Reading TO My Teen?

One of the challenges of family scripture study is the difficulty of teaching a wide variety of ages. How do you keep teens involved and interested while at the same time coaching emergent readers through the complex language of the scriptures?

 My suggestion may surprise you. 

Try reading aloud.      Even teens enjoy being read to, although they may not admit it. And if they get to "be lazy" while they kick back and listen, I can't imagine any complaining.

Allowing kids to use their imagination as they listen to the story develop can build a connection to the scriptures that may not happen when your child is slogging through word by word. 

Many experts say we stop reading to our kids much younger that we should. 

Jim Trelease, author of , Read-Aloud Handbook, says, " A fifth-grader can enjoy a more complicated plot than she can read herself, and reading aloud is really going to hook her, . . . there is really complicated, serious stuff going on that kids are ready to hear and understand, even if they can't read at that level yet."

Trelease is not referring to scripture study, specifically, however, can you think of any literature that has more "complicated, serious stuff going on?"

Another plus of reading aloud from the scriptures is that kids will begin recognizing and understanding the language of the scriptures. By reading aloud your voice can convey meanings that many times get lost while small children struggle to sound out each word. Imagine the confidence a child will feel when he begins to recognize words and phrases each time you read.

Reading aloud to your kids has other benefits too. Wandering Eductators’ Dr. Jessica Voigts reads to her daughter because, "This is a time — tweens, teens — when life is full of craziness. This is one way to have a place of rest, of being, something to count on each day. Shared words have power, an energy that you can’t get from TV, radio, or online."  

Add the energy of shared words, the bonds you forge through giving words to your children, and the power of the scriptures and you've got an unbeatable result. 

So, consider reading aloud to your kids once in a while during family scripture study. Get out your "acting" voice and let the scriptures come to life.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/05/why-reading-aloud-to-older-children-is-valuable/
 http://www.greatschools.org/students/7104-read-aloud-to-children.gs