independent reading book activities

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15 Fun Ways to Freshen Up Your Independent Reading Activities

Inside: Is your choice reading program feeling stale? Are the independent reading activities falling flat? We can engage students and keep book love fresh by weaving in new ideas from time to time!   

Independent reading programs can be the life of your English Language Arts classroom party. Books truly can be magical for students and teachers to share together and to read independently. When inspiring stories are ubiquitous in our classrooms, vibrant discussions help to strengthen the overall community and culture.

Whether you’re just dipping your toes into independent reading or looking for ways to freshen up your existing approach, you’ll find lots of ideas here! If you’ve been around my blog or my Instagram account for long, you probably already know my strong distaste for reading logs and accelerated reader. Compliance-driven accountability tools create a negative space between students, books, and teachers.

In this post, you won’t find unnecessary strategies that frustrate or bore readers. Instead, you’ll find over a dozen fresh ideas for bringing healthy discussion and community to your independent reading program.

Previously, I’ve written about assignments we can use to assess students’ progress with reading literature standards when it comes to their independent reading books. But, beyond standards assessment, I find little to no value in layers of accountability that feel like work just so we can “make sure” students are reading.

If we establish a positive reading culture , students will read. Let’s check out the activities. Keep in mind, you won’t find predictable, structured bell-ringer type approaches here. I like to keep it fresh because that’s my style. Also, variety drives away boredom and unleashes creativity.

For the purpose of clarification, independent reading refers to when students are reading a book of their own choosing . They may be using an audiobook or even sharing the book with parents, but students are reading the book either in class or at home because it’s a book they have chosen to read. Typically, this work is a meaningful extension of additional required classroom texts.

1:  ENTRANCE QUESTIONS

Entrance questions can be a fun way to open up thinking. We can pose these questions when students walk into class or after independent reading time. The purpose of an entrance question is to get students talking about their books, which contributes to a social reading environment. Indirectly, students will be getting ideas of books they may want to read in the future, and those who are answering the questions will be reflecting on what they are currently reading.

Consider these possible examples:

• Find the most important word from the last 2 pages you read. Why is it important to the story?
• What is the setting of your book? Does the protagonist enjoy living in this setting? How do you know? How does the setting cause limitations or provide freedom for the characters?

Entrance questions provide a thin layer of accountability. Students who are not reading their books will have a difficult time coming up with authentic answers to the prompts.

You can find more entrance prompts like this here .

2:  SKILL APPLICATION

One of the best ways we can bridge the gap between whole class texts and independent reading activities is to ask students to apply the skills we are teaching in a whole-group setting to their choice reading books.

For example, if you teach students a five sentence summary strategy using a short whole-class text, ask them to apply their summarizing skills to their independent reading book. Analyzing figurative language as a class? Why not extend that practice to independent reading? Making inferences about characters? Same thing.

I like to use scaffolding tools like graphic organizers and bookmarks to make a seamless connection between whole-class texts and independent reading books. I recommend modeling with the same tools students will be using on their own.

Reluctant readers will be more likely to invest in their independent reading books if they feel the books are an important part of their learning process.

3:  READING CONFERENCES

Reading conferences are opportunities to get to know readers. During a true reading conference, the teacher sits with each student to have quick conversations about how students are approaching their independent reading books. We can ask students summary questions, inference questions, analysis questions, and more.

Reading conferences are another opportunity to bridge the lessons and skills we are working on as a whole class with the books students are reading on their own. Many secondary teachers stray away from reading conferences because we have so many students and a short amount of time to meet with them.

I’ve used five-minute reading conferences during independent reading time. This means I am able to conference with two students each day, and it takes me two to three weeks to make it through the whole student roster. That’s okay! Meeting with students one-on-one allows us to differentiate the reading skills and strategies we want them to work on, and it helps to build relationships with them.

Plus, if we can tell they aren’t really engaging with their book, we can use this time to help them find a book they will enjoy more.

If you aren’t ready to embrace the one-on-one reading conferences approach, give small group conferences a try! Meet with three to four students at a time to discuss a reading strategy (predicting, inferring, visualizing). We can talk about how dialogue impacts pace or how the author uses figurative language to engage readers.

4: BOOK CHECK-INS

In Reading in the Wild, Donalyn Miller recommends a status of the class, which is where we touch base with each student to inquire about their reading progress. When I say your name, share out what page you’re on and something interesting about your reading! We can do this while conferring one-on-one, when taking attendance, as we circulate the room during independent reading, or in small group format when sharing about our reading.

However, Pernille Ripp recommends a second option for reading checks, which is asking students to sign in at the beginning of each class by updating the current page number of their independent reading book. We can streamline this process with a digital or print whole class book check-in sheet that can later be analyzed for trends (pictured below).

At the end of a week or month, we can ask students to total the number of pages they have read and submit that number via a Google Form. This is data we can use to reflect on as a class.

5: CASUAL BOOK TALKS

What are people typically really excited to do after reading something super good? Tell others, of course! That’s why informal book talks are an engaging way to open up authentic social reading situations.

After independent reading time, ask for volunteers to share something exciting, moving, or humorous from what they’ve read, a favorite line or passage, or an impressive example of author’s style. I consider these informal book talks, but I don’t recommend titling them as such to students because it increases the formality.

Just ask who wants to share, and let a few voices shine. To make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate, keep track of who has already shared. When you run out of volunteers and still have students who haven’t shared, ask them questions about their book.

“Jaclyn, I see you are reading ___. What happened in your reading today?” 

“Nathan, what’s your favorite part of the book you are currently reading?”

The expectation to share our reading is a gentle reminder to students:  You need to be reading. It will be your turn soon.  This layer of accountability is one I’m comfortable with because sharing good books is an authentic reading practice.

6:  READING SPRINTS

Here’s another after-independent reading activity, and this one engages the whole class! Reading sprints are when students answer a standards-aligned question about their book directly following reading time. They jot their thoughts on a sticky note and then share it on the board.

As a teacher, there are multiple ways we can lead short or long on-the-spot discussions about literature skills using these sticky note collections. Students’ responses to questions will give us insights as to what skills we need to hone.

Reading sprints keep the spirit of community reading alive in our class and allow us to tie independent reading to whole-class reading lessons seamlessly!

7:  READING RATE GOALS

In 180 Days , Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle recommend having students set their own reading goals based on their reading rates. To do this, have students read for ten minutes. They should record the page they begin on and the page they end on. With that number, they will multiply by 6 to find the number of pages they can read per hour. Then, students should set a goal for the number of pages they want to read in a week.

Gallagher and Kittle suggest teachers could grade students upon whether or not they meet their self-determined goal, but my own preference is to avoid grading with independent reading as much as possible. There have been plenty of times I haven’t met my own goals for finishing a book or reading as much as I should have in a month, and I’ve needed to give myself some grace.

Of course, text complexity plays a role in students’ reading rates, and they need to be taught to set goals that are appropriate for the text they are reading. Students can also set goals for engagement, environment, stamina, and variety of reading.

8:  FIRST PAGE SNEAK PEAKS

Hooking students on good books is the first step toward a thriving independent reading program. Over the years, I’ve noticed the most engaging books often have high-interest first pages.

So…let’s take advantage of some sneak peaks! Either with physical books or digitally, have students read the first page, record their thoughts, share their thinking with a small group.

This activity is not necessarily an alternative to a reading log, but it is excellent for building our “to read” lists and promoting a positive reading culture.

9:  VIEWING PARTIES

Viewing parties have recently become popular because they enable groups of people to watch videos together even when they’re apart. When it comes to independent reading, why not host trailer viewing parties? Students can enjoy the trailers as they sit in our classrooms, or they can watch remotely.

Viewing parties are yet another way to share amazing book recommendations with others. Students can recommend book trailers they think their peers would enjoy, and teachers can generate book trailer lists based on weekly or monthly themes.

Why not host monthly viewing parties as a way to recap First Chapter Friday books (here’s a list from a friend !) you have previewed or other excerpts you’ve shared? They’re a friendly reminder that those books are still available for the reading!

Get new books on students’ radar by finding authors who are reading excerpts from their own books. Or, invite authors on Twitter like Jennifer Nielson to host a virtual book reading or Q and A with your class.

10:  GENRE EXPOSURE

I first began introducing literary genres slowly throughout the year when I read The Book Whisperer years ago. Over time, I saw the value of this approach. While older students generally already have a specific taste for certain genres, exposing them to a variety of them throughout the year helped students to expand their palettes.

Some specific ideas…

Introduce new genres with a brief set of notes. ( You can find mine here .) Discuss common characteristics of that genre. Read excerpts from those genres…first pages, first chapters, high-interest passages, and back covers. You can also hold a genre sorting activity to get more books in students’ hands.

11:  COLLECTIVE READING WALLS

After students finish a book, have them fill out a book spine and add it to your classroom decor! This simple activity gives both teachers and students a visual for community reading volume. The trickiest part of using the book spine strategy is remembering to have students fill them out! So, I recommend building in a regular space for this to happen.

Choose a day of the week, and write it into your lesson plans for that day! On a bi-weekly or monthly basis, give students 5 to 10 minutes to complete their book spines in class and add them to the wall if you desire.

12:  READING LADDERS

Reading ladders are my absolute favorite alternative to the reading log! They still allow space for students to record what they’ve read. But they feel less intrusive. Plus, reading ladders are convenient for discussing book diet, reading volume, and reading identity.

With a reading ladder, you start with a bookshelf. Then, choose how you want to label each shelf. I often choose to label shelves with words like “just right,” “entertaining,” “challenging,” “easy,” and “frustrating.” This labeling system helps readers to identify the complexity of books they are reading. We always discuss how it’s okay to read a picture book that is easy. And, it’s okay to read a classic that is challenging! The key is to know what you are reading and why.

Here are my my print and digital reading ladders.

13:  READING DISPLAYS

Another way we can make reading a visible part of our classrooms is through bookish displays. It’s hard for students to forget about reading when they are surrounded by high-interest novels! Reading displays are a non-invasive way to track collective reading.

Display novels you want to draw attention to at the front of your classroom or face-out on your library shelves. Consider having students contribute to a class bulletin board. Here are some bookish bulletin board ideas I’ve created using social media concepts.

14:  READING CHALLENGES

Engage readers with challenges to get them reading more often! Try challenges with unexpected twists. Read under a homemade fort, in a hammock, or on vacation. Expand your genre diet by dipping your toes into something new. Recommend books to a friend or read something recommended by a coach!

Format reading challenges into a tic-tac-toe choice board or BINGO board and have them submit their titles whenever they finish a certain number of novels.

You can also work with students to create individual or whole-class challenges to read a certain number of pages each week or month. Students can fill out a simple Google Form at the end of the time period to indicate how many pages they read.

15:  READING JOURNALS

After reading, we can ask students to write about what they’ve read. Connecting reading and writing is a healthy habit that encourages reflection and creativity. When students see literature from an author’s point of view or when they approach their own writing to apply the literature techniques they’ve analyzed, students are empowered!

Reading journals (whether recorded digitally or in a reader’s notebook) are one way to build in standards-aligned accountability. We can hit both reading and writing standards! Here are two sets of writing journals you can use to get started with journaling about reading:  Set 1 and Set 2 .

Want to prioritize the questions but cut the writing? Readers naturally discuss what they are reading with others! Promote a book club type culture ( even when students are all reading different books! ) by keeping high-interest discussion prompts or more basic comprehension-style questions handy.

The KEY:   Every good idea is only good in moderation.

As with reading logs, any and all of these tools could be used in a way that negatively impacts our readers…including using them too often or treating them as “I gotchas.” It’s ongoing work and reflection to identify whether what we are asking of students is drawing them closer to reading and further on their reading journeys or whether it is doing the opposite.

If we really want to know whether our students are reading, all we need it do is watch them. Are they devouring books? Sharing their favorite parts? Carrying books with them? Flipping pages with eyes tracking during independent reading time? These are authentic indications of reading. Best of all, they don’t add anything to our plates, and they won’t turn our readers away from books.

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7 Independent Reading Activities to Increase Literacy

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Independent reading is time set aside during the school day for children to read silently to themselves or quietly to a buddy. Providing a minimum of 15 minutes each day for independent reading is vital to help students improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension, and to increase their vocabulary.

Allow students to select books of their choice for independent reading and select new books weekly or monthly. Guide them to choose books they can read with about 95% accuracy.

Schedule individual student conferences during the independent reading time. Use the conference time to assess each student's reading fluency and comprehension along with his understanding of key story elements.

Use the following independent reading activities to increase literacy in your classroom.

Character Diary

The objective of this activity is to increase reading accuracy and fluency and to assess students' understanding of the book through a written response.

• Blank paper
• One or more "just right" books of the student's choice
• First, students will fold 3-5 blank sheets of paper together so that they open to the right. Staple the pages together along the crease.
• Each day, after students complete their independent reading time, they should complete a dated diary entry in the main character's voice.
• The entry should detail an important or exciting event, the student's favorite part of the day's reading, or what the student imagines the main character may be thinking in response to what happened in the story.
• Students may illustrate the diary entries if desired.

Book Review

The objective of this activity is to increase reading accuracy and fluency and to assess students' reading comprehension .

• Student book
• Students must read a book, either independently or as a group.
• Ask the students to write a review of the book they read. The review should include the title, author's name, and plot, along with their thoughts about the story.

Lesson Extension

If you choose to have the entire class read the same book, you may wish to let students create a classroom graph showing who liked and disliked the book. Display the graph along with student book reviews.

Cover Story

The objective of this activity is to assess the student's comprehension of the story through a written response.

• Crayons or makers
• Student's book
• Students will fold a piece of blank paper in half so that it opens like a book.
• On the front cover, students will write the book's title and author and draw a scene from the book.
• On the inside, students will write a sentence (or more) stating one lesson they learned from the book.
• Finally, students should illustrate the sentence that they wrote on the inside of their book.

Add a Scene

The objective of this activity is to assess students' comprehension of the book they've read and their understanding of key story elements through a written response.

• Crayons or markers
• When the students are approximately halfway through the book, instruct them to write the scene they think will happen next.
• Tell students to write the additional scene in the author's voice.
• If students are reading the same book, encourage them to compare scenes and record similarities and differences.

And One More Thing

The objective of this activity is to engage students with literature and help them understand point of view and the author's voice through a written response to a story.

• After the students have finished reading a book, instruct them to write and illustrate an epilogue.
• Explain to students that the term epilogue refers to a section of a book that takes place after the story has concluded. An epilogue provides closure by giving more information about what happened to the characters.
• Remind students that an epilogue is written in the author's voice as an additional part of the story.

The objective of this activity is to assess the student's comprehension of the story and his ability to identify the topic and main points.

• Students will draw a circle in the center of a blank piece of paper. In the circle, they will write the topic of their book.
• Next, students will draw six evenly-spaced lines around the circle from the circle toward the edge of the paper, leaving space to write at the end of each line.
• At the end of each line, students will write one fact or event from their book. If they are writing events from a non-fiction book, they should maintain the proper sequence from the story.

The objective of this activity is to assess a student's comprehension of the story setting and encourage her to use details from the book and her mental picture to describe the physical layout of the setting.

• Instruct students to think about the setting of the story they just read. Does the author give details about the location of the places in the story? Usually, authors provide some indication, although the details may not be explicit.
• Ask students to create a map of their book's setting based on explicit or implied details from the author.
• Students should label the most important places such as the main character's home or school and the areas where much of the action occurred.
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4 Independent Reading Activities to Challenge Students

You’ve established independent reading in your classroom. Congratulations! But now what? How do you make independent reading meaningful for students? Once students are actually reading, there are many independent reading activities you can do to take advantage of reading time without killing the fun! 

(Still working on establishing an independent reading routine? Learn about putting together a great classroom library !)

Independent Reading Activities Idea #1: Quick Reading Skill Reviews

You’ve got students engaged in a book! Don’t forget to have students actually think about their reading now. 

Now, don’t go crazy. If your students are new to independent reading, you don’t want to assign a whole project or essay to go with it. That’s a fast way to kill any excitement your students might have for choice reading. 

However, I think it’s totally ok to ask students to reflect on their reading. Their choice novels can function as excellent examples for implementing other reading strategies. 

The key is to keep any assignments or tasks short and simple. (I honestly wouldn’t even call anything you hand out an assignment or homework.) 

I love short and easy exit tickets for this. Each takes less than five minutes to complete, but review an essential skill or a literary term. The task or question you put on these exit tickets should be short and applicable to nearly any novel. 

For example, having students describe the protagonist of their book reviews an important literary term, asks students to reflect on their reading, and can be answered regardless of which novel students are reading. 

You can create your own exit tickets or buy some already prepared for you. I love these exit tickets for reviewing reading strategies and these exit tickets for reviewing story elements . 

Independent Reading Activities Idea #2: Literature Circles

Once students are comfortable with reading independently and have brushed up on their skills, launch into a bigger independent reading project. Literature circles are a natural progression from independent reading. 

(Not sure how to even begin putting together a literature circle? Check out this post! )

Personally, I would separate a literature circle from independent reading activities. Either continue to do independent reading along with literature circles or suspend independent reading while doing this unit. 

Literature circles use the skills that students have built up while independently reading, but they limit choice. While independent reading allows students to choose almost any novel, literature circles are usually more limited. You might provide students with a list of possible novels or they may need to find a group willing to study the same book.

Like independent reading, students will have to use their reading strategies and discipline to read a novel on their own. They might have fewer choices to read, but they’ll have peers with whom to discuss their ideas.

Interested in a done-for-you literature circle? Try this one based on three social justice novels.

Independent Reading Activities Idea #3: Let Students Get Creative

Personally, I love letting students do something creative when the opportunity is present. It’s a fun way to engage students who might otherwise be less interested in literature. There are so many ideas out there that can be applied to any novel. 

A common activity is to have students design a new book cover for their chosen novel . This kind of activity is perfect because it can be done with any novel but still requires students to think about important symbols, characters, and events in their book.

Another activity that students love is to create an “Instagram” post. The post can be about the book or a fictional post from the perspective of an important character. So much of our students’ lives involve social media; they dive right into assignments like this. You can have students create this post on any blank paper or give them a premade template like this . 

There are innumerable ways to let students combine their creativity with analysis.

Independent Reading Activities Idea #4: Turn Choice Novels Into Mentor Texts

One of the amazing benefits of lots of reading is that it tends to improve writing as well–but only if readers are analytical about the words they read . Asking students to look to their chosen books as mentor texts is one way of helping them to make the connection.

There are many ways of doing this. You could assign a scavenger hunt and have students look through their choice novel for examples. Students can record excellent examples of strong writing, examples of literary terms, or examples of story elements. You could easily adapt this Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt to be used with novels. 

Another way to use any novel as a mentor text is to assign students an author study. Again, you don’t want to assign too much work with independent reading, so maybe you could allow students to choose an author to study from any whole-class novels or their choice novels. 

An author study forces students to examine the way words are used in writing. Eventually, they’ll try and mimic their chosen author’s style. 

One last idea is to have students pull in their books for grammar lessons. Teaching sentence types? Have students identify sentence clauses in a paragraph from their book. Parts of speech? Have students list strong nouns, verbs, or adjectives from their novels. You could even have students list sentences from their book that break grammar rules for an interesting discussion on when and why to do so. 

When trying to make the most of independent reading, it’s important to remember that it should be fun for students. Ideally, independent reading should mimic reading in real life.

“Real readers” don’t sit down after finishing a book to write an essay about it. They might, however, write a review or discuss the novel with a friend. They might create art after being inspired by a great story or imagine alternative scenes or endings.

When deciding what independent reading activities to add to your classroom, make sure they don’t detract from the pure enjoyment of reading a book for fun.

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13 Fun Reading Activities for Any Book

Whether you walk into a classroom in Asia, North America or Europe, you will almost certainly see teachers and students building their understanding of the world through a dedicated daily reading session full of great reading activities.

Books allow students an opportunity to be informed, entertained or escape as they comprehend fiction and non-fiction texts against their understanding of the world, their personal insights, and opinions and finally compare those texts to others.

Whilst you may have a wealth of books in your school library, developing fresh and engaging ways to study literature can often be challenging.  So today, we will explore 25 proven activities that can be applied to any book and at any age level.

These reading activities to improve reading comprehension are easy to follow and suitable for most age groups within an elementary/junior high school level.

125 Text Response ACTIVITIES, Games, Projects for ANY BOOK

This massive collection of ☀️ READING ACTIVITIES☀️ covers all essential reading skills for elementary/primary students. NO PREP REQUIRED! Works with all text and media types.

Thousands of teachers have adopted this as a GO-TO RESOURCE for independent and group tasks.

A COLLECTION OF FUN READING ACTIVITIES

A lifetime tale in pictures reading task.

Draw the main character from a book you have recently read.  Show them as a baby, middle-aged and an older person.

Underneath each picture, write what you think they might be doing at that point in their life, and explain why they may be doing so.

For example, if you drew Harry Potter as a baby, he might cast spells on his mum to feed him lots of yummy food.

Post-reading activities like this are accessible for all age groups to adapt their skill level and text style.

If you want to learn more about characters, read our complete guide here.

TEXT TO SELF-READING TASK

Based upon a book you have just read, share a  story about yourself related to an event or character in the book.

It is probably best done in the form of a written recount. Link your experience to no more than four situations that occurred within the text.

Text to self is an excellent opportunity for students to become introspective about the content they read and compare it to their own life experiences. 

This activity is appealing to teenagers more so than juniors .

IT’S IN THE INSTRUCTIONS READING TASK

From a book you have just read, select either a critical object or creature and create a user manual or a guide explaining how to care for it.

Ensure you use any vital information learnt from the book and any other information you consider essential.

If you are writing a user manual for an object, remember to focus on using it correctly and taking care of it.

If you are writing a user guide for an animal or creature, focus on keeping it alive and healthy as well as information that explains how to keep it happy and under control if necessary.

Dear Diary, READING TASK

Place yourself in the shoes of one of the characters you have just read about and write a diary entry of a critical moment from the story.

Try to choose a moment in the story where the character has plenty of interaction and emotion to share in a diary entry.

Your diary entry should be around a page long and contain information you learned from the book when the character was in that specific place and time.

Remember, when writing a diary entry, you are writing it from a first-person perspective. It is usually but not always written in the present tense.

Diary writing has been a very popular activity throughout time, but social media tools such as Facebook and blogging have in some ways changed this.

Mapping it all out, READING TASK

How do you make reading lessons fun? This reading activity answers that question confidently.

Have a go at drawing a map of one of the places from the text you have just read. See how much detail you can include, and be sure to discuss your map with another reader so you can compare and add more if necessary.

Take some time and effort to ensure your map appeals to the same audience the book aims at.

All good maps should contain the following BOLTS elements.

B – Bolts

O – Orientation

L – Legend

S – Scale

Express Yourself READING TASK

Using an iPad or a digital camera, make faces of the emotions the main characters would have gone through in your book and take photos of them. 

Put them together in a document on your computer or device and explain the emotion below the image and when the character would have felt this way.

This is an excellent opportunity to use some creative direction for this task.

Be sure to play around with the images, filters and graphical styling available.

Travel Agent READING TASK

Think of yourselves as a group of travel assistants whose job is to promote a  city of your choice from the text you have been reading.

As a group, you need to develop a concept map of all the exciting things that happen in your city and then present it to the class.

Don’t forget all of the exciting things such as theatres, restaurants, sports, adventure activities, entertainment and much more…

If you are a little short on details of the location of your story, do some research if it was an actual location or just get creative and make up some locations and tourist attractions based on what you read.

You’re Hired READING TASK

Select a character from a book and consider what might be an excellent job for them. You can choose something entirely suitable such as a security guard job for Superman or a more oddball approach, such as a pastry chef.

Either way, you will have to write a letter from this character’s perspective and apply for a position.

Be sure to explain why your character would be a great employee and what special skills they would possess to make them ideal for the role. Sell your character by explaining all the great attributes they possess.

What’s the Status? READING TASK

Create a Facebook page for your character with some status updates about what they have been up to.

Include some pictures and ensure your status updates are relevant to the character and the story.

Around 3 – 4 status updates with mages should give an overall picture of the character.

Use your status updates to explore what your character does for a job, leisure time, places they might go on vacation and the like.

Bubbles and Clouds READING TASK

Using speech bubbles and pictures of the characters, draw a conversation between two characters from the story you have read.

Remember, thought is drawn as a cloud, and a spoken statement is drawn as a  bubble.

Be sure to look at some comics or graphic novels for inspiration and insights.

This activity is usually best done on pen and paper, but numerous digital apps and tools will allow you to make this a reality through technology.

Amazing Artifacts READING TASK

An artifact is an object that has some significance or meaning behind it. Sometimes, an artefact might even have a very important story behind it.  I am sure you have a favorite toy, or your parents have a particular item in the house that they would consider an important artifact.

For today’s task, you will select five artifacts from the text you have been reading and explain what makes them significant or essential.

They don’t all have to be super important to the story, but I am sure that at least a couple played a significant role.

Be sure to draw a picture of the artifact and if necessary, label it.

FREE READING ACTIVITIES RESOURCE TO DOWNLOAD

Thinking Differently READING TASK

Choose three important events from the text and explain how you would have handled them differently from the characters in the story.

Explain how it may have changed the story’s outcome in either a minor or significant way.

Be insightful here and think of the cause and effect.  Sometimes your smallest action can have a significant impact on others.

Popplet Mind Mapping Task

Popplet is a mind mapping tool that allows you to connect ideas together using images, text and drawings.

From a text, you have recently read, create a family tree or network diagram that explains the relationship the characters have with each other.

Some may be father and son, husband and wife or even arch enemies.

Try and lay it out so it is easy to follow.

You Have Three Wishes READING TASK

A genie lands at the midpoint of the story you have just read and grants the two main characters three wishes.

What do they wish for and why?

Finally, would their wishes have changed anything about the story?  How so?

Again think about the cause and effect relationship and how this may have altered the path of the book you have been reading.

A COMPLETE DIGITAL READING UNIT FOR STUDENTS

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MORE GREAT ARTICLES WITH READING ACTIVITIES

Top 7 Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students and Teachers

How to teach Guided Reading: Teaching Strategies and Activities

Identifying the main idea of the story: A Guide for Students and Teachers

Teaching Cause and Effect in Reading and Writing

Graphic Organizers for Writing and Reading

Top 7 Tips for Teaching Guided Reading in Large Classes

5 Reasons You Need a Digital Reading Diary In 2023

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20 Independent Reading Activities for Middle School

July 23, 2023 //  by  Jill Webb

Middle grade English students can struggle to focus during independent reading time. They need structure to not only continue reading their book but also to improve their reading comprehension and other skills.

Different activities and reading strategies can help keep them engaged and also give you a better understanding of their reading needs.

1. Think Marks

Having a student annotation guide is a great way to keep students actively reading. They work well with a chapter book – or a reading passage – and are a simple way to help middle school students better understand what they read.

Learn More: Writing Mindset

2. Conferences

Short one-on-one independent reading book conferences are an activity that will help both struggling readers and higher-level students. Having a healthy discussion around what students are reading gets them excited and also holds them accountable.

Learn More: Jennifer Findley

3. Stop and Jot

If you need a fun way to get students to answer reading questions, try a stop and jot with colorful sticky notes! They cover different topics such as characters, summarizing, and making connections.

Learn More: Pinterest

4. Coffee Shop Book Club

Making space for students to feel excited and comfortable is important! Create a “Starbooks” club where students can spend time snacking (as if at a coffee house) and getting to know books they are interested in (like a classroom party, but for books!)

Learn More: The Hungry Teacher Blog

5. Comprehension Skills Bookmarks

Comprehension questions and thinking stem bookmarks are good for keeping middle school students on track. They can use the book analysis questions on the bookmark as a reminder to stop and think about what they are reading. It also covers a variety of topics so you can focus on specific skills!

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

6. Art Book Cover Project

Give students time to express what they have read in a creative way in the English language arts classroom with an independent reading project. Have them create a new book cover for what they read – they should use important quotes and images that relate to the text.

Learn More: FC Fox

7. Somebody Wanted But So

This activity is great at any grade level and especially for students who have a difficult time explaining what they have read. The SWBS assignment for students is color-coded with highlighters so they have a visual of the four pieces.

8. Exit Slips for Independent Reading

These exit slips are general discussion prompts on different genres! It will keep students thinking about what they are reading whether it is fiction, non-fiction, informational, etc.

Learn More: Wild About Fifth Grade

9. Book Connection Chain

A fresh idea is to assign a book connection chain project. This activity extends over a longer amount of time, as it uses the independent books students have read in a quarter, term, or year. They will make connections between all of the books and explain how they are related.

Learn More: Angela Collis

10. Book Interview

A reluctant reader will be more motivated if they know someone is holding them accountable. In book interviews, the teacher has discussions with students or “book talks” where they ask a series of general questions. It also helps the teacher collect reading data.

Learn More: Teacher Thrive

11. Reading Response Journal

This task is perfect for quiet time in class and can even be assigned as homework!  Use these menus, created for both fiction and non-fiction texts, to give your learners a chance to decide what writing prompts they’d be keen on completing. Simply have them pick a prompt and record their response in their journal!

Learn More: Creatively Comprehensive

12.  Accountability Tool

The idea for this activity stems from Nancie Atwell, “In the Middle”. Rather than doing reading logs , students will give their “status”, meaning each day they tell the class a little about what they are reading.

Learn More: Tarheel State Teacher

13. Book Spine Art

This bulletin board idea is a fun activity to do when your readers finish a book! They can create a book spine for the text they read and add it to the board!

14. Bookmark and Notes Tracker

Working on reading skills should also happen during independent reading time, but it can be hard to keep track of all your students. An easy tool to add to your independent reading program is this notes tracker. Each day students will add notes from the book to their bookmark, when finished they put the sticky on their notes sheet.

Learn More: Raise The Bar Reading

15. Text Connections

No matter what the independent reading level, all students should be able to share in making connections. This simple activity has students add links to a change when they make one of the three connections. Extend the activity by having them write what their connections were on the link.

Learn More: The Art Of Learning

16. Reading Raffle

Help motivate students to reach their reading goals and add a layer of accountability. Students get a raffle ticket each time they reach a benchmark. For example, finishing a book or passing a reading quiz.

Learn More: Hanging With Mrs. Hulsey

17. Creative Reading

These are different task cards with fun prompts based on specific topics like theme, setting, conflict, etc. Students can pick whichever they would like to answer while doing their reading. Keep a set in your classroom libraries for an easy go-to activity.

Learn More: Teach Nouvelle

18. Reading Sprints

Need a lesson plan to build stamina and fluency? Reading sprints are a burst of time where students try and read as many pages as they can, BUT they must read at a pace where they can still comprehend the text. It motivates students through a bit of fun competition!

Learn More: Reading And Writing Haven

19. Book Pass

A fun way to find a favorite book is by doing a “book pass”. The video shows you how to implement this mini-lesson into your class. The gist is that you pick a selection of a book students will enjoy. Then you have them read just a few pages and write a review to see what interests them.

Learn More: Colby Sharp

20. Currently Reading

A nice way to have informal book talks is by using this activity. On laminated cards, students will update daily what they are reading. If a student feels like they are confused or want to discuss something with the teacher, they place their card in the “Let’s talk about it” section.

Learn More: Teaching In Room 6

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Must-Read Novels and Engaging Reading Response Activities for Any Book

By Mary Montero

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I am a big believer in having kids respond to reading with thoughtful, defensible, evidence-based responses. Finding high-interest novels that my students will enjoy for independent reading, small groups, and read alouds is an important piece of that puzzle. Here’s a roundup of my favorite must-read novels and reading response activities for any novel, as well as anchor charts and task cards too. You can view any of them in my Amazon storefront HERE .

Favorite Must-Read Novels for Upper Elementary

These are all novels that I have read in my classroom and 100% recommend. Most have been used with 4th and 5th graders at varying levels, sometimes as read alouds and sometimes as small group novel study books.

The Lemonade War is great for third graders. It’s told from the point of view of two sibling rivals, Evan and Jessie. Evan finds out his little sister is skipping third grade and joining his fourth grade class. They must create lemonade stands as part of school project, and then the competition begins. The Lemonade War integrates economics and math concepts and also earns bonus points for being part of a series. Once students get hooked on a set of characters, I love having followup options to offer. 

Home of the Brave is perfect for fourth grade. Students follow along with Kek, who immigrates from Africa to America with his mother. While he waits for news on his missing mother, he makes a diverse group of friends and experiences many firsts in America. The pages are short, the writing is impeccable, and we always used this novel as part of our immigration unit. 

An “underdog” book I always like to mention for older kids (5th grade+) is Shooting Kabul . It’s about a family who flees Afghanistan to move to the US just before the events of 9/11. It can be pretty intense, but I’ve read it with multiple small groups, and it is immensely eye-opening for students who can handle it.

Other Upper Elementary Novels I Love

• The Red Pencil (This one is a great companion to Home of the Brave)
• Inside Out and Back Again  (This novel is written in prose, which so many children gravitate toward. It’s another great immigration novel.)
• Esperanza Rising
• Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus  (This one, Out of my Mind, and Rules all have main characters with disabilities and address how our differences make us stronger.)
• Out of my Mind
• Wild Robot  (This one is a favorite every single year. You can definitely incorporate it into STEM studies.)
• The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler
• Phantom Tollbooth
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
• Operation Frog Effect  (I love this book as a read loud because it really addresses how our actions impact others.)
• Breaking Stalin’s Nose  (This one focuses on a child’s perspective of some of the events of the Cold War. It’s fantastic if you are learning about that part of history, or if you just need a great historical fiction novel.)

Ten Popular Upper Elementary Authors

Looking for more novel suggestions? These favorite authors were suggested in our free Facebook community ! We love to collaborate and are always sharing our favorite classroom ideas. 

• Kwame Alexander
• Andrew Clements
• Sharon Draper
• Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Lynda Mullaly Hunt
• Gordon Korman
• Jake Maddox (Sports stories for reluctant readers)
• Gary Paulsen
• Raina Telgemeier

Most Recommended Upper Elementary Novels

These were the must-read novels that came highly recommended from other teachers in my group! I’d love to hear which titles you might add to the list. 

• Among the Hidden (this may have been the number one recommended book series!)
• The War that Saved my Life
• I Survived Series
• By the Great Horn Spoon
• Al Capone Does my Shirts
• How to Steal a Dog (I also love Barbara O’Connor’s book Wish)
• A Long Walk to Water
• Because of Mr. Terupt
• Brown Girl Dreaming
• Shadow Children Series (Among the Hidden is the first!)
• Save Me a Seat
• The Dreamer

Want to easily browse these titles? Visit my Amazon storefront HERE .

Reading Response Activities

Having a variety of ways for students to meaningfully respond to texts throughout the year is important for differentiation and engagement. Here are lots of ideas you can before, during, and after reading that are perfect for whole class lessons, small groups, and independent work too.

FREE Independent Reading Response Anchor Charts and Comprehension Question Tips : As a class, we create anchor charts to use for the entire year. I guided students so the prompts would hit a lot of the common core standards and tried to make them all encompassing so they can be used for any book, and any chapter within the book.

FREE Setting the Stage for Novels : Some kids are so worried about cruising through assigned reading that they don’t take the time to really think about what they are reading. This pre-reading activity and anchor chart helps students get ready to read.

FREE Open-Ended Comprehension Cards : I always keep these cards handy in my guided reading basket, and I pull them out often.  The great thing about them is that you can use them for 3rd graders who have a basic understanding of the story and are working on basic levels of reading comprehension, and you can also use them with middle school students who are ready to take their thinking up a notch.

FREE Differentiated Novel Choice Boards : The boards include dozens of prompts for responding to text and can be used for independent responses or literature circles. They meet many different learning styles and cover Bloom’s Taxonomy too.

Task Cards for Any Novel

Task Cards are an ideal tool to use in your whole group lessons, small groups, intervention groups, and centers. Students love task cards as an alternative to sitting in one place doing worksheets. There are hundreds of ways task cards can be used. Play Scoot, go on a scavenger hunt, add them to topple blocks… the possibilities are limited only to your imagination! These cards require students to think critically about specific story elements in their texts.

FREE Pre-Reading Task Cards : I use these cards to introduce new novels.  If I am using a novel for the whole class, I pair students up and give each pairing a card to complete, then we share out our responses.  If they are working in novel groups or literature circles, each student gets one or two cards to complete (or I just choose my favorite cards that will give them the most information about that particular book). The whole thing usually takes less than thirty minutes, and it is great for activating schema and getting students ready to read.

Story Elements Task Cards : These cards will challenge your students to read the question, sit back and think about it, and then read it again before forming their answers. They’re perfect for small groups, guided instruction, or independent work AFTER the story element or skill has been taught.

Reading Skills Response Task Cards : These task cards have different prompts for skills like inferring, cause/effect, sequencing, etc. They’ll challenge students to extend their thinking and really integrate key reading skills

Informational Reading Response Task Cards : students to think critically and incorporate Common Core Expectations when answering questions about informational texts

Engaging Book Projects for Assessment

I love using book projects for assessment instead of traditional tests or essays because novel projects encourage students to think deeper and combine important reading skills. These are some of my favorite reading response activities!

FREE Amazon Listing Project : After completing a novel, students make a book cover, write a summary, select quotes, write a review, etc. Some of my students even posted their reviews on the real Amazon site when we were finished.

FREE Foldable Reading Skill Review : Students will complete a flap project to show their understanding of the intricacies of the book, as well as review key reading skills like cause/effect, character development, etc.

FREE Character Project : Assess understanding of character traits, character conflict, and character change with this flap project.

FREE Timeline Project : Students will choose eight events, explain their significance, and put them in sequential order.  

I hope these must-read novels and reading response activities help you provide both rigorous and engaging actives for your upper elementary students.

Mary Montero

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Independent Reading – The Foundation of Lifelong Reading

Successful independent reading is the end result of a well-executed balanced literacy program.  Independent Reading allows students the chance to “practice” the strategies they’ve learned through guided reading, shared reading, and teacher read alouds – the other components of balanced literacy.  With level appropriate materials, students now have the skills they need to read on their own.  That means they can read confidently and are actually excited about their ability to read.

Why Should Independent Reading Be Encouraged?

When students have a voice in the reading process, they’re learning to contribute to their own knowledge.  Because they can select the books they wish to read, they have greater control over what they want to learn. Students are much more likely to view reading as a priority when they have some ownership in the reading process.

However, this doesn’t mean students can make their independent reading choices willy-nilly.  There does have to be some structure involved. First of all, the independent reading selection must be at their reading level.  No “easy” books during independent reading. “At their reading level” means students should be able to read their selections with 95%-100% accuracy.

Also, students should choose books that don’t need teacher support.  That rather defeats the purpose.  In order to experience improvement in fluency, comprehension and vocabulary, reading needs to be truly independent.

How To Incorporate Independent Reading Into The Classroom

While students have much control over what they choose to read, teachers need to encourage them to choose from different genres. One of the goals of independent reading is to help students feel confident with their ability.  This is accomplished by independent reading on a level they feel comfortable with.  And when given the opportunities and the right environment, students are much more likely to develop a love for reading.

That’s why independent reading is more than just letting students pick a book and read while the teacher does something else.  Teachers have a responsibility in this as well.  They’re the ones that need to provide the tools students need to be independent, life long readers.  That leads to the four essential elements of independent reading:

Essential Element #1 – Choice

Children are thrilled when they’re given a choice of what to read.  They’re much more motivated.  Who wouldn’t be?  However, since students must make a selection that’s on their reading level, teachers need to have an exceptional classroom library.  That means books on many different levels, topics, as well as genres.  And like any library, classroom books need to be organized so students can easily make a selection.

Element #2 – Strategies

Before students can become proficient independent readers, they must have the tools they need to be successful.  Inside the toolbox are two basic strategies; decoding strategies and comprehension strategies.  Decoding strategies help children move forward when they stumble upon a word they don’t know.  They know what to do to figure it out.

Comprehension strategies guide students to think about what they’re reading – to make connections, use visualization, ask questions, and make inferences… all to synthesize the words they read into something they comprehend.  How do students learn these strategies?  The teacher models them.  Independent reading time is when the students apply them.

Element #3 – Time

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!  How do you get to be a proficient (even prolific) reader? Practice, practice, practice!  As all musicians and athletes know, practice takes time.  That’s why time should be set aside to practice independent reading as well.  Also, by dedicating long blocks of time to independent reading, students quickly get the idea that reading is important.

Element #4 – Goals

Encourage students to set independent reading goals but teachers do need to specify what kind of goal.  Otherwise, a student’s goal could be to get to the end of the book.  Because there is already a long period of time set aside for independent reading, the teacher can use this time to conference with the students.  Listen to their independent reading and see how they apply the strategies. Then help students set an independent reading goal based on the strategy they need to strengthen.

Independent Reading Activities

If you’re like most people, after reading a really good book you want to tell someone about it – you want to share.  Why not give students the same opportunity?  Here are 5 activities that will engage students in sharing what they read.

Independent Reading Activity 1: Illustrate an important character or event in the story.

Independent Reading Activity 2: Create an advertisement to promote the book.

Independent Reading Activity 3: Have students pick out words they are unfamiliar with and make a word wall.

Independent Reading Activity 4: Make a bookmark that represents the theme or main idea of the book.

Independent Reading Activity 5: Write a question to the author or a character in the book.

Creative as well as analytical students will enjoy these activities.  If all goes well, other students will want to read the books shared, too!

The Big Benefit of Independent Reading

Aside from higher test scores and ensuring that students read something everyday, there is an overarching benefit of independent reading.  And that is the fact that independent reading lays the foundation for becoming enthusiastic lifelong readers, not simply school time readers.

8 Interesting Activities Involving Independent Reading

Who says reading can’t be a party? Get ready to dance with your favorite characters and have a blast with books! Independent reading is a fantastic way for children to explore the world of literature, and it’s not all serious business. In fact, there are plenty of quirky and fun activities that can make independent reading even more exciting for school children.

Imagine creating a reading fort with pillows, blankets, and fairy lights, where your child can dive into a magical world of adventure. Or what about dressing up as their favorite book character and hosting a reading party with friends? Don’t forget the snacks and drinks! And those who love to write, can create their own book reviews or fanfiction and share them with others.

Much like guided reading and shared reading , independent reading is also about letting children choose what they want to read and making it a fun and enjoyable experience. So, let’s turn up the volume, grab our favorite books, and get ready to rock and roll with independent reading activities that will make your child’s reading experience unforgettable!

Understanding independent reading through examples 

Independent reading refers to reading that is self-selected and self-directed by the reader, without guidance or direction from a teacher or mentor. Here are five examples of independent reading:

• A student chooses a book from the school library that interests them and spends 20 minutes each day reading it during their free time. They are not required to write a report or answer any questions about the book, but they may choose to discuss it with their friends or recommend it to others.
• A retiree picks up a non-fiction book on a topic they are curious about from the local bookstore. They read the book at their leisure, take breaks whenever they feel like it, and take time to reflect on the information they are learning.
• A busy executive downloads an audiobook onto their phone and listens to it while commuting to work. They enjoy being able to listen to the book while multitasking and appreciate the flexibility that this form of independent reading provides.
• A college student reads a novel that is not assigned for any of their classes but that they have been meaning to read for a long time. They take notes on the characters and plot and think about how the themes in the book relate to their own experiences and perspectives.
• A homeschooling parent sets aside time each day for their child to read whatever book they choose from the family library. The parent may offer suggestions or guidance, but ultimately the child is free to read at their own pace and on their own terms.

Exploring the world of literature: Engaging independent reading activities

1. reading response journal .

A reading response journal is a place for students to engage with what they are reading and express their thoughts and feelings. It’s like a conversation between the reader and the text. Let’s explore how to create one and get started on this exciting journey!

Encourage students to keep a reading response journal where they can record their thoughts and feelings about what they are reading. This can include summaries, questions, opinions, and reflections. The journal can be a physical notebook or an online document. To implement this activity, give students regular prompts or questions to respond to, such as “What was your favorite part of the reading?” or “What questions do you still have about the plot?”

2. Character Analysis 

Have you ever wondered what makes a character tick? How do they develop throughout a story? A character analysis is a great way to delve deep into the personalities of your favorite fictional people. So, let’s grab a pen and paper, and start exploring!

Challenge students to choose a character from a book they are reading and analyze their traits, motivations, and actions. They can write a character analysis essay or create a visual representation of the character’s personality. To implement this activity, provide students with guiding questions to help them analyze the character. For example, “What are the character’s strengths and weaknesses?” or “What motivates the character to act in a certain way?”

3. Book Review 

Have you ever read a book that you just had to tell someone about? A book review is a fantastic way to share your thoughts and feelings with others, and it can help guide readers in deciding what books to pick up next. So, let’s get ready to share our love of reading!

Encourage students to write a book review that summarizes the book’s plot, characters, and themes. They can also include their opinions on the book and recommend it to other readers. To implement this activity, provide students with a book review template or checklist to ensure they cover all the necessary components. You can also have students share their book reviews with the class or post them on a class website.

4. Reading Log 

A reading log is a simple yet effective tool to help keep track of what you are reading. It can help you stay organized, set goals, and see how much you’ve accomplished over time. So, let’s dive into the world of reading logs and see how they can benefit us!

Have students keep a reading log that records the books they have read, the dates they finished them, and their thoughts on each book. This can help students track their reading progress and set reading goals. To implement this activity, provide students with a reading log template or allow them to create their own. You can also have students share their reading logs with the class or use them as a tool for individual reading conferences.

5. Literary Devices 

Literary Devices: Have you ever wondered how authors use language to create a specific effect or convey a particular meaning? Understanding literary devices can help you appreciate the power of language and how it’s used in literature. So, let’s explore this fascinating topic together!

Challenge students to identify and analyze literary devices like metaphors, similes, and foreshadowing in the book they are reading. They can write an essay or create a visual representation of the literary devices they have found. To implement this activity, provide students with examples of literary devices and have them identify them in the book. You can also have students share their findings with the class or create a literary device scavenger hunt where they search for examples of literary devices in different books.

6. Creative Writing 

Writing is an excellent way to express yourself and unleash your imagination. Creative writing and some related activities allow you to explore different writing styles, genres, and formats while developing your own unique voice. So, let’s grab a pen and paper and let our creativity flow!

Encourage students to use the book they are reading as inspiration to create their own short story or poem. They can incorporate elements of the book’s plot or characters into their writing. To implement this activity, provide students with a creative writing prompt related to the book. You can also have students share their writing with the class or create a class anthology of student writing inspired by the book.

7. Book Comparison 

Have you ever read two books and wondered how they are similar or different? Comparing books can help you gain a deeper understanding of themes, characters, and plot elements. So, let’s compare and contrast some of our favorite reads!

Challenge students to compare and contrast two books they have read, looking at their similarities and differences in terms of plot, characters, themes, and writing style. To implement this activity, provide students with a book comparison graphic organizer or have them create their own. You can also have students share their findings with the class or use them as a tool for individual reading conferences.

8. Vocabulary Building 

Vocabulary is essential for effective communication and understanding. Building your vocabulary through activities and manipulatives can help you express yourself more clearly and appreciate the nuances of language. So, let’s learn some fun and creative ways to expand our vocabulary!

Have students use the book they are reading to learn new vocabulary words. They can write down the words they do not know and look up their definitions. They can then use the words in their own writing. To implement this activity, provide students with a vocabulary log or allow them to create their own. You can also have students share their new vocabulary words with the class or use them in a vocabulary quiz or game.

Independent reading is not just a reading exercise; it’s an opportunity for children to explore the world around them, connect with others, and discover new perspectives. By encouraging children to engage in quirky and creative independent reading activities, we can help foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Whether it’s building reading forts or dressing up as characters, these activities create a sense of fun and adventure that can inspire children to delve deeper into the world of literature. So, let’s get creative, let’s get quirky, and let’s inspire our children to become lifelong readers!

I am Shweta Sharma. I am a final year Masters student of Clinical Psychology and have been working closely in the field of psycho-education and child development. I have served in various organisations and NGOs with the purpose of helping children with disabilities learn and adapt better to both, academic and social challenges. I am keen on writing about learning difficulties, the science behind them and potential strategies to deal with them. My areas of expertise include putting forward the cognitive and behavioural aspects of disabilities for better awareness, as well as efficient intervention. Follow me on LinkedIn

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3 Reading Independent Activities to Set Students Up for Success

• September 20, 2022

Reading Independent Activities

Reading independent activities that establish a community of readers are important to incorporate in the first weeks of school. Teaching students how to read independently in a way that presents clear expectations requires stamina, practice, knowing oneself as a reader and important habits that should be explicitly taught in all grade levels. This crucial practice sets students up for success during independent reading time for the rest of the school year. These habits are taught through various activities for independent reading in the beginning of the year.

Before jumping into these reading independent activities, be sure to download this free guide, First Steps towards Data Driven Instruction: Ideas for Formative Assessment Organization if you are ready to get organized with formative assessment and responsive teaching in your classroom. This FREE guide will teach you how to set up an assessment station in your classroom to get all of your reading data organized so you can begin to use data to drive instruction.

What is Independent Reading?

The definition of independent reading has evolved for me over the years. In my early years of teaching, I spent much time building reading stamina using the graphs from the Daily 5 . The gradual build up of stamina is so helpful in this program. If you haven’t tried their method, it really helps to boost motivation at the beginning of the year!

As my years in teaching continued, I delved deeper into the texts students were reading and spent time in the beginning of the year really getting to know students as readers. We called this their reading identity as we learned about who we were as readers. This included talking about the importance of independent reading, reading activities at home, likes and dislikes and really taking the time to get to know ourselves as readers before we fully jumped into selecting books. Read more here if you want to learn more about this process of finding a reading identity.

Stamina building in combination with understanding reading identities helped my students to develop excitement around reading that lasted. There was still some work to do with reading habits and practice of these skills. These habits included: choosing a good book, getting organized with materials, finding a good spot to read and checking in with yourself before beginning to read.

All of this preparation was turned into reading independent activities that students could work on as they practiced these skills and began to connect and engage with books.

Read this if you are wondering, “ What does independent reading look like? ”

True reading engagement comes when students are engrossed in books during that independent reading time. Some may not even hear you when you say it’s time to move on. Engaged students make movies in their mind as they read fiction and think deeply about topics while reading informational texts. These may seem like extreme examples but reading IS for everyone. ALL students can get to an exciting place in their reading journey if they have positive interactions with reading.

Independent Reading Activities

These activities start the year with a focus on engaged reading so students can understand why independent reading is important. Instead of telling students to read, let’s show them the why. This will open up endless possibilities that can come from reading a book.

Reading Identity

This independent reading activity is great for helping students to get to know themselves as readers. Each page of the activity has one or more prompts to get students thinking.

The prompts and activities include:

• Brainstorming – Think about reading, what comes to mind? Represent these ideas with pictures and words. This activity can be very telling! You will learn a lot about a student by the words they use to describe reading.
• Mindmap – Encouraging students to think about feelings about reading, likes/dislikes, books they’ve read, where/when they think to read and a few more. Using a mindmap to learn more about readers is interesting because some prompts speak more to a student than others. I love seeing which ideas connect with each student.
• I’m the kind of reader who …. finish the sentence in more than one way. This prompt can be challenging for students but to build confidence. It is great to use after some more basic prompts such as likes/dislikes.
• Describing a positive reading memory – These can be really special and important to a student. Often, students think about an important person in their life. This would be a great opportunity for some artwork or a display wall in the classroom!
• Who or where do you talk about reading? This prompt may catch students off guard but is a really cool one to use in preparation for book clubs. Most students’answers will change drastically by the end of the year as talking about reading becomes second nature.

All of these prompts and a few more a part of an elementary reading inventory. I love to use it at the beginning AND at the end of the year if time permits. You can grab them here for FREE .

Reading Habits

I use this FREE interactive notebook to stress why reading is important and offer my students some helpful reading habits. I’m fortunate that so many of my students come into my classroom as avid readers, but this resource has also helped me attract some who don’t already have that same love of reading.

Before talking about reading habits, I make sure to talk to students about WHY we read. There are a few videos that I love to use to promote these ideas. One video is a youtube clip by the author Tomie DePaoela. His inspiring video talks about all of the possibilities that can occur when reading. Students love hearing from a real author. Great discussions come from ideas around the why and purpose of reading. I love using an anchor chart to display all of these “whys” on sticky notes. Display this chart all year long!

After talking about the why, here are a few reading habits that I find imperative to teach explicitly in my classroom.

This digital learning activity will engage and encourage readers as they begin to practice independent reading for the school year, but one of my favorite added bonuses I’ve found is that it’s also encouraged my students to have better reading habits at home.

You can download this independent reading activity FREE on my TPT store now.

Teach Stop & Jots

Teaching stop and jots is an important skill for many future independent reading response activities. Students can use stop and jots in SO many valuable and meaningful ways. The Reading Strategies book, by Jennifer Serravallo, has some great anchor charts to use as you introduce stop and jots in the beginning of the year. This book is worth the price and filled with amazing anchor charts to explicitly teach reading skills.

Once you start using stop and jots, you will continue to find new purposes for them. Students can use them to jot down important moments as they are reading or connections they have made. I love printing questions or prompts on sticky notes and using them as formative assessment. They can be the quickest exit ticket that can be used with a whole group text, independent reading book or for book clubs.

I often use them to tie in with my reading units or teaching points for readers’ workshop.

I love using stop and jot prompts to teach different reading skills, such as theme, because it is an easy way to differentiate questions for students. I can really think about how students are developing with the skill and prompt them accordingly. It is a bit time consuming to print on sticky notes, but so worth it! It makes it easy to look back at their answers later too and understand their thinking. There are plenty of youtube videos and tutorials out there for how to print on sticky notes so give it a try!

You can read more ideas about how to teach theme here and grab these ready to print theme stickies above on my tpt store!

Why is independent reading important?

Independent reading activities for elementary students should be more focused on practicing reading skills WHILE reading and less focused on activities without reading. Students need more uninterrupted time to read, comprehend and think about what they have read. This will make them more proficient readers who are more engaged, have a better understanding and can talk about what they are reading.

There are many other independent reading activities out there, but I found great success in cutting back on reading worksheets and allowing more time for authentic reading. These reading independent activities have helped me tremendously to engage readers and I hope these ideas help you to do the same. 

Don’t forget to download these organization ideas to get started with a data driven classroom that makes taking and keeping anecdotal notes a part of your teaching practice so that you can become a more responsive teacher!

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10 Tips for Starting Independent Reading Strong

So you’ve decided to implement independent reading this year…or revitalize it after lackluster or failed attempts. You’re prepared to give your students time to read in class, your classroom library is stocked with good books, and you can’t wait to see which titles your readers fall in love with. But now what?! How do you start the year? What does it take to make the magic happen?

You probably know by now that successfully launching independent reading requires a lot of commitment, time, and patience. Maybe that’s why your past attempts have floundered or why you’re here preparing to launch a reading program for the first time. If so, you’re in the right place, because I’m here to tell you that starting independent reading strong also requires a STRATEGY. The more prepared you are and the more clear your game plan is, the more success you will see – and the quicker you’ll see it. If you are ready to help your readers settle down with a good book in record time, here are my top 10 tips.

HOW TO START INDEPENDENT READING STRONG AT THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

Think of this as your blueprint for starting the year strong. Grab a notebook and a cup of coffee and get ready to plan out your first few days of independent reading!

Make sure your classroom library is accessible, organized, and appealing so students have “fingertip access” to books.

Studies have shown that proximity to books is key and classroom libraries make a difference in how much students read and grow. Before you launch independent reading, take some time to “optimize” your classroom library for the readers it will serve. Consider organizing your classroom library by genre and adding topic- and format-based bins/sections. Make sure you have some books front-facing so curious readers can see the covers. Try putting some tried-and-true titles on prominent display. Make it easy for readers to pick up books they love. 

There’s a lot more you can do to make your classroom library an inviting, healthy, and lively place, so if you’re hungry for tips, head to this blog series: Creating a Strong Classroom Library . For now, just focus on making small tweaks to your space so that it is as accessible and attractive as possible for your new group of readers. It doesn’t have to be perfect; just try to structure it with students in mind. You can also change this up in response to their needs as the year goes on.

Get to know your students by giving them a reading inventory.

As soon as you can, give your students a digital or print reading inventory. This is a specific type of survey designed to gather information on students’ reading habits, attitudes, identities, preferences, and interests. When designed right, a reading inventory will help you understand your readers and adjust your instruction/independent reading program to respond to their needs. It will give you the information you need to start building relationships and recommend books your students will love. 

If you give your students a reading inventory, I highly recommend carving out time for them to talk about their responses and their feelings/experiences surrounding reading in general. Take the time to listen to your students and validate their feelings. Remember, if they “hate” reading, there’s a reason. With a reading inventory and an honest conversation, you can usually start to figure out why.

I prefer giving a reading inventory via Google forms so I have a digital record of everything (and so I can copy/paste any pertinent info over to my independent reading master spreadsheet). You can check out my print and digital reading inventory for middle and high school HERE.

Host a book tasting during the first few days of school.

To start independent reading strong, students need books in their hands ASAP! They need the time and space to explore different high-interest books and a book tasting is the perfect way to do just that. If you’ve never heard of a book tasting, it’s a fun name for a simple concept: You round up great books and give students a chance to “taste,” or sample, different ones. You can go all out with the “tasting” metaphor, keep it simple, add in more structure, do it digitally, call it book “speed dating”…the possibilities are endless. For ideas, check out this blog post about hosting book speed dating, which is essentially a book tasting with a twist. For student-ready print/digital book tastings, check out my collection for middle and high school readers HERE ).

For your first book tasting of the year, I recommend gathering all of your tried-and-true student favs, books you KNOW kids will love, no matter what. Graphic novels, novels in verse, and other all-time favorites. This is not the time to “experiment” with book recommendations…you can do that later in the year.

If this is your first year and you have no idea what kids like, let me help you! Here are a few starting points:

• Join our Facebook group for book recs. We recently finished up a “Favorites of the Year” series where teachers shared the books their students loved last year, genre by genre. It’s a gold mine of great book recs.
• Check out my book rec posters and book rec brochures. These best-selling resources feature the “best of the best” books, so they do the hard work for you. 🙂 They’re also a great way for you to familiarize yourself with relevant titles and learn what to recommend to readers. Check out the middle school brochures HERE and the high school collection HERE. Click HERE to see the middle school posters and HERE to find the high school version.
• Ask your school and/or local librarian for book recommendations. They have access to circulation data and can probably pull a list of most checked-out titles.

Start conferring with your readers the second you have the time.

Once you give students a reading inventory and get some books in their hands, I highly recommend starting “reading conferences.” Just like any other conference, this is a one-on-one discussion with a student where you can get to know them as a reader, help them grow, and track their progress. At the beginning of the year, and for the first conference especially, focus your attention on getting to know the student’s reading habits, experiences, and preferences. Build on the informal data you gather through the reading inventory and start asking Why? You’ll learn so much about your readers just from quick conversations.

To learn more about why you should make conferring part of your independent reading routine, click HERE. For tips and tricks for managing reading conferences, click HERE. Finally, for my master spreadsheet that I use to keep track of my students while we confer, click HERE.

Find ways for your readers to interact with books and the classroom library.

So your classroom library is stocked, you’ve started connecting with your readers, and you’re ready for the magic to happen…now what?! You’ll probably notice that students don’t always fall in love with the first book they pick. In fact, they need lots of exposure to books and varied opportunities to interact with your classroom library. Even if you have the best classroom library ever, you still have to find ways to bring the books TO the students. 

Here are a few ideas for getting books in front of students:

• Introduce students to your classroom library through a “Classroom Library Scavenger Hunt.” I will never drone through a regular “introduction” to my classroom library and its features and procedures again. This student-centered, inquiry-based alternative is the BEST way to do it. Better yet, a classroom library scavenger hunt gets students exploring every nook and cranny of your library, adding books to their to-read lists, and interacting with other readers.
• Bring books into your lessons. Books are the best co-teachers! Find ways to weave them into your lessons, especially as mentor texts. One way I bring my classroom library into my lessons is through “What do you notice?” style lessons. For example, before we read a novel in verse as a whole class, students explore the format and structure of various novels in verse on their own. You can check out this specific activity HERE.
• Continue to host frequent book tastings. Whether you do one every month, every quarter, or just when you notice students in need of fresh titles, keep book tastings in your rotation! I have book tastings for everything from Banned Books to Dystopia! You can find them all in one spot HERE.

Create opportunities for your readers to interact with each other.

Independent reading doesn’t have to be – and really shouldn’t be – too “independent” or isolating. In fact, students need a community of readers in order to grow. They need opportunities to share about books, bond with other readers, and make reading plans and goals with fellow students. It’s important to make time for these kinds of conversations from the start so you can build community and help students form bonds with each other. So many kids who might not otherwise chitchat in class will connect over a shared love of books, if only you give them the chance. 

Here are a few ways you can get students interacting with each other and talking about books:

• Try speed discussion. Speed discussion is a student-centered discussion strategy that engages every single student at the same time, which makes it perfect for building a reading community. During this activity, students are paired up with their classmates for rounds of “speed discussion.” Each round, students rotate to a different peer and discuss a different question or prompt. I have a few variations of this: Reading Identity/Habits/Interests Speed Discussion , which is perfect to do after a reading inventory/at the beginning of the year, and Independent Reading Speed Discussion, which works best when students are in the middle of their choice books.
• Host a round of independent reading book bingo. Once students have had some time to start reading, encourage more connections with “book bingo.” Fill the BINGO board with fun prompts that get students searching for peers and books. For a student-ready, editable book bingo board, click HERE.

Make sure you have a (sustainable) system for recommending books to students.

Nothing kills new reading momentum like having absolutely no idea what to read next. So make sure you are stocked with strategic book recommendations for students before they finish their first book of the year. Not only should you have titles on hand, but you should really have a system for book recommendations–one that students know how to navigate. After all, you can’t possibly supply a student with personalized book recommendations every time they finish a book, nor should you. You want students to become independent, lifelong readers who can self-select books. But even the most voracious readers need some help with this. 

Here’s what this looks like in my classroom:

• Book Recommendation Brochures: These book brochures are designed to help students answer the question of “What should I read next?” Through interactive reader personality quizzes, these brochures automatically suggest personalized book recommendations to your students. It’s a magical, self-sustaining system that will get good books into the hands of your readers! Click HERE to learn about the brochures and HERE for ideas on using them. You can check out the middle school bundle HERE and the high school collection HERE.
• Book Recommendation Posters: Help your middle school readers find their next favorite book with visual book recommendation posters. Organized by topics like sports, survival stories, mental health, what to read if you don’t like to read, and MORE, these posters make it easy for your readers to find the perfect book. You can check out the middle school version HERE and the high school poster set HERE.
• Book Displays: I am constantly creating new book displays, whether it’s on my whiteboard, classroom library bookshelves, or my Bookflix board. 

Implement routines that strengthen your independent reading program.

As students settle into books, you’ll want to implement routines that keep up the reading momentum, support students, and celebrate progress. A few of my favorite ways to do just that are Book Trailer Tuesday, First Chapter Friday, and our “Book Buzzer” routine.

Book Trailer Tuesday and First Chapter Friday are exactly what they sound like: Every Tuesday, show a high-interest book trailer to hook students on new books. (Don’t underestimate the power of a 60-second trailer). Every Friday, read aloud an intriguing chapter of a different book. Both strategies are fabulous ways to expose students to more books, help them add to their to-read lists, and build a community of readers. I do both, but if you’re short on time and want to start small, try Book Trailer Tuesday. (I have free resources for the year HERE ). If you want more bookish fun, you’ll be back for First Chapter Friday in no time. 😉

Our “Book Buzzer” routine goes like this: Every day after our 10 minutes of independent reading, if a student has just finished a book, they get to press this ridiculous buzzer (that makes a DJ airhorn noise) and quickly share their book, rating, and thoughts. It’s so fun and it’s a great way to stay on top of what students are reading and loving.

For more information on all of my favorite independent reading routines, check out the following:

• IG Reels Series: Watch HERE
• Blog Post: Book Trailer Tuesday: How to Hook Students on Books in 3 Minutes
• Blog Post: 10 Reasons to Try First Chapter Friday

Model your own reading life and what you expect from your students.

One of your best assets as a reading teacher is your own reading life. When you can model what it looks like to read, enjoy books, connect with other readers, and participate in a community, your students will be able to rise to your expectations.

This may sound harsh, but you really can’t expect your students to read if you’re not reading yourself. But if you’ve fallen out of your reading habits…or never really had them to begin with, you’re actually in a perfect position to start your own journey alongside your students and model what it looks like. This is exactly where I found myself 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to finally implement independent reading. I worked on my own reading identity and habits first, and then I brought everything I learned to my students. I am a better ELA teacher because of it, and I promise you will be, too!

I hope these tips have helped!

I hope these tips have helped! I could chat about independent reading forever, but that’s all I’ve got for now. Please let me know if any of these tips resonated with you by leaving a comment, and keep scrolling for a few extra resources, links, and posts that might help!

Want a shortcut to save you time and energy with launching independent reading?

Check out these bundles of just about every resource I’ve mentioned here (and more): 

Middle School Independent Reading Mega Bundle

High School Independent Reading Mega Bundle

Need more ideas for teaching reading? You’re in the right place!

Independent reading is my jam, and this blog is a gold mine if you’re looking to level up your independent reading game! Whether you’re looking for book recs, engaging activities, or practical advice, I’ve got you covered. Here are some blog posts you might love:

• Engaging Students in Independent Reading: 5 Must-Listen Podcast Episodes
• Tips & Tricks for Managing Reading Conferences
• 5 Ways to Help Your Students Fall in Love with Reading
• Creating a Strong Classroom Library: Part 1
• Booksource Classroom: All About this Free Library Checkout System (Part 1)
• How to Give Students Better Book Recommendations: Part 1

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Hameray Classroom Literacy Blog

Independent reading activities to engage beginning readers.

By Margaret Tsubakiyama

Reading is hard work, especially for young readers. It’s easy for them to get off task. How do you keep your students engaged during independent reading when you need to meet with others in small groups? I have some tried-and-true ideas to share with you.

My students can't wait for this activity! You can make a list of the high-frequency words your students have learned, or you can have them make their own list from the word wall; they can always use more practice writing sight words! Explain that they will be going on a scavenger hunt during reading time. If your students have a book box of guided reading books, these are great resources. Leveled books such as Joy Cowley's Wishy-Washy Garden are packed with sight words! Each time they find one of the words on their list, they make a tally mark. This can easily lead to a discussion about the most common sight words or a math lesson graphing these words. We love interdisciplinary learning!

Sticky Notes

Speech balloons and thought bubbles help with comprehension and keeping students on task. You can make these yourself or have your students make them. I believe in students making their learning tools as it gives them ownership and is something they can make repeatedly. Have each of your students make an empty “thought cloud” on one half of an index card and a “speech bubble” on the other half. Attach the cards to either end of a popsicle stick (the larger size stick works best). As students read, they can use their thought cloud/speech bubble sticks to think about what the characters might be thinking, feeling, or saying. 

Partner Game

Keeping students enthusiastic and focused with activities they repeat daily, like independent reading, can be challenging. Putting fun and simple spins on the same activity helps students stay engaged and excited about reading books!

Margaret Tsubakiyama is a kindergarten teacher in California. She has a master's in Literacy and Language Acquisition and is a National Board Certified Teacher.  

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7 Independent Reading Assessments for High School English

November 6, 2020 by Samantha H.

As a high school English teacher, a robust independent reading program has always been a staple of my classroom and coming up with unique independent reading assessments to make sure students have actually read was always a difficult task. Allowing students to have a say in their reading is an incredibly motivating tool. Students are much more likely to be engaged in class if they are interested in the text. This leaves teachers with a problem. If we are letting students choose their own novels, how do we know they actually read ? Here are some ideas for assessing choice reading for your secondary students!

#1: One Pagers

One Pagers are a popular form of independent reading assessment because they allow students to be creative and no two are alike. This makes it very hard for students to fabricate their knowledge because most of the included activities require students to analyze what they have read. This can include choosing theme songs for characters, illustrating a scene from the novel, or picking quotes that show the theme. The sky is the limit when coming up with the activities for your students to complete to fill their page.

One Pagers can easily be adapted for distance, 1:1, or hybrid learning if that is how you are teaching as well.

For more information about One Pagers, click here to see an in-depth blog post on the topic.

For a ready-made template with instructions, examples, and rubrics ready to go, click here to see my resource.

#2: Response to Literature Activities

Response to Literature activities make powerful independent reading assessments because they have students engaging with the text before, during, and after reading. The possibilities are endless as far as coming up with ideas that can work for any novel. Here are just a few:

• Before Reading : Set context, activate prior knowledge, make predictions, develop questions, study the time period, investigate the author, etc.
• During Reading : These activities can include anything from doodle notetaking , close reading , and more. AdLit has an impressive list of ideas on their website as well.
• After Reading : Use this blog post for 7 great ideas!

I created a resource for my own students and decided it was worth listing in my shop and sharing with all of you. Independent Reading Activities for Any Novel includes a variety of activities that allow students to demonstrate their learning. The activities are split into the three categories: before, during, and after reading. There are ten activities total and they’re completely done which means NO prep for you.

#3: Book Flat Lays

One of my more recent favorite independent reading assessments has been Book Flat Lays. You’ve probably seen these on social media and I thought they were so clever that I decided to bring them into my classroom. This type of reading project requires students to think critically about elements in the novel and stage a photo of the book with props that show different aspects of the book. Again, this is another project that is very hard to fake, so if a student didn’t read, it’s almost always very clear.

For a full blog post on Book Flat Lays, click here to read through my entire process. This project is always a crowd pleaser and one that students talk about long after the cameras are put away.

#4: Literary Field Trips

One of my favorite ideas for independent reading assessments is to have your students create a literary field trip. This works especially well if your students are reading historical fiction or books that are based on a real place. (It even works for nonfiction as well!)

The gist of the project is that students research various places from a text. So, if students were reading Born a Crime by Trevor Noah , they could make a list of locations in South Africa to research and create their field trip on. It’s a really clever way to incorporate multiple skills into one project.

To check out my pre-made version with everything you need to introduce this project today, click here .

#5: Literary Quote Books

I got the idea for Literary Quote Books while scrolling social media one evening. I thought, “What if we have students choose the most meaningful quotes from any novel they’ve read and curate a book out of them then explain how they connect to the theme?” This was the basis for the idea, but it took off from there.

Truly, this can be a really flexible project for all types of learners. Students who are more artistic can draw a quote book out. Students who like to create digitally can use a program like Canva to design their quotes. (You could even have them create a social media carousel with them.) I’ve even had students who wanted to create and stage photos of the quotes or make them on large pieces of paper.

The possibilities really are endless with this idea. Since it incorporates close reading and theme analysis, the rigor is there no matter how the information is presented.

To check out my full resource, click here or the image below.

#6: Mood Boards

A  Mood Board  is a visual representation of carefully selected images that seek to elicit an emotional response from a viewer. Creating a mood board to represent a book requires a lot of analysis and critical thinking from our students.

I love having students put together mood boards because, again, it combines a lot of 21st century skills like spatial design, technology use, close reading, etc.

Check out my full blog post on Mood Boards here and see my ready-to-go resource in my shop right here .

#7: Independent Reading Choice Board

Just like choice reading, students love a good choice board to pick their own assessment. I have an editable Independent Reading Choice Board already done for you. Subscribe to my newsletter below and the template will be delivered straight to your inbox!

Get the Bundle and SAVE!

Download my full Independent Reading Unit Bundle and save 20% on ONE FULL INDEPENDENT READING UNIT . From start to finish, this unit is fully stocked with engaging activities and everything you need to run an organized, meaningful choice reading unit. Check it out here !

Giving students the gift of engaging literature makes for lifelong readers. I hope you’ll consider giving your students choice in their reading picks. I know that any of these assessments will help you manage the task in an authentic, engaging way.

Happy teaching!

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Exploring Identity During Independent Reading

Middle school students build literacy skills and explore who they are growing to be in an independent reading unit centered on the theme of identity.

Independent reading is a consistent aspect of my eighth-grade English class that increases reading comprehension skills, builds vocabulary, and fosters a love of reading. Throughout the year I create four theme-based independent reading units, where all students read books of their choice within a common theme.

This year, I decided to design my first independent reading unit around the theme of exploring identity. This theme connects to the social and emotional learning goals I have for my adolescent students, who are growing, changing, and discovering who they are and what they believe.

Novel Choice

Students begin the unit by choosing from a list of novels that tell the story of a character learning more about who they are and how they fit into the world.

They are also able to choose a book that’s not on my list as long as it fits the theme. Before students make their choices, I spend time doing book talks around some books on my list and encourage those who have previously read any of the books to share their informal review with their peers. Here are some of the books that my eighth graders chose to read for this unit:

• Towers Falling , by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• New Kid , by Jerry Craft
• The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle , by Leslie Connor
• Dress Coded , by Carrie Firestone
• Almost American Girl , by Robin Ha
• The House of the Scorpion , by Nancy Farmer
• Red, White, and Whole , by Rajani Larocca
• Starfish , by Lisa Fipps
• The Running Dream , by Wendelin Van Draanen
• The Deepest Breath , by Meg Grehan
• Dear Martin , by Nic Stone
• Booked , by Kwame Alexander
• Quintessence , by Jess Redman
• Maybe He Just Likes You , by Barbara Dee
• Swing , by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess
• The Middler , by Kirsty Applebaum
• The Night Diary , by Veera Hiranandani
• Here to Stay , by Sara Farizan
• Both Can Be True , by Jules Machias
• Front Desk , by Kelly Yang

During Reading Activities

While students are reading, I will periodically have them answer questions, respond to journal entries, participate in discussion prompts that encourage social and emotional learning, and explore the characters’ identities as well as their own. Here are a few sample prompts:

• What are three adjectives that you think the main character would use to describe themselves? Use evidence from the text to explain why those adjectives connect to the character. Would you use similar adjectives to describe them? What are three adjectives would you use to describe yourself? Explain why.
• What can you learn about the character based on their dialogue with others? Does the way they talk change depending on who they are talking to? If so, explain how. What might someone learn about you by listening to you talk?
• What do you think the main character’s values are? Use text to support your answer. Do you have similar or different values than the character? Explain.
• Would you want to be friends with the main character? Explain why or why not.

The Iceberg Assignment

After finishing their reads, students describe the main character of the book through a visual representation of an iceberg—either digitally or on paper—using words, quotes, and images. Above the waterline, students include the descriptors that everyone in the story knows about the character. Below the waterline, students include the character’s emotions, beliefs, fears, family dynamics, past experiences, hopes, etc. Students then present the icebergs to their classmates during a book talk to spark interest in other students to read the book without giving away any major plot points.

Then students use the same format to create an iceberg that represents themselves and their own identity. They can share these with their peers or keep them private—between themselves and me—depending on how comfortable they feel about sharing their stories.

Final Student Reflection Questions

At the conclusion of this free reading unit, students consider how the character, themselves, their friends, and everyone has things going on underneath the surface that might impact their interactions with others, their self-images, and the choices they make. Below are a few questions to encourage them to think through these ideas.

• How do you think invisible traits of the character impacted the story? How do your invisible traits impact you?
• What is a significant choice the character made? What causes them to make that decision? Would you make the same choice or a different one?
• What is one word you would use to describe how the main character feels at the beginning of the book, middle of the book, and end of the book? What events within the text impact the character’s emotions?
• If your middle school experience was a story with sixth grade being the beginning, seventh grade being the middle, and now being the end, how would you describe your own feelings during each of those times?

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Revive High School Independent Reading

March 16, 2020 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   10 Comments

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Five years ago, I started to give my students time to independent read. 

In class. Every day. 10 minutes. 

Ten minutes every day adds up to 50 minutes per week. That’s 30 hours per school year!

What’s more, as students begin to find books they enjoy , they want to read outside of the classroom, as well. And even if they do not, you’ve given students the opportunity to increase their reading endurance, comprehension, and enjoyment more than they would have otherwise.

Reading in High School

I used to think that I valued independent reading. We read every Friday for 20 minutes. You might know this practice by DEAR (drop everything and read) or SSR (silent sustained reading).

What I realized, after several years, is that this practice didn’t result in more student reading. 

Students who didn’t have that natural love of reading (the very ones that independent reading is supposed to help) would forget their books or daydream instead of reading. They found it hard to “get into” a book, and I seldom saw students finish books (nor did I talk with students about their reading). 

So I reflected.

What was my goal for independent reading? 

• Well, my goal for independent reading was to encourage students to become lifelong readers. 
• I wanted students to want to read. 
• I also wanted students to become better readers. 
• Finally, I wanted them to have choice in what they read, choice that a set curriculum doesn’t always give to them. 

If these were my goals, then it was time to shift my teaching practice so that these goals could be achieved.

I read Book Love and, later, 180 Days , as I’m sure many of you have. (If not, DEAR these books. ☝️ I’ve linked the titles for you just in case.)

These books showed me that the shift was possible. 

In order to achieve my goals, I needed to treat independent reading as a part of the curriculum and classroom routine. I needed to increase the frequency of reading and also to change the function and purpose of independent reading in my classroom. 

If I’m being honest, the DEAR / SSR type of independent reading was often not for the students…it was for me. To have an easy sub plan, to have time to catch up with emails or grading, etc. etc. 

In addition to being more purposeful in my approach to independent reading, I also needed to: 

• Show students that I was a reader. 
• Have students keep track of what they were reading. 
• Talk to students about their reading. 
• Let go of the need to formally assess independent reading. No, students do not need another independent reading project. 

Teacher to teacher real talk here… Students do not need an interactive notebook. A Bloom Ball or a cereal box project is not going to make all students actually read their books. Students don’t need you to reinforce the idea that reading is just another hoop to jump through.

Buuuut, they do need to see themselves as a part of a community of readers . Students do need to have the opportunity to unlearn the belief that reading is just for English class or for a grade. They do need to learn more about who they are as readers so that they are able to find books they really want to read.

Independent Reading Made Easy

To show students that reading is important, we have to make time for reading.  

Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher advocate for time every day in class for students to read. 

At first, 10 minutes seemed like a lot of time to dedicate daily to independent reading. 

Interestingly enough, I didn’t find myself lacking in instructional time. We were and are able to accomplish just as much as before in English class. 

What’s more, this routine has had a ripple effect. It makes classroom management easier as students enter the class, know what to do, and calm down through reading. I get to know my students more, establishing rapport, as we discuss what we’re reading. It also makes my transition times tighter because I know we have 37 minutes left in the period and I want to make the most of them.

At the end of the semester, I always receive overwhelming responses from my high school students about independent reading. Over 95% of students find the daily reading time enjoyable and beneficial. When asked to share the “best thing” about English class, many students share that they have enjoyed their books. “I don’t have time to read outside of class,” they say. Or, “I like that I get to choose what I read.”

Routines & Expectations

Set yourself up for success with independent reading.

At the beginning of the year (and as needed throughout the year), I give students the chance to “meet and greet” different books. Through this activity, they generate a list of books they would like to read during the semester. 

I set clear and firm expectations for the opening 10 minutes of reading. When doing this, you should let students know your why and your goals for their independent reading. Alternatively, ask students to brainstorm their own list of behavior norms that will help them meet their goals. Post these norms clearly in the room so that you can refer back to them as needed. 

Before setting norms and expectations, you have to determine what you’re comfortable with: 

• Do you want students to listen to music? Whole class ambient music or individual music with AirPods or headphones? 
• Do you want students to log their pages each day? Some teachers like to have students write down the page they end on or begin with each day. This way, during reading conferences, you can ask students to reflect on their progress. You can also have them calculate reading rate this way to set a specific goal for themselves. 
• Do you want students to have their books out and be reading when the bell rings? If not, how much transition time will you allow? 
• Do you want students to be able to visit the LRC or browse for books during independent reading time? 
• How long do you want students to “try out” a book before switching? 
• What will you do if a student doesn’t have his or her book? 
• Will you allow students to keep their books in the classroom?

Reading Conferences with Students

I’ve found that the power of independent reading isn’t in the activities . 

Truth bomb: If you’re going to help students to shed the limiting belief that they just aren’t “good readers,” or that they “don’t enjoy reading” (or any number of other beliefs that they’ve internalized and tell themselves about reading), you’re going to have to be different enough in your approach and committed 110% to them as readers that they can have a thought reversal.

I’ve heard teachers say before that they’ll work to find each student a book he or she really loves, but it’s easier said than done when you teach multiple classes. 

In order for independent reading to work, you have to commit to reading conferences with students. Over time, you’ll be able to track student progress. You’ll also get to know students as readers. What’s more, because you’ll be talking to students as a reader, you can have a true conversation.

Not sure what to talk about? 

• Ask them why they chose the book and how the reading of it compares to their expectation. 
• Ask them what’s going on with the characters. 
• Ask them what they’re finding interesting, surprising, true, unexpected (fill in the blank with any number of other adjectives. 
• Ask them how they connect to / disconnect from the book. 

The beauty of the reading conference lies in your sustained interest in a student and his/her reading/book. I find that, through effective follow-up questions, I can challenge students as readers to go beyond surface-level responses. Through this, they also are held accountable. 

If you’re looking for a much more comprehensive list of reading conference questions, I’ve got you, boo. My independent reading conference form allows me to keep track of student conferences in terms of questions asked and what was discussed. It’s been a total lifesaver in terms of time and organization, but also allows me to track student data over time. 

Click here to check out the reading conference form on my website.  Click here to check it out on TpT.

I know. English teachers collecting data ? Yessss!

Before we move on, I should mention that beyond discussing the book, I am seeking, through conferencing, to challenge students as readers. I make book recommendations, share what I’m reading, and if students are not enjoying their books, I ask them “why” and immediately work to get a book in their hands that they can’t wait to read every day.

If a student is stuck, you can suggest some of the titles on these Abraham Lincoln book award master lists. You’ll have to scroll down on the page to the master list for the current year and previous years, but I’ve had great success with the books on these lists from year-to-year because they’re high interest and recommended by students themselves.

Make Independent Reading Fun

If you’re looking for ways to make independent reading fun, beyond the structure and teacher interaction you’ll be providing for students, here are some suggestions. 

If you give a student a BINGO sheet, and provide an opportunity for reward(s), extrinsic motivation may be just the push your students need. I use these BINGO cards to help students challenge themselves to read a variety of books, and the descriptors are general enough to apply to any number of different books. If a student is struggling to fulfill a certain descriptor, I’ll let him or her change it.

I’ve found that BINGO is the most effective when you really play it up. You can even create an all-class board to display with your own checkpoints, i.e. when all students have ONE bingo, we’ll mark off this square or every student has his/her book for a week.

I like to celebrate the finishing of each book with a small reward. First, I have students fill out a “thanks for challenging yourself” ticket that they drop into my raffle jar. Then, I let them select a Chromebook sticker or free cookie coupon, etc.

At the end of a quarter or the end of the semester (or just because), I will pull a student name from the raffle jar for a bigger prize. i.e. “coffee on me” or “free book”, etc.

Another idea for bringing some fun into your independent reading routine is to have students go on blind dates with books. All you need are some empty bags and the help of your classroom library (or LRC). Put a book and a bookmark into each bag and label, if you wish, according to genre/interest. Then, if a student wants to, he or she can choose a bag and a mystery book. 

You can also have some fun with the boards in your classroom. Take pictures of students with the books they’ve finished and display them. Have students write a two sentence review of their books and post them, along with the book covers. Have students put a sticker on the board when they finish a book or complete a reading goal. 

To create a digital student recommendations board (and also extend reading conferences), you can use Padlet or Flipgrid to have students respond to a prompt and then respond back to them. This also helps to create a place where students are creating a library of recommendations for other students. 

You may be wondering if this independent reading thing really works. Yes. Yes, it does, but you have to go all-in and be consistent. Happy iReading!

Hey, if you loved this post, I want to be sure you’ve had the chance to grab a FREE copy of my guide to streamlined grading . I know how hard it is to do all the things as an English teacher, so I’m over the moon to be able to share with you some of my best strategies for reducing the grading overwhelm.

Click on the link above or the image below to get started!

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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Reader Interactions

September 28, 2022 at 9:52 am

Hello! I was really curious how you structure your remaining class time to allow for 10 minutes at the beginning. I used to teach block schedules, but I’m now at a school with the 45 minute classes instead. I used to do daily reading for block days, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around how I would fit content into the other 35 minutes if we read to start class every day. I LOVE the idea, just was curious how it looks in daily practice. Thank you so much for all your thoughts on incorporating this into my classroom — you gave me a lot to think about!

October 9, 2022 at 12:27 pm

Hi Kelli! I’ve found that my transition time has to be tight, and I have to be creative with how students access the content / skills for the remaining time. I do a lot of inquiry-based lessons, partner and group work, stations, etc. The goal is to keep students moving, discussing, reflecting. 🙂

Best Regards, Lindsay

May 18, 2023 at 11:01 am

Hey! I really struggled with independent reading this year… well every year really… because I just haven’t found a system that I love. I would love to know more about the norms/expectations that you have used in your classroom that really work. The ones that really stuck out to me were “what do do when a student doesn’t have their book” and the logging pages idea. Also, one other question… do you give any type of grade for accountability for independent reading? I ask because I can think of at least a dozen students that I have right now who consistently do not have their books and who consistently admit during conferencing that they haven’t really read the book and don’t plan to. How do you ensure that those students are held accountable because if other students see that there aren’t really any consequences for not doing it, how do we ensure they do it at all? Thank you so much for this post!!!

July 13, 2023 at 7:32 pm

Hi Kylie, You’re welcome! Thanks for your question! We work to set the norms together at the beginning of the year, and I make a point of emphasizing the “why” behind the routine and expectations. I do not give a grade for independent reading, and every year I’m surprised how much students fiercely love this time. Of course, there are always a couple who are a bit tougher to bring on board. I work really hard to match them with a book they love and allow them to switch if they are not enjoying their selection. If they don’t have a book, I have a couple of books of short stories on hand to loan to them for the day. I also give some students the option of keeping their book in the classroom if this is a struggle. Conferences with students are important, as well – this is my main form of accountability. Quick, micro check-ins, a quick ticket in or out the door once in awhile, helping students to set goals, gamifying it a bit with book bingo all work really well. Last year, I had small slips of paper students filled out when they finished a book and they got to enter a raffle and choose a small prize during their check-in with me. Feel free to check out some of my tried and true independent reading resources here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fun-Independent-Reading-Activities-Bundle-5818247 Hope this helps! 🙂

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How to Hold Students Accountable During Independent Reading

Are you looking for independent reading activities to hold students more accountable? Do you feel that independent reading isn’t a beneficial use of your time? You are not alone! This time can be extremely valuable for you and your students, if done correctly. Keep reading for tips and activities to improve student accountability.

Tips for Accountability

The reality is it can be tempting to check your email or work on another task as students read quietly. But hold yourself accountable to make it an effective use of your time! When students realize you’re not paying attention to them and there is no accountability, they will not be actively engaged in reading. These tips for student accountability will help make your independent reading time more beneficial.

Set a Purpose for Reading

If students do not know what is expected, they will not be as productive. They need to know their purpose for reading. It could be practicing the focus strategy from the minilesson or just reading for fun. (Keep reading for more specific ideas) You can hold students accountable for these tasks with a simple exit ticket at the end of reading workshop. They can write what they learned or rate their productivity that day.

Check Their Work

There is no point in assigning something if you’re never going to look at it. This sends students the message that the work you assign during independent reading isn’t valuable. They will think it doesn’t matter so they won’t put in the effort.

You do not have to assign a grade to it but have some way of holding them accountable. It could be as simple as providing time for students to share their thinking about their book at the end of reading workshop. Give students a few minutes to share something they learned with a partner. Or every so often look in their readers notebooks and provide a comment about their written reflections.

Offer Choice

Students should be given choices during independent reading. They should be choosing the books they read , how they respond to the text, or where they sit. You may want to change up the type of activities they complete to maintain their interest.

Introduce students to new books they can choose from through book talks . Simply offering choices, instantly improves students’ engagement and motivation.

Confer with Readers

Independent reading is the perfect opportunity to confer with readers . This is your time to check in with individual students to learn about them as readers. During this time you can talk about their reading, establish a goal, and provide a quick teaching point. Anecdotal notes are a great way to keep track of your reading conferences.

Independent Reading Activities

These independent reading activities will provide student accountability. Plus they’ll also improve student engagement and motivation during that time. Win-Win!

Plan For Reading

Hold students accountable by having them make a plan for their reading that day. They can work on the reading goal established in your reading conference or practice the focus skill from your minilesson . You may want to have a recording sheet for their goals or just dedicate a page in their readers’ notebooks to quickly jot the purpose for reading each day.

Reading challenges are a fun way to change up the daily plan for reading. Students’ goals could be to read a variety of genres, try a new author, or read about a distant location.

Think about Reading

We need to help students actively think about the text as they read. Because if they’re not thinking about it, then what’s the point in reading? These are the students you’ll see walking around the room, talking to a buddy or staring off into space. They need reminders of strategies they can implement to keep them more accountable during independent reading. There are reading posters you can use to help remind students to actively monitor comprehension as they read.

See, Think, Wonder is my favorite way to get students thinking about their reading. Students can also use retelling strategies to think while reading: Stop Think Paraphrase, Stop and Jot, or Stop and Sketch. Students can keep small copies of reading posters in readers’ notebooks or use bookmarks as a reminder of the thinking they should be doing as they read.

Write about Reading

Having students write about their reading is a great way to visually hold them accountable. You can easily see at the end of reading workshop just how much a student accomplished. Keep in mind the ultimate goal is for students to be reading, so you want to assign writing tasks sparingly. Or at least make sure they don’t take too much time.

Quick written responses work best for independent reading time. They hold students accountable but yet still offer plenty of time to read.

You can provide reading response prompts that students can record in their readers notebooks. Graphics organizers are easy way for students to record their thinking and practice the reading focus from your minilesson. You can also provide choice boards that offer various writing options such as writing a book report or letter to a friend about a book they read.

Talk about Reading

Provide students with time at the end of reading workshop to talk about their reading. Tell a buddy what they learned about themselves as a reader that day or an interesting fact they discovered. Students are instantly held more accountable when they know they will have to tell someone about their reading.

Book Talks and book reviews are fun ways to get students talking about their books. Dedicate a few minutes each day/week for students to share about books they’ve read!

What other tips and independent reading activities have you found that hold students more accountable? Share in the comments so we can learn together!

You can also get started using the Monitoring Comprehension Posters   in your classroom! Or download the free Good Fit Books Reading Posters below!

Want to Learn More?

Check out the other blog posts in the independent reading series!

Want to Pin this for later?

I am a K-5 Literacy Coach who is passionate about creating engaging literacy activities that build students’ confidence as readers. With over 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, my goal is to support you by sharing methods I’ve seen successfully implemented in classrooms like yours. I’m excited to share resources and tips to help you plan simple but effective literacy instruction.

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15 Guided Reading Activities and Strategies for Teachers

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Key Elements of Guided Reading Activity

Why use guided reading, teacher’s role in guided reading, 15 guided reading activities, 1. prodigy english, 2. graphic organizer bundle, 3. create a thesaurus or dictionary, 4. cartography, 5. comic strip it, 7. write a poem, 8. alternative to rotating reading stations, 9. independent reading time log, 10. character interview, 11. guided reading picture ladders, 12. character social media profiles, 13. review the story, 14. newspaper report, 15. diary entry, unlocking your child’s potential with prodigy.

Finding activities that both teach students and keep them engaged can be difficult. However, guided reading activities can be a great way to support student reading development in a fun way. 

In these small-group sessions, students are grouped based on their reading ability and provided with targeted instruction to improve their decoding, word work and comprehension skills.

This article will provide 15 effective guided reading activities. We’ll also discuss the key elements of making this strategy successful. 

What is your role in the guided reading lesson plan? Why does guided reading work? We’ll answer all those questions and more. 

Let’s get started!

While guided reading activities can look very different from classroom to classroom, there are a few common elements. These include:

• Book introduction: Before students begin reading, they are given instructions that set the purpose for reading and provide background knowledge or vocabulary needed to understand the reading book.
• Reading of a new text: Teachers listen and observe students as they read the text independently or in small groups, providing guidance and support as needed.
• Post-reading discussion: Reading teachers and students engage in a discussion about the text, focusing on comprehension and analysis of the content.
• Follow-up activities: Opportunities are then provided for students to practice and apply what they have learned during the guided reading lesson. This might include writing responses, completing graphic organizers or engaging in further research and exploration related to the text.

Guided reading isn’t a new strategy on the teaching scene. It’s been around for quite a while and has been thoroughly researched.  

Fountas and Pinnell (1996) showed that guided reading is an effective way to develop students' reading proficiency. This happens by providing a structured and supportive learning environment where students can practice their reading skills with the guidance of a teacher.

The purpose of guided reading is to help students develop critical reading skills such as decoding, fluency, segmenting and comprehension. These skills are able to flourish through small group instruction, scaffolding and feedback from teachers. 

Guided reading also allows teachers to target the specific needs of each student per their grade level. You will be better able to provide each student with the exact support they need to improve their reading skills.

So what exactly is your role when doing a guided reading activity?

Your role in guided reading activities is to facilitate more than it is to teach.

Some teachers also like doing whole-class guided reading activities. Particularly at the beginning of the year, this strategy can teach students what is expected of them during these activities. 

By selecting quality literature, you can support student learning of high-frequency words, digraphs and other phonics skills.                  

Here are some practical ways that you can facilitate during guided reading.

Before Reading

• Activate prior knowledge of the topic
• Encourage student predictions
• Bring to attention relevant text layout, punctuation, chapter headings, illustrations, index or glossary
• Clearly articulate the learning intention (i.e. what reading strategy students will focus on to help them read the text)

During Reading

• Use running records and comprehension questions to monitor student progress and assess their understanding of the text
• Assist students to monitor meaning using phonic, semantic, contextual and grammatical knowledge
• Confirm students’ problem-solving attempts and successes
• Give timely and specific teaching points to help students achieve the lesson focus

After Reading

• Engage students in discussion about the text, including themes and ideas
• Summarize the text and reviewing key concepts or vocabulary
• Plan next steps for students' learning based on their performance

Now that you are familiar with this strategy, we’ll outline 15 effective guided reading activities for a whole group or individual instruction that you can put into your lesson plan today.

Prodigy English is a guided reading activity designed to support students' decoding and word work skills. This online game can be set up to teach a specific skill by selecting a high-frequency word or word family, and then creating a game or challenge that incorporates that word.

The software does the rest of the work, adapting the content as the student shows their proficiency. 

This is easy to get started with from the teacher dashboard. Get started with a free teacher account .

A graphic organizer bundle is a set of printable templates for higher-level guided reading groups. They help students organize their thoughts and ideas as they read.

Graphic organizers bundles can be useful for teaching across various grade levels and reading levels. Some examples of what you might include in yours include story maps, character webs, Venn diagrams and cause-and-effect charts.

An effective guided reading activity for students is to create their own thesaurus or dictionary based on a text they have read. This activity helps students to expand their vocabulary and reading comprehension and promotes their independence in learning new words. 

Students can start this activity by identifying words from the text that they don't know, and then research their meanings and synonyms. 

They can then compile their findings into a thesaurus or dictionary. They can keep this dictionary later on to support their reading and writing in the future.

Creating a thesaurus or dictionary can also be a sight word activity for first and second grade students. Through this activity, students can learn new words, their meanings and how to use them in sentences.

Cartography is a guided reading activity where your students create a map of the story setting. Students use their knowledge of the story and its setting to create a detailed map, including key landmarks, buildings and other important features.

This activity supports students' comprehension skills, as well as their ability to visualize and create mental images of the setting. Not to mention that adding an art element will likely get your students very excited.

Another art option is to have your students create a comic strip that summarizes the key events in a text they read during guided reading. 

This activity can help students develop their summarization and storytelling skills, as well as their understanding of the text's structure and plot.

You might have students work in pairs or small groups to create their comic strips. Another option is to have them present their work to the class or share it with others in the form of a class-wide gallery walk. 

This activity can be modified for different grade levels by adjusting the level of detail required in the comic strips.

If you want to do 3D art instead of drawing, your students could create a diorama that represents a scene or setting from a text that students’ have read during guided reading.

This activity will help develop their visualization and creativity skills, as well as their understanding of the text's description and setting.

Again, you can decide whether students do this individually or in small groups. And you can decide if they’ll then present their work to the class in some way.

In this guided reading activity, students are encouraged to use their creativity and language skills to write a poem related to the text they have read. 

This activity allows students to use their own words and express their understanding of the text in a unique and personal way.

You can provide students with examples of different types of poems, such as haikus, sonnets and free verse, and give them prompts related to the text they have read. 

This activity may need to be adapted depending on the grade level you’re teaching and the reading ability of your students.

The Alternative to Rotating Reading Stations is a flexible grouping approach that focuses on providing targeted instruction for small groups of students based on their individual needs.

You may find that this method makes it much easier to meet the diverse needs of your students and differentiate instruction to help each student reach their full potential.

You can group students based on their reading level , skills, interests, or any other factors that may impact their learning. 

Students might work independently or collaboratively with this activity.  You can provide individualized instruction or use a variety of instructional materials to support students' learning. 

There’s so many ways to customize it. Do a little experimenting to find what works best in your classroom!

Encouraging students to log their independent reading time can help them take ownership of their reading and develop self-motivation and accountability.

You will give each student a log to record the titles of the books they read, the amount of time spent reading and their impressions of each book.

These logs can provide you with valuable insights into students' reading habits and preferences.

You can choose to have these completed during class by setting aside time for independent reading. Or you can offer incentives for completing logs and reaching reading goals at home.

A character interview is an activity in guided reading where students take on the role of an interviewer and ask questions to a character from a book they have read. This activity aims to enhance students' comprehension of the story, character analysis and critical thinking skills.

This fun activity develops students' speaking and listening skills, as well as their ability to communicate effectively with others. 

It can be adapted to different grade levels and texts and can be done individually or in groups. 

For example, for first grade, a character interview activity can be done as a whole class or small group discussion after reading a picture book.

Guided reading picture ladders are an activity that involves creating a visual representation of a text's plot structure. 

The activity is designed to help students better understand the sequence of events in a story. It also reinforces comprehension skills, such as identifying the main idea and supporting details.

To implement this activity, you will create a ladder on chart paper with the story's title at the top and the events of the story written in order on the rungs. Students can then use the ladder to retell the story, identify the main events and discuss how they are connected.

In this guided reading activity, students create social media profiles for characters from a text they have read. 

This activity allows students to analyze the character's traits, motivations, and relationships, while also practicing their writing skills. Not to mention that they see it less as classwork and more as something fun to do. 

Students can use platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to create the profiles. They can include posts, photos and other media that reflect the character's personality and experiences.

After reading a story, students are encouraged to discuss and analyze various elements of the story, such as the characters, plot, setting, themes and literary devices used by the author. 

This activity can be done in a group setting or individually. Additionally, it can be adapted to suit different grade levels and texts.

If you want to, you can collect these reviews to use as a reading resource for future students.

A newspaper report is a great way to practice reading and writing skills. In this guided reading activity, students will retell an event from the story as if they are a reporter.

You can add to this activity by having students use graphic organizers, such as a story map, to help them identify the key elements of the news story and plan their newspaper report.

Crafting a diary entry is a guided reading activity that helps students understand and connect with the characters in the story.

To do this activity, instruct your students to imagine themselves as one of the characters in the book and write a diary entry from that character's point of view. 

Writing a diary entry will help your students develop their writing skills and creativity while also encouraging them to think critically about the story and its characters.

Guided reading activities can take many forms and are often lots of fun for students. This element of fun often keeps students engaged and excited to learn. Try out a few of these activities to see which ones your students like best. 

Are you wanting to try reading activities but aren’t sure that you can make them work with the varied reading levels in your classroom? Prodigy has you covered!

Prodigy has an adaptive format that challenges students when they have mastered a concept or gives them extra practice if they are struggling. And it does all of this without extra work from you. 

All you need to do is set up your free teacher account , and we’ll do the rest! You can sit back and relax knowing that your students are engaging with great content that is aligned with US state standards for 1st through 8th grade. 

Get started today!

The week’s bestselling books, April 7

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Hardcover fiction

1. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

2. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press: $30) An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

3. The Hunter by Tana French (Viking: $32) A taut tale of retribution and family set in the Irish countryside.

4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead: $28) The discovery of a skeleton in Pottstown, Pa., opens out to a story of integration and community.

5. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (Knopf: $29) Three generations of a family trace the legacy of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

6. Until August by Gabriel García Márquez, Anne McLean (Transl.) (Knopf: $22) The Nobel Prize winner’s rediscovered novel is a tale of female desire and abandon.

7. North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random House: $28) A sweeping historical tale focused on a single house in the New England woods.

8. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf: $28) Lifelong BFFs collaborate on a wildly successful video game.

9. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Knopf: $28) An orphaned son of Iranian immigrants embarks on a search for a family secret.

10. Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle (Atria Books: $27) A heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves.

Hardcover nonfiction

1. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Penguin: $32) The music producer’s guidance on how to be a creative person.

2. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Avery: $27) An expert guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones via tiny changes.

3. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin Press: $30) An investigation into the collapse of youth mental health and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.

4. Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zakaria (W.W. Norton & Co.: $30) Inside the eras and movements that have shaken norms while shaping the modern world.

5. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster: $28) A memoir from the star of TV’s “iCarly.”

6. The Wager by David Grann (Doubleday: $30) The story of the shipwreck of an 18th century British warship and a mutiny among the survivors.

7. There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib (Random House: $32) A poignant, personal reflection on basketball, life and home.

8. Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen (Dutton: $30) A vivid, expert picture of what the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch would look like.

9. Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley (MCD: $27) A deeply moving and suspenseful portrait of friendship and loss.

10. How to Know a Person by David Brooks (Random House: $30) The New York Times columnist explores the power of seeing and being seen.

Paperback fiction

1. Dune by Frank Herbert (Ace: $18)

2. Happy Place by Emily Henry (Berkley: $19)

3. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, Ken Liu (Transl.) (Tor: $19)

4. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Penguin: $18)

5. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (Penguin: $18)

6. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury: $19)

7. Trust by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead: $17)

8. Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin: $19)

9. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (Ace: $18)

10. Never Whistle at Night by Shane Hawk (Ed.), Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Ed.) (Vintage: $17)

Paperback nonfiction

1. All About Love by bell hooks (Morrow: $17)

2. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (Vintage: $18)

3. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $19)

4. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Vintage: $17)

5. Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris (Back Bay Books: $23)

6. Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino (Harper Perennial: $21)

7. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (Picador: $20)

8. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. (Penguin: $19)

9. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (Random House: $21)

10. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (Harper Perennial: $18)

More to Read

10 books to add to your reading list in April

April 1, 2024

The week’s bestselling books, March 31

March 27, 2024

The week’s bestselling books, March 24

March 20, 2024

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The Los Angeles Times bestsellers list comes courtesy of the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA). Established in 1981, CALIBA is a mutual benefit 501c(6) nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting, nurturing and promoting independent retail bookselling in California.

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Charities halt Gaza aid after drone attack that killed seven workers

Humanitarian groups say they cannot operate safely after Israeli targeting of food charity convoy prompts international outcry

• Gaza aid convoy strike: what happened and who were the victims?

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza seems likely to worsen after charities announced they are suspending operations in the territory in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack which repeatedly targeted a clearly identified convoy of international aid workers, killing seven.

The strikes on a team from World Central Kitchen (WCK) led the charity – along with other aid organisations such as Anera, which helps refugees around the Middle East, and the US-based Project Hope, which focuses on healthcare – to announce that it would pause operations in Gaza to protect its staff.

Calling the decision an “unprecedented step”, Anera said on Tuesday the killings, “alongside the loss of numerous other aid workers and their families, has led our team to conclude that delivering aid safely is no longer feasible”.

“While we understand the severe consequences this suspension will have on the Palestinian population, the escalating risks associated with aid delivery leave us with no choice but to halt operations until our staff regain confidence that they can do their work without undue risk,” a statement said.

Famine is “projected and imminent” in the northern half of Gaza, a UN-backed report said last month , and according to Oxfam, since December, the number of people in the Palestinian territory facing “catastrophic levels” of hunger has nearly doubled. At least 27 children have died of malnutrition, according to the health ministry in the territory, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A convoy of three armoured cars belonging to WCK, which had been spearheading efforts to create a maritime corridor from Cyprus for the delivery of desperately needed aid in the face of Israeli bombardment and blockade of land crossings, was attacked on Monday evening while leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, the charity said. Seven people were killed, including Palestinian, UK, Australian and Polish nationals, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.

The seven victims were named by WCK as Britons John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team. The team’s leader, Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, 43, an Australian national, also died, along with American-Canadian dual citizen Jacob Flickinger, 33, Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and Palestinian Saif Issam Abu Taha, 25.

Frankcom had worked all over the world and in her native Australia helping those in need. Colleagues said Sobol had quickly risen through the charity’s ranks and Abu Taha had worked since early this year as a driver for the group.

Aid ships organised by WCK arrived in Gaza on Monday carrying 400 tonnes of food and supplies – enough for 1m meals – in a shipment funded by the United Arab Emirates, after a successful pilot run last month .

However, workers had only offloaded 100 tonnes before the drone attack led the charity to order the vessels carrying the remaining aid to return to Cyprus.

On Tuesday, the Israeli daily Haaretz published harrowing details of the strike, citing defence sources.

According to the report, an Israeli drone fired three missiles, one after the other, at the convoy of three armoured cars – all of which were clearly marked on the roof and sides with the WCK’s logo – because of a suspicion that an armed militant was travelling with them.

Despite the fact that the suspect did not leave the warehouse with the rest of the group, the cars were hit as they travelled back along a route pre-approved and coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

A Hermes 450 drone struck one car, causing some of the passengers to abandon it and switch to the other two vehicles. According to Haaretz, the team notified the IDF they had been attacked, but another missile then hit the second car.

Passengers in the third car tried to help the wounded, the newspaper said. According to the Guardian’s geolocation of the strikes, the last car was hit by a third missile about a mile farther south.

Video obtained by Reuters showed a large hole in the roof of a four-wheel-drive WCK vehicle and its burnt and torn interior, as well as paramedics moving bodies into a hospital and displaying the passports of three of those killed.

The Israeli military expressed “sincere sorrow” over the deaths, adding that an investigation was under way. Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Tuesday evening that Israel would open a “joint situation room” with international groups to enable better coordination of aid distribution.

More than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas began after the militant group’s attack on Israeli communities on 7 October, Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s top official for the coordination of humanitarian aid in Gaza, said on Tuesday.

The attack on WCK was not an “isolated incident”, he added, pointing out that the number of humanitarians killed in the last six months in Gaza was nearly three times as high as the death toll recorded in any other single conflict in a year.

Haaretz reported that WCK had filed a complaint with the IDF after one of its volunteers was fired at in the Khan Younis area on Saturday.

Monday’s killings caused an international outcry, including rebukes from some of Israel’s closest international allies, such as the US.

The White House said it was “outraged” by the attack, although John Kirby, the national security spokesperson, said there was no evidence Israel deliberately targeted the aid workers.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said of the seven aid workers: “These people are heroes, they run into the fire, not away from it … we shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk.”

Washington had spoken directly to Israel’s government and “urged a swift, thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened”, he told reporters in Paris.

Rishi Sunak told broadcasters during a visit to the north-east of England on Tuesday: “We are asking Israel to investigate what happened urgently, because clearly there are questions that need to be answered.”

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , lamented the killings, describing the incident as tragic and unintended.

“This happens in wartime. We are thoroughly looking into it, are in contact with the governments [of the foreign nationals among the victims] and will do everything to ensure it does not happen again,” he said in a video statement.

Getting assistance to where it is needed most in Gaza, particularly the northern half of the territory, has been made difficult by damaged roads, a lack of fuel, a breakdown of public order and what aid agencies have described as unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles imposed by Israel . The number of aid trucks entering the territory by land over the past six months has been far below the 500 a day that entered before the conflict.

Israel has barred Unrwa, the main UN agency in Gaza, from making deliveries to the north after claiming several of its employees were involved in the Hamas attack that triggered the war. Other aid groups say sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military’s failure to ensure safe passage.

In February, more than 100 people were killed when Israeli forces opened fire at an aid distribution point in Gaza City. The Israeli military said most died in a crush, but Palestinian officials and witnesses denied this, saying the majority of those taken to hospital had bullet wounds.

“There is no safe place in Gaza, whether you are Palestinian, British or any other nationality … every day our team in Gaza has to risk their lives to provide vital aid to those in need. Gaza is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an aid worker right now,” a statement from UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said.

A total of 71 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the past day, according to the local health ministry.

About 1,200 Israelis were killed and a further 250 taken hostage on 7 October, according to Israeli data. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing Israeli offensive.

Although 100 Israelis were freed in a week-long ceasefire at the end of November in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails, negotiations since aimed at a second, longer truce and the release of the remaining hostages have repeatedly faltered.

Guardian Newsroom: The unfolding crisis in the Middle East On Tuesday 30 April, 7-8.15pm GMT, join Devika Bhat, Peter Beaumont, Emma Graham-Harrison and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad as they discuss the fast-developing crisis in the Middle East. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live

• Middle East and north Africa
• Benjamin Netanyahu
• Antony Blinken

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No progress made at Cairo ceasefire talks, says Hamas, as Israel pulls troops out of southern Gaza – as it happened

The disappeared of Gaza: tens of thousands missing in territory since start of war

Israel withdraws troops from southern Gaza for ‘tactical reasons’

Palestinians return to destroyed homes in Khan Younis after Israeli withdrawal

‘They’re targeting healthcare workers’: airstrikes a constant fear for UK doctors in Gaza

Since 7 October, my therapy patients have asked themselves: who are our people?

Isolated at home and abroad, but Netanyahu isn’t about to go quietly

The Observer view on Israel: only a ceasefire in Gaza can save it from its worst-ever crisis

‘All we think about is how to stay alive’: the horror of daily life for those trapped in Gaza

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Grimsby's only independent book shop launches on Freeman Street Market

G rimsby's only independent bookstore has officially set up shop on Freeman Street Market - with the ultimate goal of instilling a love of reading in local children after noticing a "sad" decline in the activity.

After successfully running The Rabbit Hole in Brigg for a number of years, husband and wife duo Nick and Mel Webb decided to open up the second branch of the shop in the heart of Grimsby .

Stocking an array of titles by local authors that can't be found anywhere else, as well as hundreds of children's books to suit all ages and preferences, the colourful and quirky shop is a welcome addition to the East Marsh hub.

• Families in northern Lincolnshire to receive increased Child Benefit payments from this week
• East Marsh community hub's plea for help as cost of living funding that feeds families stops

Nick and Mel hope to help local families access books in the midst of the cost of living crisis, with children's activities, a reading and colouring-in area and a special secondhand section stocking books at just £2 each.

Speaking to Grimsby Live, Nick said: "Freeman Street Market is somewhere we've both always wanted to be. We're both in inclusive education and we've worked in schools in this area. We hope to give access to books that you won't find elsewhere, because Grimsby hasn't got an independent bookshop. We want to support any locally based authors, and show people in Grimsby what there is beyond what they see in the supermarket.

"We feel we're in a crucial spot in this town. They can come in, have a look, see books they won't see anywhere else, and enjoy our activities."

Nick said through their bookshops and the work they do with local schools, his and wife Mel's main goal is to showcase the importance of reading when it comes to child development and education - and to encourage parents to read, too.

"The number of times you hear parents saying to children, 'Why do you want to go in there? We don't need books', but the kids want to go in. This morning, we've had four kids come in on their own. It's quite sad, but the children aren't to blame. It's adults who need to model it," he said.

"I'm a big believer in kinesthetic learning. If you read something on a screen, it doesn't stay in, but with a book, it's like muscle memory, so it's all helping to learn and it's physically relaxing. I don't think nowadays we relax with phones, because in the back of your head, you're thinking about work, or wanting to look at social media or play a game. But if you've got a book, you just want to be left in peace and quiet.

"People are being bombarded with technology left, right and centre, but it must be worse for the kids than adults. We find it hard to put our phones down because we're scared of what we're missing."

The Rabbit Hole also stocks a selection of graphic novels for children - a genre which Nick feels is coming back into the mainstream.

"When I was a kid, every week you would wait for a comic to come out, kids would queue," he said.

"But then they'd gone for a while, but kids at the moment are loving graphic novels. I talk to a lot of teachers and I really do think it's because it gives them something they haven't got anywhere else. You can only watch so much TV."

Nick and Mel are also keen to work with local schools and authors to arrange activities for children geared around reading. Last week, the shop welcomed 60 pupils from Strand Primary Academy for a special event with local children's author, James Nichol.

To like The Rabbit Hole on Facebook and keep up-to-date with events taking place there, click here . The shop is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm.