How to Improve Your Reading Ability

Reading can open doors to new worlds, new ideas and the imagination. Learning to read well, and learning to read better, is key to gaining knowledge of all types. Whether you are trying to improve your own reading ability, or your child's, there are some easy ways to increase your reading skills.

Instructions

1. Read all the time. The more you read, or read to your child, the more it becomes enjoyable and easy to do. It also exposes you to new words--the more exposure you get, the easier it becomes. The old adage, practice makes perfect, is applicable in boosting your reading ability.

2. Read a variety of books. Again, you are exposing yourself to new words and ideas. More exposure increases your ability to tackle those words the next time you encounter them.

3. Find a series to get involved in. There are a lot of books out there now that are part of a series. Once you get interested in one, continue the series. Making reading enjoyable, for you or a child, is the best way to increase reading ability.

4. Get a library card. Reading takes practice and lots and lots of books. Having a library card allows you constant free access to thousands of books.

5. Practice reading strategies. In order to improve reading ability, you will also want to improve reading comprehension. Try reading the first paragraph in a story and predicting what will happen next. Then, as you read, stop at each chapter and try to write a short summary on what you have read. When you are better able to comprehend what you are reading, you will enjoy reading more. Reading more leads to improving your ability to read.

6. Join a book club or group. Reading as a group allows you to hear other ideas and conclusions about the book. It also holds you accountable to reading a certain amount for meetings. Again, the more you read, the more your ability to read will grow. There are book clubs available for adults and children of all ages.

7. Read aloud. When you read aloud, you may better be able to hear words that you are pronouncing incorrectly. If someone can listen to you read and point out the mistakes as well, that helps in learning pronunciation.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have trouble reading, check with an eye doctor and make sure there is not an underlying vision problem that you need to deal with.

• If you do not have vision problems , but still seem to switch letters, you may want to speak with a medical professional for help in diagnosing a condition such as dyslexia.

• Do not be afraid to start reading at a lower level. When trying to increase reading ability, the first step is to learn to love reading, regardless of what level you are reading at. The level will increase as you read more.

References

• U.S. -China Education Review: How to Improve Students Reading Ability