Have the child or children practice this visualization exercise several times until they are more comfortable with the process.

Since most children have a well-developed imagination, it should be easy for them to grasp this technique.

Once you feel the child has mastered visualization, move back to the exercise to 'widen' the scope of their reading window and to increase their speed.

4. Give the child the same instruction, and encourage them to 'see' the wider picture, scanning the pages quickly.

This time, increase the number of pages to fifteen pages in a thirty to sixty second period.

Time this session again and at the end of the session, spend two to four minutes talking about what the child remembers from their reading.

Congratulate them on their progress and offer a reward!

Repeat this session several times, to see if page count and retention improve. Each time, give the child two to four minutes to tell you what they rem

Be sure your child can commit at least fifteen minutes a day to practice the new techniques.

Go the library and get books that are appropriate for the child's age, preferably books the child has not read before.

Choose an appropriate 'reward' system. The type of reward is up to you. It might be your child's favorite snack, an afternoon at the movies, a trip to the toy store or a play date with a friend.

I would suggest keeping it simple and inexpensive.

A box of cookies or candy that can be distributed as appropriate might be more practical than something expensive or time consuming.

You will also need a timer or a watch with a second hand, to track speed reading sessions.

If you can convince a group of neighborhood parents to participate, so much the better.

A group of four to eight children is a great size and the kids will be more likely to practice, if they are all participating in the same activity.

The younger the child, the shorter the working sessions should be.

For children of either or nine years of age, keep the sessions around thirty to forty-five minutes.

If the child or group of children begins to get restless and inattentive, stop the session and schedule it for another time.

For children ten to twelve, you can schedule an hour of work and practice.

1. In the first session, explain to the children what you want to accomplish and be sure that they understand that reading will be more fun and rewarding if they use the new techniques.

Have them focus on a dog or a plant in your house or look out the window and find an item to focus on, and then point out how we normally 'see' things.

We don't look at the individual pieces of the item. For example, if we are looking at the house next door, we are seeing the entire house, not the curtain in the front window.

Tell the child that you want them to read in the same way, not by looking at a word on a page, but by looking at a sentence or phrase and seeing the whole concept.

Ask the child to look at a page in a book for five to ten seconds.

Tell them not to try to read the page right now, but just to 'see' the words with a wider lens, to get a broader view of the words on the page, instead of focusing on one or two words.

At the end of this timed exercise, ask them to choose another spot on a different page and do the same thing - this time for ten to twenty seconds.

2. Next, ask them to spend thirty to sixty seconds looking at ten pages of text. But, this time, ask them to 'see' the words with a wider perspective AND try to scan them for meaning at the same time.

At the end of the timed session, ask them to report what they remember. You will be surprised at how much they pick up, even though they aren't reading word-for-word.

Make sure you create a 'fun' environment for the child or children so they don't feel as if they are being tested.

Encourage them by telling them it is OK not to remember much on the first few tries.

When the child does remember something, be sure to praise the newly acquired skill.

You may want to offer the reward at this point to keep the children motivated. Even if they only remember one small thing, that is enough to warrant a prize.

Don't dwell on the 'report' section for more than two to four minutes. Just have them quickly tell you what they remember.

Be sure you don't embarrass the child or single them out, whether they remember or not.

As your child gets more comfortable with this wider view of the printed page, they can move on to the next exercise.

3. At this point, you'll want to introduce the visualization aspect to get them more focused and involved in the words on the page.

Have them imagine or visualize what is happening in the book.

As they read a page of text, have them imagine the scene in their head and then tell you about it when they are finished.

Time this exercise for one or two minutes and when the session is finished, ask each child to tell you what they remember and what they 'saw' as they read.

Have the child or children practice this visualization exercise several times until they are more comfortable with the process.

Since most children have a well-developed imagination, it should be easy for them to grasp this technique.

Once you feel the child has mastered visualization, move back to the exercise to 'widen' the scope of their reading window and to increase their speed.

4. Give the child the same instruction, and encourage them to 'see' the wider picture, scanning the pages quickly.

This time, increase the number of pages to fifteen pages in a thirty to sixty second period.

Time this session again and at the end of the session, spend two to four minutes talking about what the child remembers from their reading.

Congratulate them on their progress and offer a reward!

Repeat this session several times, to see if page count and retention improve. Each time, give the child two to four minutes to tell you what they reme

The younger the child, the shorter the working sessions should be.

For children of either or nine years of age, keep the sessions around thirty to forty-five minutes.

If the child or group of children begins to get restless and inattentive, stop the session and schedule it for another time.

For children ten to twelve, you can schedule an hour of work and practice.

1. In the first session, explain to the children what you want to accomplish and be sure that they understand that reading will be more fun and rewarding if they use the new techniques.

Have them focus on a dog or a plant in your house or look out the window and find an item to focus on, and then point out how we normally 'see' things.

We don't look at the individual pieces of the item. For example, if we are looking at the house next door, we are seeing the entire house, not the curtain in the front window.

Tell the child that you want them to read in the same way, not by looking at a word on a page, but by looking at a sentence or phrase and seeing the whole concept.

Ask the child to look at a page in a book for five to ten seconds.

Tell them not to try to read the page right now, but just to 'see' the words with a wider lens, to get a broader view of the words on the page, instead of focusing on one or two words.

At the end of this timed exercise, ask them to choose another spot on a different page and do the same thing - this time for ten to twenty seconds.

2. Next, ask them to spend thirty to sixty seconds looking at ten pages of text. But, this time, ask them to 'see' the words with a wider perspective AND try to scan them for meaning at the same time.

At the end of the timed session, ask them to report what they remember. You will be surprised at how much they pick up, even though they aren't reading word-for-word.

Make sure you create a 'fun' environment for the child or children so they don't feel as if they are being tested.

Encourage them by telling them it is OK not to remember much on the first few tries.

When the child does remember something, be sure to praise the newly acquired skill.

You may want to offer the reward at this point to keep the children motivated. Even if they only remember one small thing, that is enough to warrant a prize.

Don't dwell on the 'report' section for more than two to four minutes. Just have them quickly tell you what they remember.

Be sure you don't embarrass the child or single them out, whether they remember or not.

As your child gets more comfortable with this wider view of the printed page, they can move on to the next exercise.

3. At this point, you'll want to introduce the visualization aspect to get them more focused and involved in the words on the page.

Have them imagine or visualize what is happening in the book.

As they read a page of text, have them imagine the scene in their head and then tell you about it when they are finished.

Time this exercise for one or two minutes and when the session is finished, ask each child to tell you what they remember and what they 'saw' as they read.

Have the child or children practice this visualization exercise several times until they are more comfortable with the process.

Since most children have a well-developed imagination, it should be easy for them to grasp this technique.

Once you feel the child has mastered visualization, move back to the exercise to 'widen' the scope of their reading window and to increase their speed.

4. Give the child the same instruction, and encourage them to 'see' the wider picture, scanning the pages quickly.

This time, increase the number of pages to fifteen pages in a thirty to sixty second period.

Time this session again and at the end of the session, spend two to four minutes talking about what the child remembers from their reading.

Congratulate them on their progress and offer a reward!

Repeat this session several times, to see if page count and retention improve. Each time, give the child two to four minutes to tell you what they rem

Ask the child to look at a page in a book for five to ten seconds.

Tell them not to try to read the page right now, but just to 'see' the words with a wider lens, to get a broader view of the words on the page, instead of focusing on one or two words.

At the end of this timed exercise, ask them to choose another spot on a different page and do the same thing - this time for ten to twenty seconds.

2. Next, ask them to spend thirty to sixty seconds looking at ten pages of text. But, this time, ask them to 'see' the words with a wider perspective AND try to scan them for meaning at the same time.

At the end of the timed session, ask them to report what they remember. You will be surprised at how much they pick up, even though they aren't reading word-for-word.

Make sure you create a 'fun' environment for the child or children so they don't feel as if they are being tested.

Encourage them by telling them it is OK not to remember much on the first few tries.

When the child does remember something, be sure to praise the newly acquired skill.

You may want to offer the reward at this point to keep the children motivated. Even if they only remember one small thing, that is enough to warrant a prize.

Don't dwell on the 'report' section for more than two to four minutes. Just have them quickly tell you what they remember.

Be sure you don't embarrass the child or single them out, whether they remember or not.

As your child gets more comfortable with this wider view of the printed page, they can move on to the next exercise.

3. At this point, you'll want to introduce the visualization aspect to get them more focused and involved in the words on the page.

Have them imagine or visualize what is happening in the book.

As they read a page of text, have them imagine the scene in their head and then tell you about it when they are finished.

Time this exercise for one or two minutes and when the session is finished, ask each child to tell you what they remember and what they 'saw' as they read.

Have the child or children practice this visualization exercise several times until they are more comfortable with the process.

Since most children have a well-developed imagination, it should be easy for them to grasp this technique.

Once you feel the child has mastered visualization, move back to the exercise to 'widen' the scope of their reading window and to increase their speed.

4. Give the child the same instruction, and encourage them to 'see' the wider picture, scanning the pages quickly.

This time, increase the number of pages to fifteen pages in a thirty to sixty second period.

Time this session again and at the end of the session, spend two to four minutes talking about what the child remembers from their reading.

Congratulate them on their progress and offer a reward!

Repeat this session several times, to see if page count and retention improve. Each time, give the child two to four minutes to tell you what they rem

When the child does remember something, be sure to praise the newly acquired skill.

You may want to offer the reward at this point to keep the children motivated. Even if they only remember one small thing, that is enough to warrant a prize.

Don't dwell on the 'report' section for more than two to four minutes. Just have them quickly tell you what they remember.

Be sure you don't embarrass the child or single them out, whether they remember or not.

As your child gets more comfortable with this wider view of the printed page, they can move on to the next exercise.

3. At this point, you'll want to introduce the visualization aspect to get them more focused and involved in the words on the page.

Have them imagine or visualize what is happening in the book.

As they read a page of text, have them imagine the scene in their head and then tell you about it when they are finished.

Time this exercise for one or two minutes and when the session is finished, ask each child to tell you what they remember and what they 'saw' as they read.

Have the child or children practice this visualization exercise several times until they are more comfortable with the process.

Since most children have a well-developed imagination, it should be easy for them to grasp this technique.

Once you feel the child has mastered visualization, move back to the exercise to 'widen' the scope of their reading window and to increase their speed.

4. Give the child the same instruction, and encourage them to 'see' the wider picture, scanning the pages quickly.

This time, increase the number of pages to fifteen pages in a thirty to sixty second period.

Time this session again and at the end of the session, spend two to four minutes talking about what the child remembers from their reading.

Congratulate them on their progress and offer a reward!

Repeat this session several times, to see if page count and retention improve. Each time, give the child two to four minutes to tell you what they rem

Have the child or children practice this visualization exercise several times until they are more comfortable with the process.

Since most children have a well-developed imagination, it should be easy for them to grasp this technique.

Once you feel the child has mastered visualization, move back to the exercise to 'widen' the scope of their reading window and to increase their speed.

4. Give the child the same instruction, and encourage them to 'see' the wider picture, scanning the pages quickly.

This time, increase the number of pages to fifteen pages in a thirty to sixty second period.

Time this session again and at the end of the session, spend two to four minutes talking about what the child remembers from their reading.

Congratulate them on their progress and offer a reward!

Repeat this session several times, to see if page count and retention improve. Each time, give the child two to four minutes to tell you what they remember. And provide some positive reinforcement, so that they will want to continue!

5. The next exercise is designed to help the child 'chunk' concepts and information.

Again, have your child select ten to fifteen pages in a book and set the timer for two minutes.

As the child scans the pages using their new technique of 'seeing' with a wider lens, you will signal them with a sound after every five seconds of scanning. Try to use a sound that is not startling or intrusive. A tap with your knuckle or a pen on the edge of the table is fine.

Just don't distract them from their scanning exercise.

At the end of the two minutes, ask the child to briefly tell you what they remembered about what they read and point out any changes you notice in how much they remember or the type of information they remembered during this exercise.

In other words, did the signaling of smaller chunks of time and information change the way they read or how much they saw and remembered?

Repeat this exercise several times before you move on.

After several practice sessions using the 'wide lens' scanning technique and the visualization exercise, you can move on to the next challenge.

6. Now it is time to raise the bar. Tell your child or children that you will give them a special reward if they can finish a short book - twenty to fifty pages in length depending on the child's age.

Give them five minutes to read as much of the book as possible.

Stop them at five minutes and ask them to tell you what they remember.

And be sure to give them the reward you promised them.

You can expand this exercise in the next session and challenge them to read TWO books of the same length.

As with any speed reading program or learning program, practice is very important.

Schedule sessions with your child often and be sure to practice each of the exercises I've given you so that they become more comfortable with the techniques.

* Exercise to increase and widen the 'seeing' lens.

* Exercise using imagination and visualization.

* Exercise to 'chunk' information by signaling in 'five second' increments

* Exercise to read a book in five minutes

Continue scheduled practice sessions for one to two months until the child has grasped and solidified the concepts in her mind.

After that, they can use the new techniques every day to improve their reading speed and comprehension.