Motivating children to read English books with fun activities

Nicola Schofield
A child sat on a bed reading a book

Why is reading important?Ìý

Apart from being aÌýgreat hobbyÌýand funÌýactivity, it can help children improve in many areas of their lives through developingÌýkey transferrable skills. Reading in their native language and English can bring a whole range of benefits. To engage everyone, they mustÌýunderstand the benefits themselves.Ìý Ìý

Ask your students why it's important and create a mind map of ideas. You may alsoÌýwish to use some of the points below to start the conversation. Having a common idea that everyone agrees on can help build motivation and engagement in the classroom.Ìý

ImprovesÌýlanguage skillsÌý

Regular reading develops children’s linguistic skills – it helps them learn goodÌýsentence structure, grammar, vocabulary andÌýimprovesÌýspelling in their own language and in the English language too. Reading aloudÌýalso strengthensÌýknowledge of phonics and improvesÌýpronunciationÌýand articulation.ÌýÌý

Improves memoryÌý

It can help to develop knowledge of phonics and vocabularyÌýrecall and improve focus and concentrationÌý– all necessary skills when learning a language.Ìý

Cultivates curiosityÌý

Books help kids’ imaginations to growÌýandÌýencourage them to beÌýmore open-minded. TheyÌýhelp us to learn about other cultures and encourage us to think more creatively. Through subtle messages,ÌýreadingÌýbuildsÌýanÌýawareness of the world in which we live andÌýenablesÌýchildren to formÌýtheir ownÌýopinionsÌýand ask questions.Ìý

Creates empathyÌý

Stories help to develop children’s emotional intelligenceÌýandÌýempathy towardsÌýothers. ExploringÌýtopics and characters allows them to learn aboutÌýreal-world situationsÌýand think about how they would feelÌýinÌýsomebody else’s shoes. It encouragesÌýrespect for others’ feelingsÌýas well asÌýotherÌýcultures.ÌýÌý

Reduces stressÌý

It is a great way toÌýcalm the mind and help us relax and destress. Children can learn to use it as a helpful tool in their day-to-day lives.ÌýÌýÌý

Develops key life skillsÌý

Children develop their confidence, communication, resilience, patience, social skills and connectÌýwith the wider world, cultureÌýand communities.Ìý

So how do we motivate our young learnersÌý(even our most reluctant readers)Ìýto develop a passion for reading?Ìý

ItÌýmustÌýbe fun,Ìýpurposeful and relevantÌý

Well-known adaptationsÌýcan remove barriers, support and encourage students’ imagination,ÌýandÌýsparkÌýa genuine interest. TheyÌýgive purpose and relevance to the students as most students have watched a movieÌýat some point in their lives and most students have aÌýfavorite movieÌýor character.ÌýÌý

Let your young learners chooseÌý

There are plenty of English Readers to choose fromÌý– if the students can choose their own readers, they will likely be more motivated and focused. Choice gives the students power and makes it more relevant to them. Ask your students to choose theirÌýfavorite movieÌýandÌýhave a vote as a class. Get to know your students, find out what interests them, and base yourÌýbook choice around this.Ìý

RewardsÌýÌý

To motivate students, theyÌýmust know that they areÌýmaking progress. Reward students for their achievements – for example,ÌýcreateÌýa vocabulary wall orÌýa class book chart and give rewardsÌýlikeÌýaÌýstickerÌýorÌýa postcardÌýto takeÌýhome.Ìý

Ìý

Here are five practical, fun ideas on how to further motivate your learners and engage them in reading both in and outside the classroom.

1. Make a bookmarkÌý

Making aÌýbookmarkÌýis a fun way to get children into the habit of reading more regularly. If they have their own bookmark, then they are more likelyÌýto want to pick up a book and read it. In the activity, the children can make their ownÌýbookmarkÌýbased on theirÌýfavoriteÌýbook as well asÌýdraw a picture of theirÌýfavoriteÌýscene.

There’s space for them to write about theirÌýfavoriteÌýcharacter and any new words they have learned. TheÌýbookmarkÌýthen becomes not only a way toÌýfind your page butÌýitÌýcanÌýalsoÌýhelp kids engage in English conversations about the stories and make them feel like they are making progress.

2. Create a mind mapÌý

A mindÌýmap is an activity that helps children to understand andÌýanalyzeÌýwhat is happening in the book they have just read. ItÌýis a great way to show their understanding of the story clearly. It could also be usedÌýfor doingÌýa short presentation on the book orÌýfor helping toÌýwrite a short paragraph about it.ÌýÌý

3. Write your own short storyÌý

This activity is creative and asks the children to choose theirÌýfavoriteÌýreader. They then use their imagination to write a short story about what happens next. They can place charactersÌýin a completely different story of their ownÌýand send them off on a new, exciting adventureÌýor decide what happens next in the original story.

Writing stories like this helps young people to explore their ideas, express their creativity and reinforceÌýsentence structure, vocabulary and grammar at the same time.

4. Create a reading passportÌý

Motivate childrenÌýby giving them clear and achievable goals. Asking them to fill in a passport as they read a new book is a fun way to encourage them.

Each book allows each child to enter a different world andÌýonce they have visited each place, they complete a new page in the passport and receive a stamp.ÌýYou could even make this a class competition to see who can fill in the passport pages the quickest.

5. Create a character profile

Ask the children to choose theirÌýfavoriteÌýcharacter and produce aÌýmovieÌýposterÌýon that person. Ask the students to draw a picture andÌýwriteÌýkey details about the character, such as name, age, physical appearance and interests. This activity motivates the students as seeing theirÌýfavoriteÌýcharacter in a different context can be entertaining and engaging.

With these simple activities, you can make reading a more enjoyable experience, as well as helping with learning English for kids and developing their overall reading skills.ÌýÌý

Learn about our readers for young learners

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  • A teacher sat with a student at his desk, the student is writing and the teacher is looking at him doing this smiling.

    7 ways to individualize your teaching

    By Andrew Walkley
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    There's no denying that tailoring your teaching to individual students is an effective strategy. However, many teachers struggle with finding the time to include teaching moments which address an individual learner's specific needs. So, what's the best way to create an individualized classroom? Andrew Walkley, co-author of Roadmap, explains the benefits of this approach and shares some techniques to ensure that every student gets the most out of your lessons.Ìý

    The best of both worlds?

    First of all, what does individualized teaching mean? It's the concept that students will learn most effectively when the activity is specific to their needs and the language they are using is appropriate for their level. This concept is sometimes seen in opposition to coursebooks and class-based learning, where students are all expected to follow the same syllabus. However, class syllabuses and coursebooks have the following benefits:

    • Providing students with common goalsÌý
    • Encouraging learners to follow an unfamiliar topic that then opens new doors of learning
    • The learning opportunities in peer-to-peer explanationÌý

    When we talk about individualized teaching in the classroom, we want to exploit the benefits of learning together while also providing opportunities for more individualized development. So, how can you, as a teacher, combine the two approaches?

    1. Involve students in choosing your route

    All classroom groups are different and made up of people from different age groups with distinct needs and interests. Roadmap can help in two ways:

    1. There is a fast and slow track. The fast track focuses on language input and speaking. The slow track has additional skills lessons at the back of the book that are thematically linked to the corresponding fast track lesson.Ìý
    2. Each lesson has a clear goal and final task. For shorter courses, get each student to choose three tasks they would definitely like to do. Based on the results, you can prioritize those lessons.

    At the start of the course, make a point of asking about students' learning priorities and then plan accordingly. Once you've completed an input and speaking lesson, you can ask the students if they want to further explore the topic through the skills lesson.

    2. Make use of tasks

    Open tasks, where students exchange their own ideas in a meaningful way, are a key part of individualized lessons. In essence, they are self-differentiating because each student will attempt to complete the task using whatever language they are able to use. In Roadmap, each of the main lessons ends with a clear task connected to a Global Scale of English (GSE) can-do statement. However, there are also lots of other speaking opportunities without a 'speaking' label (under vocabulary or reading, etc.), as well as the conversation that typically occurs in any lesson, all of which can be treated as open tasks.

    3. Give individualized feedback and then share it

    In a group setting, it's impossible to give individual feedback on every single task. However, you can give individual attention to different people throughout the lesson. Make yourself available to give students the language they need as it arises during an activity. Then, when they've completed the task, write some of these examples on the board, but leave a gap for the keywords. Elicit these keywords from other members of the class. If they can't get it, ask the student(s) you helped to explain the missing language. You might then repeat the task, but this time, pay attention to a new group.Ìý

    4. Check what vocabulary students know

    All coursebook writers and teachers make choices about what vocabulary to introduce to students. In the case of Roadmap we are guided by the GSE and teachers might like to experiment themselves using the GSE Teacher Toolkit. However, all students will have their own lexicons. You can individualize learning better by asking students to rate the words you aim to cover in a unit according to whether they know them or not. For example, 1 = it's completely new, 2 = the meaning is familiar but I don't use it, 3 = this is part of my productive vocabulary.Ìý

    5. Get students to create their own word lists and cards

    This knowledge will enable you to encourage students to focus on their individual vocabulary needs. They can reinforce learning by developing a word list or making flashcards using a web tool such as Quizlet. For new words they may have a word/collocation with an L1 translation.

    With familiar vocabulary, they could have cards with a keyword on one side and varied collocations or common examples on the other (also in English). It's worth setting aside some time in class to do this at the start of a course. If your students are engaged and motivated, it can become a regular discipline for learning new vocabulary.Ìý

    6. Ask more open questions about usage, not just meaning

    When we do vocabulary tasks from the course material in class, we can use open questions to individualize learning with the following two techniques. Firstly, as you go through the answers, rather than going in order 1 to 8, you can nominate people to give the answer that they're most unsure of and want to check. Secondly, we can ask the rest of the class open questions which focus on how words are used. For example, take these questions from different vocabulary exercises in Roadmap B1+:

    • What (other) things might you spill?
    • Why might a character in a series be killed off?
    • What (else) can you describe as reliable?
    • What can someone do to stay calm?Ìý

    You could also ask questions such as, "What's the opposite of staying calm?" or "What might you say if you spilled something?"

    When you ask these questions, you are checking meaning, but more importantly, you are also pushing students to reveal how well they know a word. Do they know the collocations of spill and reliable? Do they have the other language they might need to talk about the aspects of a TV series or help someone who is in a panic? You can then encourage students to choose how much of this potentially new language they want to add to their word lists.

    7. Provide open homework tasks and make time to share the results

    Homework is another opportunity to individualize learning. Give students a wide choice of tasks based on the material of the course or beyond, for example:

    • Choose any number of exercises they want to do from workbook materialÌý
    • Find and read one article they are interested in (in L1 or L2)
    • Write five things they want to learn how to say in English (perhaps using Google Translate)
    • Write up an interesting conversation they had in English (the conversation could be originally in L1 or L2)

    Whatever task they choose, the key is to dedicate some classroom time to discussing which homework task they did and why. Encourage them to explain their answers and what they learned through the task, and whether or not they would choose to do a similar task again.ÌýÌý

    For a more detailed introduction on how you can individualize your teaching, check out Andrew's webinar:Ìý