Teaching Reading?

1. Read to the child every day.  This reading material should be above his independent reading level. Try Holling C. Holling or C.S. Lewis.  Also, read the Bible aloud daily.
   
2. Provide quality books at his reading level.  Forget the comic books, readers and "E" books; the public library has more than enough quality literature to peak his interest.  Don't waste his time on anything less than great.  Go for the Caldecotts and Newberrys for starters.  Look also for Bible story books.  Oh, I could go on and on with recommendations, so let's back up to the next step.
   
3. Make the weekly library trips and do the research to find the great authors, series, etc.  that appeal to the particular child.  One of the good sources of recommendations is the Elijah Company catalog; most of their books are available at the public library.  Other recommendations are given in the answer to Question 9.
   
4. Treat reading as pleasure, not work.
   
5. Encourage him to choose his own reading material.  That doesn't mean turning him loose in an overwhelming library.  It means bringing home stacks and stacks and stacks of highly recommended books and letting him have free access to them.  It also means teaching him how to find his favorite authors, the bibliographies of his heroes, and the Dewey decimal coding for his favorite subjects. 
   
6. Keep records of his favorite authors, publisher series, and favorite titles so as to be better prepared for future library visits.  Favorite titles should be checked out again next year.  Favorite authors and series should be fully investigated.
   
7. Give books they know he'll enjoy as presents.  These should include Bibles and Bible based literature.
   
8. Provide him with shelves for the books he owns and a special place for books he's borrowed.  He also needs strong canvas tote bags or milk crates for carrying books to and from the library.  Special bookmarks are nice, too.