Teaching Children to Speed Read

How many of us wish we had known how to speed read back in grade school when the teacher assigned a book report over the winter holiday break?  Although reading is fundamental in the learning process, for many children it is a tedious task.  They become overwhelmed because they are looking at a book of well over two or three-hundred pages and they see that as hours that could be spent outside playing in the snow or doing an activity with their family.

For children who have the ability to speed read, they don’t see the book report project as such a burden.  The main reason is that instead of spending days reading the book and researching the material, they will spend considerably less time with those tasks; so much less time that it could translate to hours or even in some cases minutes.

One of the greatest lessons that any parent can give to their child or any teacher can give to their students is the ability to speed read.  Once learned, the child would be able to speed read for the remainder of their lives.  This would result in significant changes not only in their school experiences, but also in their college and professional experiences as well.

Both parents and teachers can do things that encourage the child to learn to speed read.  One is the parent or teacher can introduce exercises that aid the child in reading.  A child first needs to be a strong reader before they can implement the techniques needed to speed read.  A good barometer of where your child is on the reading scale is to inquire with their teacher.  Each year teachers do reading tests on the children to determine at what grade level the child is reading at.  For a child reading at a sixth grade level while in the third grade, they can easily be introduced to the idea of speed reading.  However if a child is in the sixth grade and reading at a third grade level, their regular reading needs to be improved significantly before they can even consider the possibility of speed reading.

Parents can aid in their children’s basic reading ability by having the child read to them each night.  Children become accustomed to having their parent read bedtime stories to them, but if the child becomes the storyteller, their reading skills can be monitored much more efficiently. 

A child can become a speed reader with a little assistance from their parents.  This will help them thrive in school; it will also give them a significant boost in confidence.  The material they are reading will be absorbed quicker and their assignments will be completed without worry of them falling behind because they couldn’t get through the reading material.  Helping your child develop their speed reading skills is a great gift you can give to them; it’s a gift that will last a lifetime.