Reading-Related Activities

After we read to children, it is important to start a conversation about the book.  By making personal connections to a book, the children will become better engaged, curious, and connected with a story.  Children who talk about the stories understand the stories better.

Below is a list of Ready Readers’ all-time five favorite reading-related activities. These are 2-4 minute activities that will enhance your reading experience with the preschool children.  

Help us add your best reading-related activity ideas to the site! Email Lisa Greening at lisa@readyreaders-stlouis.com or join the Volunteer at Ready Readers Facebook Page.

1.     Start a conversation. 

Before reading a book, ask the children to predict the storyline.  After finishing the story, have a dialogue with the children about the story. Great dialogue starters may include: 

• “Why do you think the character did…?” 
• “Have you ever…?”
• “What if…?”

For more information about great conversations to have with children when reading aloud, we recommend the book, Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

2.     Watch snow melt. 

Susan Darcy, one of our veteran readers, presented a workshop last year about her top ten favorite books and reading-related activities.  Click here for Sue’s top ten books.

Sue’s favorite book, Snowballs by Lois Ehlert, is also one of our favorites! Sue wrote: “This story seems so simple on the surface but has many wonderful concepts.   It is about building a snow family on a snowy day…but then the sun comes out and they melt away…and they weren’t really made of snow anyway!

Sue’s reading-related activity:  “I wait until it snows to read this book.  I bring in a snow ball and put it on a plate while I read the story.  The children get to watch the snowball melt and become water.  I also bring in a small hand mirror and have them breathe on it so they can see “steam”.  The end of this book also has some real photos of snow people in case the younger children have never seen a snowman.  A few pages from the end is a page with all the items used to make the snow family.   I have the children guess which item belongs to each snow person.  The “plus” book that I use along with Snowballs is Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick.   This is another sweet snowman story with photographs instead of illustrations.”

3.     Move, move, move. 

Preschool children love to dance, jiggle and move around.  After reading From Head to Toe by Eric Carle, have the children stand and act out the story while you reread it.  Read books like the Itsy Bitsy Spider or Wheels on the Bus and then sing the song with the hand motions.

 4.     All about fruit. 

Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Discuss the names of the fruits in the book.  Bring in a fresh apple, plum, orange, pear, and strawberry.  Pass the fruits around so that the children can touch them.  Ask the children to stand if their favorite fruit is an apple, then stand if their favorite fruit is a plum, etc. until all are standing.  Continue the lesson by reading, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.

5.     Alphabet Fun. 

After reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, sing the alphabet song together as a group.  Another favorite alphabet book is ABC T-Rex.  After reading ABC T-Rex, veteran volunteer reader Debbie Keenan, gave each child a small magnetic letter of the alphabet, and when she said the letter the child stood and repeated the letter.  This is a great way for children to really feel and manipulate letters.