Top 5 Engaging Reading activities to be used in class/workshop

Top 5 Engaging Reading activities to be used in class/workshop

By: Deepa Singh



These engaging activities are suitable for classroom or workshop settings, promoting active and thoughtful learning. They serve as valuable tools for pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading stages, effectively keeping students and participants engaged.

Pre reading Activity:

1.     Rapid Reading Comprehension Challenge: Individual Activity

Time: 30-60 sec.

(Set a timer for reading the paragraph. Encourage participants to read quickly but comprehensively.)

Purpose: To highlight the value of Reading comprehension (primarily depend on previous knowledge, general vocabulary, and the familiarity of specific terminology).

How to conduct activity:

·       Provide a short paragraph to each volunteer.

·       Ask them to read it within 30-60 seconds.

·       After reading, inquire about their understanding:

What did they grasp from the text?

How many new words did they encounter?

Which words were challenging or difficult to pronounce?

Did the content remind you of anything?

·       Repeat the activity with 3-5 different volunteers using the same reading material.

·       Vocabulary Exploration: When volunteers encounter difficult words, encourage them to share their understanding or guess the meaning based on context.

·       Peer Interaction: Pair up volunteers to discuss their impressions. They can share their thoughts, ask questions, and clarify doubts.

·       Variety of Texts: Use diverse reading materials news articles, poems, short stories, or scientific texts.

2.     Word Associations for Vocabulary Activation: Group Activity

Time: 4-5 min.

            Purpose: word associations are very useful when students are required to read a text    

             on a complex topic or a new subject. With this technique, students will activate the

            right vocabulary needed for processing the text.

            How to conduct activity:

·       Divide students into groups of 5-8.

·       Provide each group with a short paragraph.

·       Ask them to read it within 1 minute.

·       Instruct the groups to identify five words from the paragraph.

·       For each word, have them write down 1-2 related words (synonyms or antonyms) based on their existing knowledge.

·       Repeat the activity with 1-2 different paragraphs.

·       Word Origins and Etymology: Discuss the origins of specific words. Explore their linguistic roots, historical context, and how they evolved. For instance, why is “benevolent” related to goodwill?

·       Contextual Sentences: Ask students to create sentences using the identified words. This reinforces their understanding and shows how words function in context.

·       Word Families: Encourage students to find related words within the same word family. For example, if they identify “curious,” explore related terms like “curiosity,” “curiously,” and “curiousness.”

·       Thesaurus Exploration: Introduce online thesauruses or physical thesaurus books. Students can discover synonyms, antonyms, and shades of meaning for each word.

·       Word Associations Game: Play a game where students connect words based on associations. For instance, if they find “adventure,” they might associate it with “exploration,” “bravery,” or “journey.”

During Reading Activity:

3.     Before reading, the facilitator should introduce different reading techniques such as skimming, scanning, intensive reading, and extensive reading. During the reading process, participants should actively read and underline or highlight relevant text. This approach enhances reading speed and effectiveness, impacts students’ motivation and attitude toward reading, and improves their learning process by helping them focus on key content and share their impressions.

After Reading Activity:

    4. Draw a picture of your idea after reading text: Individual/ Group Activity

         Time: 5 min.    

         Purpose: To enhance interpretation and art integration skill.

       Create an illustration or character that reflects the reader’s mental image after reading the text.                  Additionally, consider other activities such as writing book reviews or extending the story.

    5. Question ball: Individual/ Group Activity

         Time: 5 min.

         Purpose: To check comprehension and improve expression.

       Take an inflatable beach ball (or simple ball) and writing the 5 Ws on each colored stripe: who, what, when, where, and why (may add how) the participants will throw the ball around the class and answer questions about the story. Whichever question stem is touching their right hand when they catch the ball can be the start of your crafted question.

To know more about Reading Skills Click: https://prayasdinnovator.blogspot.com/2024/05/reading-why-are-you-boring-reading-is.html


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