When in comes to establishing strong reading skills, we understand that practice is key! With the myriad of responsibilities for educators to tend to and only so many hours in the day, it can be challenging to provide our students with the time required to practice their reading skills.
In addition to utilising Lexia® Core5® Reading or Lexia® PowerUp® Literacy for explicit and personalised literacy practice, educators can also build reading skills activities into other areas of the curriculum such as PSHE, music and PE.
Here are 6 Reading Activities to get kids moving, perfect for integrating into a PE lesson or outdoor session.
Early Years Readers:
Letter Leapfrog
Write letters on the ground with chalk or masking tape and have pupils jump to each letter as you say it. Bonus points for naming a word beginning with that letter!
It’s Time to Rhyme!
Say a series of rhyming words, then throw in one that doesn’t rhyme. Have pupils do a jumping jack, perform a push-up, or touch their toes when they hear a non-rhyming word.
For a more indoor-friendly approach, try a quieter version of the game that involves pupils tiptoeing around the room and freezing when they hear a non-rhyming word.
Staircase Sentences
All you need are some stairs and a book to reinforce the concept that sentences are made up of words! Read a sentence from a favourite book and have pupils repeat it. Then, have them step up (or down) as they say each word.
Sound Scavenger Hunt
Listening for the sounds that make up each word is an important step in learning to read. Focus on three to five letters and review the sound that each one makes. Then, have pupils look for objects that begin (or end) with that sound. Give them a list and a clipboard to make the hunt even more fun!
Key Stage 1 Readers
Sight Words are Hopping!
Write sight words on sheets of paper and place each sheet on the ground, or head outside and write on playground with chalk. Then, have pupils hop from one word to the next, saying each word aloud. Bonus points for using the word in a sentence! Printable sight word flashcards are available here.
Key Stage 2 Readers
Literacy Skill-Building Charades
An idiom like “It’s raining cats and dogs” is a group of words that don’t mean what they seem to say. To reinforce this concept, have your students act out the literal meaning of each of the following idioms, then award points to anyone who can explain the figurative meaning:
- To bark up the wrong tree (to look for a solution in the wrong place)
- To get the ball rolling (to get started on something)
- To throw in the towel (to give up)
- To go in one ear and out the other (to be told something but quickly forget it)
- To be on the fence (to be undecided)
- To turn over a new leaf (to have a fresh start)
- To be the tip of the iceberg (to be a small part of a bigger problem)
We hope our suggestions inspire you and your readers to get moving and try something new! For more literacy tips and support in gaining best practice with Lexia programs, be sure to follow us on our social media channels; Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
