National Read Across America Day is coming up on March 2nd. This is a fun day to celebrate one of the best things ever- reading! This day was established to get students more excited about reading and the wonderful stories we get to enjoy.
For younger students, reading is still a little more challenging because it is still so new to them. Unfortunately, this means they may not be as excited to read on Read Across America Day.
Here are some strategies you can work on with your students to help them find more joy and satisfaction in reading.
Preview
This method is when students skim a text to get the main idea and important points before they start to read. Research shows that this improves comprehension which makes the reading experience more enjoyable and satisfying for students.
Picture Cues
Teach students that the pictures in their books connect to the words on the page and they can look at them for clues about what is happening in the story when they get stuck. Ask students what they notice about the pictures in the book and what they think it means for the story.
Making Connections
Show your students how they can connect what they learned in another story with what they are currently reading to help them better understand what is happening in the story. For example: “This story is about an elephant. Do you know any other stories about elephants?” This helps students think more deeply and get more engaged in the content they are reading.
Predicting
Readers can gain meaning from their text by predicting what will happen next in the story. They can do this by using their existing knowledge or illustrations to make an informed prediction. When reading, pause and ask them what they think will happen on the next page based on the information they have.
Ask Questions
Teach your students to ask questions before, during, and after they are done reading to help them better understand what happened in the story and why.
With some practice, these simple and effective reading strategies will increase reading comprehension and help your students gain more confidence while reading. Ideally, this will help them develop a lifelong love for reading!
If you’re looking for some reading-themed activities to do for Read Across America Day, I have you covered!
These reading activities are just what you need to get students engaged. It comes with over 100 pages of language arts, math, STEM, and crafts with the “celebrate reading” theme in mind!
Here’s a preview of what’s included:
Language arts activities: rhyming words, creative writing with prompts, write the room activity, sorting nonsense words from real words activities, poems, and more.
Math activities: word problems, adding to 10, shapes counting, 1 more and 1 less.
Plus a STEM activity, awards, reading pledge, bookmarkers, journal cover, and a recipe for a treat!
I hope you love these activities! Let me know your favorite Read Across America activities in the comments!
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