick one of the cookbooks from my top 10 list of children's cookbooks, which also includes children's cookbooks based on favorite children's books. Have your kids dip into the book to find something you can make together. You can just tell your kids to choose whatever sounds good or set some criteria (a recipe for a breakfast dish, a snack, a dessert, a vegetable, an egg dish, etc.). Dipping into the book to select a recipe is the first part of the challenge; the second is actually making it, gathering the required ingredients and then reading and following the step-by-step directions. Learn more about some of the best children's cookbooks.More »
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2016 is an excellent educational resource that kids love because of all of the interesting topics and a format that depends heavily on color photographs and brief catchy descriptions. With 10 main categories and lots of subcategories, it's easy to challenge your kids to find a fascinating fact a day. You can either let them choose the topic or choose one of the topics covered, which include: Amazing Animals, Super Science, Wonders of Nature, Geography Rocks and more. For more information, read my full review ofNational Geographic Kids Almanac 2016.More »
The creepy word problems in The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math: 24 Death-Defying Challenges for Young Mathematicians align with math taught in grades 5-7. Each challenge comes in the form of a short story in which a math problem must be solved to determine the outcome of each death defying scenario. You can either challenge your child to pick one of the challenges to read aloud so your child and family members can try to solve it together or challenge your child to read one, figure out how to solve it, check the answer to ensure it's correct and then read it to you to see if you can solve it. Learn more about The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math.More »
Challenge your child to dip into Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective and select a mystery to read aloud so family members can see if they can solve it. This is the first in a long series of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, each of which contains 10 brief mysteries to challenge readers' problem solving abilities. The solution to each mystery can be found at the back of the book. A lot of kids get hooked on the mysteries and like to work with friends to solve them. This challenge is one many families enjoy doing daily. Learn more about Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective.More »
Knowledge Encyclopedia is a visual feast for the eyes and will especially appeal to visual learners. With subcategories in each of the book's main categories - Space, Earth, Nature, Human Body, Science and History - there is a great deal of information provided. Pick a category or subcategory that you know will interest your kids, and have them dip into it to find either the answer to a specific question or something interesting to share with you and the rest of the family. Learn more about the extraordinary Knowledge Encyclopedia.More »
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes and other collections of brief biographies, like Portraits of African-American Heroes and Our Country's Presidents, lend themselves to the People to Know challenge. You can either have your kids find and read about one person who interests them and tell you about the person or give your kids a range of pages and a question to answer, such as "Look over pages 14-22 and find the reason that ... or the person who... or the date that..." Learn more aboutthe people to know in Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes.More »
Dipping into a book is what you do when you are looking for specific information or ideas. The book is generally, but not always, nonfiction. Rather than reading the entire book, you dip into those sections that have the information you are seeking.
Below you'll find seven different challenges that involve dipping into books for information. They include related recommended books. These challenges and books should appeal to kids somewhere in the 8-14 age range. Each day, choose one or more of these to challenge your kids. These books should be available at your public library and in a variety of formats.
1. World Records Challenge
Kids love all the wild and wacky records that can be found in the annual edition of Guinness World Records. Pick one of the subjects listed in the table of contents and challenge your child to look over that section, find the most interesting/weird/unusual record and be prepared to read it to you later in the day. There is so much information in the book that kids who love world records and other intriguing facts tend to dip into this book again and again. Find out more about the contents of Guinness World Records.More »
2. Cooking Challenge
Pick one of the cookbooks from my top 10 list of children's cookbooks, which also includes children's cookbooks based on favorite children's books. Have your kids dip into the book to find something you can make together. You can just tell your kids to choose whatever sounds good or set some criteria (a recipe for a breakfast dish, a snack, a dessert, a vegetable, an egg dish, etc.). Dipping into the book to select a recipe is the first part of the challenge; the second is actually making it, gathering the required ingredients and then reading and following the step-by-step directions. Learn more about some of the best children's cookbooks.More »
3. Fascinating Facts Challenge
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2016 is an excellent educational resource that kids love because of all of the interesting topics and a format that depends heavily on color photographs and brief catchy descriptions. With 10 main categories and lots of subcategories, it's easy to challenge your kids to find a fascinating fact a day. You can either let them choose the topic or choose one of the topics covered, which include: Amazing Animals, Super Science, Wonders of Nature, Geography Rocks and more. For more information, read my full review ofNational Geographic Kids Almanac 2016.More »
4. Math Challenge
The creepy word problems in The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math: 24 Death-Defying Challenges for Young Mathematicians align with math taught in grades 5-7. Each challenge comes in the form of a short story in which a math problem must be solved to determine the outcome of each death defying scenario. You can either challenge your child to pick one of the challenges to read aloud so your child and family members can try to solve it together or challenge your child to read one, figure out how to solve it, check the answer to ensure it's correct and then read it to you to see if you can solve it. Learn more about The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math.More »
5. Mystery Challenge
Challenge your child to dip into Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective and select a mystery to read aloud so family members can see if they can solve it. This is the first in a long series of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, each of which contains 10 brief mysteries to challenge readers' problem solving abilities. The solution to each mystery can be found at the back of the book. A lot of kids get hooked on the mysteries and like to work with friends to solve them. This challenge is one many families enjoy doing daily. Learn more about Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective.More »
6. Knowledge Challenge
Knowledge Encyclopedia is a visual feast for the eyes and will especially appeal to visual learners. With subcategories in each of the book's main categories - Space, Earth, Nature, Human Body, Science and History - there is a great deal of information provided. Pick a category or subcategory that you know will interest your kids, and have them dip into it to find either the answer to a specific question or something interesting to share with you and the rest of the family. Learn more about the extraordinary Knowledge Encyclopedia.More »
7. People to Know Challenge
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes and other collections of brief biographies, like Portraits of African-American Heroes and Our Country's Presidents, lend themselves to the People to Know challenge. You can either have your kids find and read about one person who interests them and tell you about the person or give your kids a range of pages and a question to answer, such as "Look over pages 14-22 and find the reason that ... or the person who... or the date that..." Learn more aboutthe people to know in Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes.More »
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