Teachers may benefit from a reading center in the classroom to keep students involved in learning activities while she works with small groups. Many schools require small group reading instruction and having educational activities for students to complete during these times will help to reinforce the teacher's instructional time with each group.
Reading Center Puppet Show
Create a center or a folder for students to keep at their desks, with a selection of reading activities that they can complete each day. One such activity is to have students create and perform a puppet show about the story. Provide paper bags, markers and yarn for students to create their puppets.
Allow a few minutes of class time for the student to perform their puppet show, using two chairs and a sheet to create a simple puppet stage. To make puppet shows a regular occurrence in the classroom, make a simple puppet stand out of PVC piping.
Reading Strategy: Student Interviews
Students can interview someone else in the class who has already read a particular book. Keeping a list of books, and having students write their name beside each book after reading it, can provide options for the students who choose to do the interview. The students should come up with a variety of questions relating to the story or book, and take a few minutes to quietly interview the student, writing down each answer.
The student can then write a paper comparing and contrasting their thoughts about the book with the other student’s thoughts about the same book. If the students need more guidance for this activity, the teacher can provide a sheet of questions that students must include in their interview. For example:
- Favorite part
- Least favorite part
- Most interesting word
- What would you title the book
- What is the most important lesson you learned from this book
Write a Letter to the Author
Students can choose to write a letter to the author of a favorite book. They should think of something that they liked about the book, something that they wish they could change about the book and one question for the author to include in their letter. If possible, mail the letters to the author. Many authors/publishers will respond to letters from students.
As you give your students enrichment assignments for reading class, consider options that help to reinforce vocabulary development and reading comprehension. These activities will also effectively help to improve student writing skills.
Related Information:
Learn more tips for teaching reading.
How to Write a Letter - Teach students how to write a letter.
Improve Reading Comprehension - Tips on working with students to improve reading comprehension.
Jennifer Wagaman - Jennifer is a mother of 2 and has both public, private and administrative experience in the education field.
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