COVID-19 temporarily changed how we live our daily lives, in particular how we educate our youth. Most schools have gone to a “long-distant”, digital format to continue providing instruction and practice for students to continue their formal education. Students have more time to read and should be making this a top priority. This is one of the most important educational practices a student can do during this time. Students should be reading novels or books that have longer story lines. Students should be reading books closer to their reading ability. Many educational sites are offering free downloads of novels for students to read. Most school sites also have books that can be downloaded or read on-line. Students who are not used to reading written words on electronic devices may struggle at reading and processing the written words. So, this may make the process of reading and comprehending written words slower than normal.
The following options are possible exercises that students can do at home to increase reading achievement. Most of these options can be used with either non-fiction or fiction books. These practices usually increase student knowledge and cognition. The exercise of reading continues to strengthen and develop brain connections that increase student literacy abilities. These “brain muscles” should have regular exercise.
- Keep a journal about what they have read each day or time they read.
This journal can include pictures that convey a character or passage of what they have read. - Write a summary of each chapter, four to eight sentences. Writing a paragraph that has a topic sentence followed by detail sentences or sentences that describe the details of the chapter, and a conclusion sentence about the chapter.
- Write a summary of the book. This summary should include details about the beginning, middle, and end. The amount of details that should be included in the summary will be different at each stage of the maturation process. Students can also include details about the major characters and pictures about the different settings and characters, etc.
- Draw a picture of your favorite character(s). Students should include four or
five colors to express the character. The process is especially helpful for younger students. I have taught many older students who also enjoy this process. Older students should be held accountable for writing about the picture. I often have students write a paragraph. - Described the main character(s). Students might describe what they look like, what the character(s)enjoy, what they don’t like, and how the character(s) spend their time.
- Described the setting of the story. Students might describe one setting or several settings of a novel. Students might include pictures and written words to describe the setting of the story. Some of the information displayed by the students may be inferred information. This means that each written description or picture may be different, as we all have different backgrounds of knowledge.
- Draw a picture of the setting or favorite scene in the book.
- Describe the problem or climax of the book. This is something that not every student can grasp, some may need discussion to fully comprehend or pinpoint the problem or climax of the book.
- Face-time (or contact through an electronic device) a relative, classmate, or friend to describe the plot of the story, character, chapter, etc.
- Buddy read; this can be accomplished in different formats. Younger students can read aloud to higher level siblings, older students can read aloud to
younger students. Students can read the same book, using an electronic device or a phone. - Read to a pet. Most students love to read to a pet.
- Read aloud to self. This engages the hearing and well as the visual senses to process the written words. This is especially helpful to early or struggling readers.
- Discuss what your reading with a classmate, parent, friend, or relative. This may need to take place using an electronic device.
- Read with a parent. The student and parent take turns reading. They might read either every other line of a story, read every other paragraph of the story, or read every other page of the story. The format is usually dependent on student ability. I prefer reading every other paragraph.
- Develop a 3-D model of your favorite setting or part of the book. The 3-D
model can be made of play-dough, clay, wood, tin foil, beans, paper, or anything that you may have on hand.
Enjoy this time to read and explore, travel through books!
