Can I tell you a secret? I don’t love reading. The idea of curling up with a book on the weekend is not enticing to me. When I think back, I have some books that I enjoyed but don’t have great memories of reading. That is something that I don’t want my students to experience. So making reading fun and helping my students fall in love with reading is high on my list. If this is one of your goals too, you’re in luck! Today I’m sharing some of my favorite reading activities that will make reading fun and have your kids begging for more!

Why Cultivating a Love of Reading Matters

When I look at my role as a teacher one of the things I strive to do is help my students develop a love for reading. I don’t really love to read myself, and I wish I did. I think that all that mandatory law school reading just did me in! But, in all honesty. . . I don’t remember loving to read even as a kid. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, a good book and I can enjoy some quiet time together. While I will occasionally pick up a good book, audiobooks are one of my most favorite things. I do love a good book and I want my students to love them too!

And. . . I know that when my students enjoy something they are more likely to do it. Being a strong reader will serve our students well and the only way to become one is by doing it! So if I can help them reap all the benefits of being a strong reader by making reading fun then I am all in!

Being Intentional to Make Reading Activities Fun

So how do we make reading activities more fun? As a teacher, I am always looking for and thinking of ways to make reading fun, as I’m sure you are too! I want even my struggling readers to be able to pick up a book and love interacting with it at their level. 

So my goal is to make reading fun. I want to show my students that reading doesn’t have to be a serious, silent activity, where you sit up straight at your uncomfortable desk and read without making a noise or movement until the teacher says stop. On that note, maybe I am unearthing why I don’t like to read. This is what I remember from my elementary days! I also want them to know that reading isn’t just something we do at school.

I don’t want to assign endless reading logs for homework or expect students to read boring books that don’t interest them. We all know that just isn’t going to work. No way, no how! So instead, let’s talk about some exciting reading activities and ideas that are simple and easy to add to your classroom routine and will help foster that love of books too!

5 Reading Activities That Will Make Reading Run and Have Your Students Begging for More!

1.  Use Super Cool Reading Glasses

Last summer while on vacation we stopped at the cutest little shopping area in Santa Fe to stretch our legs for a while. While walking around I ran across this bucket of really cute kids plastic glasses. Some looked like glasses Batgirl or Catwoman would wear, some had peace signs on them, and my favorite spelled out COOL.  I used these as an incentive for learning the proper way to use “Read to Self”, our independent reading routine. I told my kids that when I saw them doing Read to Self the right way for 3 days in a row I had a surprise to add to Read to Self. Well, you better believe it only took 3 days and I got to bring out the Super Cool Reading Glasses.  Nothing like a little motivation to help those kiddos focus.

These silly glasses made any reading activity more fun, but they were so beneficial for Read to Self! They met all of my expectations for this silent reading time and tended to stay more focused too! I’ll call that a win. Not to mention, the kids loved reading with the glasses, so we kept them as part of our independent reading routine for the rest of the year!

2. Use Buddies During Reading Activities

A couple months after introducing the glasses during our reading activities it was time to add something new that would add some fun to our room. Reading Buddies to the rescue! Now I was not ready to add “Read With Someone” to our routine, so I had to find some quieter alternatives. Our reading buddies are stuffed animals, many of which are characters from some of our favorite books! Students can pick a reading buddy and read with them or to them.  I just loved seeing my future teachers hold up their books and read aloud to their stuffed animals the same way I read aloud in class. 

These are also great to use during your small group reading activities or even literacy centers. Simply have your students each choose a reading buddy to cart along with them. I’ve found that having a stuffed animal in their lap while they work helps some students fidget less and gain deeper focus. It seems counterintuitive but it really works!

Where to Find Reading Buddies

While any stuffed animal can be a reading buddy, my favorite buddies are the ones that come from books that we read. Where do you find these you ask? Well, I love the Scholastic Teacher/Reward Catalog from Scholastic Book Clubs.  I use some of my points to get them for FREE!

I also love watching Kohl’s. They have a program called Kohl’s Cares where they usually have at least 1 children’s book and a character stuffed animal for $5 each. All of the profits support kids’ education and health initiatives across the U.S. First, I am sure that you know that $5 for a stuffed animal is a good price. Now let me tell you that these are some of the softest and well made stuffed animals I have ever seen!  If you don’t have a Kohl’s nearby you can also buy them online!

3. Thematic Reading Activities

Do you use thematic teaching in your room? If so, consider tying your classroom theme to your reading activities to up the fun factor! This can be as simple as choosing a read-aloud and some activities that relate to the theme, season, or holiday of study. I like to visit the public library to find books that my students are less likely to have read. Bonus points if there are big, colorful pictures in them too! I tend to use books along with cross-curricular teaching in this case to fully tie a theme together. We might start with some picture books and read-alouds, then move on to emergent readers. It’s a great way to connect vocabulary and reading to what we are learning in the other subject areas on the same topic.

And if you’re looking for a really fun activity, try having a monthly “Book Day” where you dress up to align with a specific book you’ve been reading and do activities or character reports that relate to it. You can have older students do their own character reports, or work on one together as a class for younger students. Either way, this idea is always a hit! One of the ways I like to really knock this idea out of the park is by adding a “just for fun” activity to go along with the book. It might be making an apple pie after reading this book, watching the movie version of The Polar Express, or planting pumpkins after studying them in depth!

4. Read Alouds

I know you surely already use read-alouds in your room but have you ever tried reading from books that are a few reading levels above your students’ current level? Kids’ auditory comprehension level is usually higher than their reading level. So tap into this and help them get excited about stories and characters that they might not be able to read on their own.

Choosing a chapter book to read little by little, or even having students sit back and listen to an audiobook can be a lot of fun! This will, of course, vary by age group and reading level, but this is such a fun reading activity to add to your routine!

Chapter Books for Younger Students

If you do this, I highly recommend using some variety in your book choices. The Magic Tree House books are great for young students who are just getting started with reading activities. The mystical, magical tales inside these small chapter books are sure to get your kids excited to listen! Students will love listening to stories of time travel throughout history and all over the world. Each book is an absolute adventure! Not to mention, there are TONS of these books, so you can easily find topics to fit just about any theme. Work your way through the jungle, fly with dinosaurs, and even travel back in time to ancient Egypt!

Chapter Books for Upper Elementary Students

For older students, I like to read book one of a series. This introduces them to the characters and storyline and leaves them wanting more. More often than not, the rest of the series is added to their reading list throughout the year. Some of my students’ favorites have been The 39 Clues Series, The Percy Jackson series, and The Boxcar Children. I also liked to expose them to different genres that might not think they would like. A good historical fiction or sci-fi book can open up a whole new world.

5. Reading Activities in the Dark

Last on my list of fun reading activities, and a class favorite, is reading in the dark!  Earlier in the year I saw my very first finger light and reading in the dark was born.  Students grabbed their book boxes and a finger light and found a comfy spot.  I closed the blinds and turned off the lights and we began to read! 

Let me tell you, what happened next was absolutely magical. My classroom was never so quiet as it was during reading in the dark! Reading in the Dark also became our go-to plan on stormy days if the electricity were to go out or we were stuck inside. If that’s not making lemonade out of lemons, I don’t know what it is!

But best of all, Reading in the Dark was something my kids really enjoyed! They were all so excited to get cozy and settle down with a good book! If you’re looking for something different, definitely give this one a try!

Make Reading Fun!

I hope you found some new ideas to use in your classroom to make reading fun! I know that some of these ideas might be much more accepted by lower grades. However, I also know that my third graders would have loved many of these activities too, so even if they seem a little silly – remember those kids are still kids! Fun reading lights, thematic reading activities, and dress-up days, as well as read-alouds, are likely to be a hit with the older kids too. Get creative, step outside the box, and have fun mixing up your reading activities too.

Save These Reading Activities

Pin this post on Pinterest to save these fun reading activities. Then come back when you need new ideas to make reading fun!