21 must use reading activities for language lessonsFun Pre-Reading and Postal service-Reading Activities for All Language Classrooms

I love language lessons which involve an chemical element of reading. This is because at that place are and so many opportunities for learning and improving linguistic communication acquisition with topic-related texts. Reading activities are the perfect starting indicate to learn rich topic-related vocabulary (adjectives, nouns, verbs etc), pick up new grammar structures,steal 'star phrases'and ultimately improve comprehension and improve linguistic communication acquisition skills.

According to Moeller & Meyer (1995), reading, even at a slow footstep exposes students to more sentences, grammer, and new vocabulary per minute than the average short form, Boob tube show, or song. So, if yous are in a rut with how you present and teach your reading activities, go an innovative injection of pre-reading activities and mail service-reading activities below.

Who Should Use These Awesome Reading Activities?

All of these reading ideas for the language classroom are depression-prep and no-prep reading activities. Use them in whatsoever mail-beginner language classroom, including French, German language, English language and Castilian lessons.

The aim of these 21 must-use reading activities is to get your language students focused and in the mood for learning.  Still, as the instructor, you will need to be in accuse of providing a cracking text, to bring the reading ideas below to life. This could range from i paragraph for beginners, to a few chunky paragraphs for intermediate learners, to an extended text for avant-garde students.

Pre-Reading Activities

  1. "Observe The Discussion" Reading Aloud Activity (Pair Work)
    Put students in pairs and provide them with one copy of a text. Accept a hush-hush list of words at the ready and call them out, at random, ane at a fourth dimension. Permit time for students to scan the text for the give-and-take they hear. The outset person in the pair to point correctly at the word in the text gets a point. Make certain y'all set sound level rules, likewise as clear guidance on how the class should be silent set up for the adjacent circular.
  2. "Reading Aloud" Job (Pair Work / Small Group Work)
    Provide students with a 'chunky' text split into paragraphs. Suggest that each educatee in the pair/group must read one paragraph aloud. If the person has an issue pronouncing a word, he/she must circle it and if they come across a word they don't understand, they must underline information technology. Allow students to discuss their problem areas in pairs so in fours. Go around making a annotation of the mutual issues and write on the lath with whole group choral piece of work and discussion at the end.
  3. "Squad Reading Aloud" – Pronunciation Reading (Whole Grouping)
    Carve up the classroom in 2 and assign all students in each team a number and echo (using the same numbers) with the other team. Provide students with a 'chunky' text for reading and set each team off with 20 points. The aim of the activity is to be the squad to finish with the most points after the text has been read. Flip a coin to see which squad begins. Randomly choose a number and that student must begin reading. If the other team spots a pronunciation fault, every bit the pupil is reading, a member of the squad must put their hand up. If all others in the team concur, everyone'due south hand must become up – this should keep everyone focused. If they spot a genuine pronunciation error, they can help the reader make the correction receive a indicate (provide support if their 'aid' isn't quite authentic). All the same, if the whole team has made a mistake and picked a word that was correctly pronounced, they volition lose a point and the other squad will gain a point. Each time an error in pronunciation is correctly spotted, swap the reading squad. Deduct points for talking or misbehaviour.
  4. "The Terminal Word" Reading Activeness (Pair / Pocket-sized Grouping Work)
    As a group, the squad chooses how many words each student should read. For example, three words. In improver, allow students to cull the society of reading. Once the students begin reading, the winner is the student who follows the rules and manages to be the person to read the last word.
  5. "Avoid The Line" – Reading Aloud Activity (Pair / Small Groups) When you prepare a text, underline words at random. Students commencement with v points. Each educatee must read 5 words at a time, simply must avert really saying any words that accept been underlined. Should they read the underlined word past accident, they lose a bespeak. Students with with the nigh points at the terminate of the reading activity win.
  6. "Bratwurst" Name" – Reading Out Aloud Activity (Small Groups) One educatee begins and later a pre-determined number of words or sentences, they shout "Bratwurst / Pain au chocolat / Churros" (etc, depending on the language you teach) plus the proper noun of someone in the group i.eastward. Bratwurst Laura. This person must then go along where the other reader left off. Award points at the outset and if someone loses focus and doesn't know where the previous reader was, they lose a betoken.
  7. Instructor Names – Reading Activity Out Aloud (Whole Group)
         Split the class in two and assign 5 points to each team. Then, model pronunciation of the text past reading it out aloud. At random intervals, instead of reading the next word, call out a student's proper name and that educatee must read the word that their proper name was replaced past. If the chosen student doesn't respond without being prompted within 5 seconds of stopping, the team loses a point. Perfect for getting students to focus on reading activities, besides as getting them to pronounce the words you lot recollect they might notice tricky or could do with knowing. In add-on, you could get students to create a list of vocabulary replaced by students names and interpret/brand sentences with, as a postal service-reading activity.
  8. "Wie bitte?" – Reading Aloud Activity (Small Groups)
         Put students into threes, taking it in turns to read a sentence. Equally they read, a student must brand a error, on purpose. This could include: wrong words, incorrect genders, wrong pronunciation, wrong verb catastrophe etc. When a listener hears a fault, they must say 'Wie bitte?' 'oh la la' or 'Oye', depending on the linguistic communication you teach. If they tin can correct the error, they win a point and if they can't correct the fault, the reader gets a point. This can as well exist done every bit a whole group with students continuing up when yous make a mistake. The final one to stand up up is 'out'. Notwithstanding, make sure you give students who are out a petty chore to exercise until the end of the game.
  9. Spontaneous Reading Activity (Whole Group)
         1 student starts reading at random and can read a maximum of one sentence. As shortly equally they end their sentence, another student must begin reading. If no-ane starts within a second, or more than one person starts reading, the whole group must go dorsum to the beginning. Starting with another educatee reading the first sentence. You can vary this by getting learners to translate the text every bit they read the judgement or change the person (thus the verbs and possessive adjectives etc). Keep going back to the beginning until the reading out aloud activity has been completed as per the rules.
  10. Find …. – Skim Reading Activity (Alone)
         As soon equally you lot give students a reading text, provide them with a list of words in L1 (native language) to find in L2 (language being learnt) in the text. This could be all masculine nouns, all verbs, all adjectives, all words start with 'a'. They could either highlight the words in the text or underline the words.
  11. Find the Synonym – Skim Reading Action (Individual)
         Every bit with reading activity 10, give students a reading text and provide them with a listing of words in L2. They must find and note downwardly the synonyms they find in the text.
  12. Be A Presenter – Reading Aloud (Pairs)
         Have iPads or laptops bachelor, enough for ane between 2. Have students paste a copy of your text into cue prompter with i educatee sitting with their back to the laptop and the other person reading aloud. The presenter must read clearly with accurate pronunciation and the listener must make full in the gaps on their sheet as they are listening with the words they hear. They may not ask the presenter to spell whatsoever word. Instead, if they take gaps at the terminate, the presenter must re-read (the whole lot or only the sentence, depending on how you're feeling on the twenty-four hour period).
  13. Gauge The Dominion Reading Aloud (Whole Group Game)
         The teacher begins by reading every other give-and-take from the text in order. Students must put their hands upwardly to guess the rule. Let private students in the group to do the aforementioned by reading aloud. The rest of the group must endeavour to guess the rule. Students can only start to put their hands upwardly after the reader has read at least ane/3 or 1/2 of the text. Let the students exist creative with their rules. The teacher could besides re-read and do the same with adjectives, nouns, verbs etc to make the reading activity more grammer based. It'southward perfect to get reluctant and shy students reading.
  14. Running Dictation Speaking Reading Activity (Small Groups)
         This works better with shorter texts or splitting a whole text into paragraphs, which each team is responsible for. Put enough copies of the texts up outside the classroom with a number on each. Assign each team a number. Advise the aim is for students to be the beginning team to communicate the text from their corresponding paragraph outside the classroom, without cheating. Students must take it in turns to read a sentence in sequence from their paragraph, and be the commencement team to stop communicating and writing the paragraph downwardly on a canvas of paper.
    RULES: a) simply one student can exist out of their seat at a time, b) students must non run or shout, c) students  must too take it in turns to write the sentences on the paper, d) learners are not immune to spell any words, but they are allowed to become dorsum every bit many times equally they demand to to re-read the sentence, eastward) the rest of the grouping must work every bit a team to ensure the words are spelled accurately and the grammar is also correct.
  15. Gap-Fill Transcript Dictation Reading Activity (Private)
    Provide students with a copy of the text, with gaps. I suggest 3 forms, one with verbs missing, the second with nouns missing and the 3rd with adjectives missing. Distribute the sheets so they have people around them who had the same sheet. The students must individually fill in the words as they heed. You could read once more if necessary. Once finished, get learners to check they take spelled the words correctly by discussing (non showing!) with their neighbours.
  16. Wrong Words Reading Activity (Individual)
    The instructor provides students with a copy of the text with a choice of wrong words. Equally they listen to the text existence read, they must highlight the give-and-take they hear that is wrong. Go through a second time, and this time, the students must write in the correct words. This volition give the students an idea of the text before they do whatever comprehension activities.
  17. Cardinal Word Bingo – Vocabulary Based Reading Activeness (Individual)
    From the text, read 5-xx words (dependent on text length) at random in L2. Students must cross them off as they hear them.

Postal service-Reading Activities

  1. True or Fake? – Post-Reading Activeness (Alone)
    Once students have read the text through properly, allow them 5 minutes to create a listing of true or faux statements. These can exist given to a peer to answer if time allows.
  2. Summarise The Text – Post Reading Activity (Individual)
    One time students have read the text, propose that they must underline the key messages, depending on the size of the text. I recommend advising a maximum number. Students must so combine and re-word these ideas to summarise the whole text in a set number of words.
  3. Re-write The Text – Reading Activity (Alone)
    After reading (and depending on the length of the whole text), students must re-write the text in the first, second or third person singular. If the text is long, then propose that they should choice out a sure number of paragraphs.
  4. Walking Text – Reading Comprehension Action (Individual)
    Instead of getting students to read the texts in their seats, print out a few copies.  Ensure the text is enlarged and in paragraphs with line numbers. Then, chop them up with numbers, indicating the paragraph number on each and stick them around the room. I recommend doing a few copies to ensure that no more than ii students are at one paragraph of text at a time. Give them some pre-printed comprehension questions to answer as they go around. You can support learners who need it with an indication of the paragraph number, correlating to the question, written on their canvass.

Want these ideas in a handy downloadable format? Download my 21 must-utilize reading activities for all language classrooms PDF here:

Did you lot bask this reading activities for the linguistic communication classroom post? If so, be certain to check out these posts to improve linguistic communication conquering hither besides:

Fun Games for the MFL Classroom
Spontaneous Speaking with Video Clips in the Language Classroom

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