How to Motivate the Unmotivated Student to Read and Write

Many students have never experienced success in an academic setting. These same students have at some point become unmotivated to read and write for a variety of reasons. These basic skills or lack there of, place roadblocks in the way of students that otherwise could be successful and contributing members of our communities. There are ways to energize these students and get them back into the game of reading and writing, but in order to accomplish this, there are some critical things that you need to know.

First, it is important to start at the source of the problem. I advise that you begin this process by making some time for the student that is struggling. This should be done in non-threatening, one to one conversations about their past experiences with reading and writing as well as any current interests or hobbies they enjoy. A good ice breaker is to start with discussing some of your own history with these skills or with things that were difficult for you to do at their age. Once they realize that your have their best interest at heart and have no intention of causing them further humiliation or embarrassment, most students will begin to open up. Be prepared to hear about their fears, experiences, and attitudes about reading and writing. For some students these conversations may take one or more sessions.

Once you feel that you have gathered some key information from the student, make attempts to get their family members on board. Depending on the family, you may want to have a meeting or possibly a telephone call might do the trick. Either way, be wary of the fact that the child in the home may not be the only one with these literacy struggles. Unless you know the family situation very well, the support that you are looking for is in the form of encouragement rather than in any form of instruction.