Cool Reading Games for Kids

Act It Out

• For kids who have a lot of energy or are kinesthetic learners, acting out what they are reading can help them appreciate the story more. Try this game with long chunks of dialogue in a story, especially those that contain a lot of drama or emotion. Give each child a character from the story, and have them read aloud the lines assigned to that character. (You may want to include a narrator as well, making sure that the narrator is a strong reader.) At the most exciting parts of the dialogue, suddenly call out "Freeze!" and then reassign the parts so that each kid is a different character.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

• This reading game has been around for generations, and it has been loved as much as its culinary namesake. Kids take turns reading in pairs, replacing every word that begins with an "s" with "spaghetti" and every word that begins with an "m" with "meatballs." For example, the sentence "Matt sent his mother a present" would be read "Meatballs spaghetti his meatballs a present." The other partner listens, trying to catch the reader missing a "spaghetti" or a "meatballs." When the reader does, the listener gets a turn to read.

Feeling and Apathy

• This fun game helps kids practice reading fluently with emotion, but lets them have fun while doing it. Teach kids the meaning of the word "apathy," which means lack of emotion. Have kids practice reading a sentence with apathy (in a monotone). Then let kids take turns reading passages in pairs while you call out randomly "Feeling!" or "Apathy!" After you call out "Feeling!" kids should read with a lot of feeling, really overdoing it if possible. After you call out "Apathy!" kids should switch to reading in a monotone. Plenty of giggles will accompany this reading fest, and kids will enjoy listening to their partner turning the emotions on and off like a faucet.