Reading Activities: Elementary-Age Kids

At-Home Reading Activities for Elementary-Age Kids

Parents can involve elementary-aged children in many fun and interesting reading activities at home that will help to create positive experiences with stories, reading, and books. It is frequent and repeated positive experiences with stories, reading, and books that allow children to become life-long readers. So much can be learned and experienced through great literature. Building a love of reading in children at an early age gives them the gift of reading for the rest of their lives and opens up a whole world of knowledge and experience through books.

Three Reading Levels

There are three different reading levels that parents should be aware of when creating reading activities for elementary-aged children: independent level; instructional level; and frustration level. Parents should understand the three levels, follow the simple procedure for determining reading levels, and choose books and reading materials accordingly. Not all children are reading at grade level.

Independent Level

A child’s independent reading level is the level in which he or she can read without help. He should be able to read fluidly without stopping to decode words or to look up the meaning of words. Whenever a child is reading independently to acquire knowledge or for enjoyment, he should be reading material at his independent reading level.

Instructional Level

A child’s instructional reading level is the level in which he or she is building decoding and comprehension skills. He should be able to read most of the text fluidly, stopping to decode and understand word meaning at times. This is the level that school reading instruction should be geared to. Parents can read to children using books in their instructional level.

Frustration Level

A child’s frustration reading level is the level in which he or she can not read without constant help. Words are generally too difficult to decode or to understand. Children should never be asked to read materials at their frustration level. As the name of the level suggests, reading at the frustration level will discourage a child from reading.

Determining Reading Level

Parents can test reading material to determine if it falls in their child’s independent, instructional, or frustration level. Open the book to a middle passage. Mark off one hundred words and ask the child to read them aloud. If the child reads the passage with only one or two pauses or errors, the material meets his independent level. If he has three to five pauses or errors, the material meets his instructional level. More than five pauses or errors means that the material is in the child’s frustration level. Parents can now choose their elementary reading activities accordingly.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud to children who are of elementary school age is just as important as it is to read to them in the preschool age. Older children still enjoy parent read-alouds. Parents should choose chapter books that appeal to the particular interests of the child. Reading one chapter a night of a book is a great way to share the classics with your children and to spend quality time together. Choose books which fall in your child’s independent or instructional level. Reading aloud to your child is a reading activity that helps develop his listening comprehension.

Tandem Reading

Children need to engage in reading activities involving silent, independent reading. Parents can read the same chapter book as their child is reading in order to guide their understanding and share conversation about the story. If it is possible to obtain two copies of the book, parent and child can read silently at the same time. If only one copy is available, parents can preview the book (read it first), or parent and child can take turns reading. Avoid reading silently at the same time from one copy. Once both parent and child have completed a chapter, thoughts, concerns, predictions, and questions about the story can be shared and discussed. Parents should avoid taking the role of teacher but should try to create a book club environment. A child’s ideas should never be considered incorrect. Choose material that falls in your child’s independent reading level for this reading activity. Silent reading and follow-up discussion help build a child’s reading comprehension.

Reading Journals

Purchase a simple journal or marble notebook that can be used as a reading journal. In a reading journal, the child logs the title and author of each book she reads and keeps track of any thoughts, questions, or predictions she may have as she reads. If tandem reading, both parent and child can make entries into the journal. Create a rating system with your child so she can rate each book when she has completed it. Keep track of ratings in the reading journal. Children can create entries for books read to them or for the books they read independently. Reading journals help to develop a child’s meta-cognitive thinking and her writing skills.

Books and Movies

Many classic children’s stories have been made into movies. Choosing these chapter books for your reading activities help motivate children to read. Let the child know that once they have completed the book, the family will watch the movie together. Many of these movies can be obtained through your local library. Parents may want to consider previewing movies to assure appropriate content before viewing the movie with a child.

Magazine Subscriptions

Books are not the only reading materials available to parents for building reading activities for elementary-aged children. Children love to receive subscriptions to children’s magazines. Choose a subscription that appeals to your child’s individual interests and choose a magazine that has at least monthly editions. Visit Mags 4 Cheap to find and order children’s magazines. Highlights is an excellent magazine filled with reading activities for elementary-aged children. Parents can choose to read the magazine with the child, or children may prefer reading it alone. Remember to talk about what your child has read in each edition of the magazine and be available to share in some of the magazine activities.

Reading Activities for Elementary-Age Kids Summary

Children need to be surrounded with great literature and involved in positive reading experiences in order to become life-long readers. Parents can motivate children to read and help children develop a love of reading by creating simple reading activities using great literature appropriate for the child’s reading level. Understanding the three different reading levels helps parents create appropriate reading activities. The Children’s Literature Web Guide is a terrific resource for learning about and choosing literature for children and young adults.