Motivating kids to read — what a reading specialist says

Nov 8

Reading Time: 2 min

Girl holding a book, she is excited to read outside

The Lou Adventures team recently had the privilege of talking with Mrs. Kristyn Cubitt, an Elementary Literacy Specialist & Instructional Coach from the Troy School District in Southeast Michigan. The team spoke with her just after the 2021-22 school year began with the intention of getting her perspective on reading literacy after a year of virtual classroom learning.

But first, let's meet Mrs. Cubitt. She has been a reading specialist at the elementary level for 22 years and before that, taught Kindergarten. She has an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in Elementary Education with a ZA Endorsement for early childhood. She also has her master’s degree from Michigan State, as well as Reading Recovery training and Teacher Leader Training from Oakland University in Rochester, MI.

We asked Mrs. Cubitt what inspires her the most about being a reading specialist and she said, “It’s watching students enjoy stories that they are engaged in, talking about the story, and seeing first-hand how incredible young minds learn and grow in the world of reading every day.”

Mrs. Cubitt has some recommendations for parents and educators to unlock reading success. “The path to reading can be a winding, twisty road of many abandoned book starts, but one title or topic can turn a student around to give them a new and exciting reading experience.” She noted that first and foremost, reading must be enjoyable for children to become motivated readers.

Motivation often comes from allowing children to choose a subject and text they prefer, which may be a chapter book, magazine, graphic novel, or a digital story with interactive elements. Another way to motivate children is to choose a time when the whole family can read together. It sends a message to the child that reading is valued and important at home.

When Mrs. Cubitt opened the Lou Adventures app, she liked the interactive elements of the online adventure. As she proceeded through the storybook journal, she met Lou the dog and liked how it guided her through the room to find crystals. She was excited to see where Lou would take her next in the story adventure.

Overall Mrs. Cubitt thought that the Lou Adventures app was most useful in the area of reading comprehension, reading fluency and problem solving. She liked many elements of the app, including the listening and comprehension components. She appreciates how the app encourages rereading of the journal page in order to respond to comprehension. Giving a child the chance to read the page, then listen as the page reads back to them, provides a fluent model of reading.

Thank you to Mrs. Cubitt for her valuable insights!