Fun Reading Activities
Encouraging Children to Be Active Readers Through Presentations
Experts such as Ruth Beechick, author of You Can Teach Your Child Successfully [Arrow Press, 1998], agree that conversation is one of the greatest tools parents can use when teaching a child how to read.
The use of conversation, combined with parental involvement and encouragement, helps to foster a love of reading as well as expand the learning opportunities presented to students.
Benefits of Active Parental Involvement In Reading
According to Beechick, there is no right way to discuss any particular book. Instead Beechick indicates discussions may not center on the book itself but rather around a topic presented within it.
Homeschooling parents who use conversation about books to open the lines of communication between their children and themselves can positively influence their children’s reading efforts.
Activities to Promote Conversations About Reading
Creating Ads: Have the child read a book of his or her choosing and present an oral advertisement for the book. The goal of this activity is to convince the audience to read the book he or she has just finished. This is also a good activity to use when teaching the art of persuasive writing. This activity can be completed as a group with follow-up discussions about the similarities and differences between each ad.
Create a Family Sharing Bag: In today’s busy world families often meet in passing and in order to share reading materials they can create a sharing bag. Family members who wish to share a book, article, poem or quote can place it in the bag and other family members can read it on their own time. The overall objective is to promote conversation, so families should set aside time once a week to meet and discuss the materials read.
Encourage Drama: Many children enjoy drama and it can be used as an effective way to present and discuss literature. Students can be encouraged to present skits and puppet shows or to create mock radio and television shows based on their selected book, to be followed by a family discussion.
Use Artistic Experimentation: Having children create an artistic piece to accompany their report on a book is an excellent way to encourage conversation. It may be surprising to see what children come up with on their own. Ideas for artistic presentations include, but are not limited to, murals that can be hung on the wall, dioramas depicting scenes from the book and models. Each student can then present their artistic piece and open the floor to questions and comments.
It is important to remember that children learn through examples and participating. Parents should also remember, according to Beechick, there is no right way to talk about a book. One-on-one communication between children and adults is a powerful tool, often not available in a classroom filled with peers. This type of communication should be looked upon as an opportunity for home educators to help stretch their children’s thinking to higher levels.
For more information on this topic read these other Suite 101 articles Teach Children to Sound Out Words, Creative Book Report Formats and Newspaper History Lessons
