Getting youth to sit down and read a book has its challenges. With so many distractions like TV, social media, and extracurriculars, it’s important to help youth focus on reading. It’s time for youth to learn that reading does not have to be a task, but instead something fun and stress-relieving. Promote reading as a way to explore a different world or travel to a different time.

A variety of studies have been conducted which have shown a positive correlation between reading and youth. One study found, “Students who choose what they read and have an informal environment in which to read tend to be more motivated, read more and show greater language and literacy development” (Literacy Project Foundation, 2019).The importance of youth reading has tremendous benefits both long and short term.

Incentivizing reading can be a successful way to promote reading to youth. Start off by taking youth to your local public library. Assist them in getting library cards and finding the right book for them. Encourage youth to explore a variety of genres such as books about athletes or travelers. Choose something relevant to your organization that you know will excite your youth to take part. Also, if your organization is learning about a specific topic or theme, guide youth towards books that explore similar themes.

Need more ideas on how to encourage youth to read? Consider providing incentives, such as a reward for reading one book a month! The youth that reads the most books that month gets to lead an activity, pick the movie at movie night, etc. The TYAN team has created Reading Bingo Sheets for youth in different age-ranges. These lists have a variety of books that youth can explore. We have also created a blank Reading Sheet that can be filled out by the adults in your Youth-Adult Partnership or by your youth.

TYAN Reading Bingo Challenge.pdf

TYAN Custom Bingo Challenge.pdf

Admin-Travis. (2019, February 14). 30 Key Child Literacy Stats parents need to be aware of. Literacy Project Foundation. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://literacyproj.org/2019/02/14/30-key-child-literacy-stats-parents-need-to-be-aware-of/.