homework ideas for reading

13 Fun Reading Activities for Any Book

Whether you walk into a classroom in Asia, North America or Europe, you will almost certainly see teachers and students building their understanding of the world through a dedicated daily reading session full of great reading activities.

Books allow students an opportunity to be informed, entertained or escape as they comprehend fiction and non-fiction texts against their understanding of the world, their personal insights, and opinions and finally compare those texts to others.

Whilst you may have a wealth of books in your school library, developing fresh and engaging ways to study literature can often be challenging.  So today, we will explore 25 proven activities that can be applied to any book and at any age level.

These reading activities to improve reading comprehension are easy to follow and suitable for most age groups within an elementary/junior high school level.

125 Text Response ACTIVITIES, Games, Projects for ANY BOOK

This massive collection of ☀️ READING ACTIVITIES☀️ covers all essential reading skills for elementary/primary students. NO PREP REQUIRED! Works with all text and media types.

Thousands of teachers have adopted this as a GO-TO RESOURCE for independent and group tasks.

A COLLECTION OF FUN READING ACTIVITIES

A lifetime tale in pictures reading task.

Draw the main character from a book you have recently read.  Show them as a baby, middle-aged and an older person.

Underneath each picture, write what you think they might be doing at that point in their life, and explain why they may be doing so.

For example, if you drew Harry Potter as a baby, he might cast spells on his mum to feed him lots of yummy food.

Post-reading activities like this are accessible for all age groups to adapt their skill level and text style.

If you want to learn more about characters, read our complete guide here.

TEXT TO SELF-READING TASK

Based upon a book you have just read, share a  story about yourself related to an event or character in the book.

It is probably best done in the form of a written recount. Link your experience to no more than four situations that occurred within the text.

Text to self is an excellent opportunity for students to become introspective about the content they read and compare it to their own life experiences. 

This activity is appealing to teenagers more so than juniors .

IT’S IN THE INSTRUCTIONS READING TASK

From a book you have just read, select either a critical object or creature and create a user manual or a guide explaining how to care for it.

Ensure you use any vital information learnt from the book and any other information you consider essential.

If you are writing a user manual for an object, remember to focus on using it correctly and taking care of it.

If you are writing a user guide for an animal or creature, focus on keeping it alive and healthy as well as information that explains how to keep it happy and under control if necessary.

Dear Diary, READING TASK

Place yourself in the shoes of one of the characters you have just read about and write a diary entry of a critical moment from the story.

Try to choose a moment in the story where the character has plenty of interaction and emotion to share in a diary entry.

Your diary entry should be around a page long and contain information you learned from the book when the character was in that specific place and time.

Remember, when writing a diary entry, you are writing it from a first-person perspective. It is usually but not always written in the present tense.

Diary writing has been a very popular activity throughout time, but social media tools such as Facebook and blogging have in some ways changed this.

Mapping it all out, READING TASK

How do you make reading lessons fun? This reading activity answers that question confidently.

Have a go at drawing a map of one of the places from the text you have just read. See how much detail you can include, and be sure to discuss your map with another reader so you can compare and add more if necessary.

Take some time and effort to ensure your map appeals to the same audience the book aims at.

All good maps should contain the following BOLTS elements.

B – Bolts

O – Orientation

L – Legend

S – Scale

Express Yourself READING TASK

Using an iPad or a digital camera, make faces of the emotions the main characters would have gone through in your book and take photos of them. 

Put them together in a document on your computer or device and explain the emotion below the image and when the character would have felt this way.

This is an excellent opportunity to use some creative direction for this task.

Be sure to play around with the images, filters and graphical styling available.

Travel Agent READING TASK

Think of yourselves as a group of travel assistants whose job is to promote a  city of your choice from the text you have been reading.

As a group, you need to develop a concept map of all the exciting things that happen in your city and then present it to the class.

Don’t forget all of the exciting things such as theatres, restaurants, sports, adventure activities, entertainment and much more…

If you are a little short on details of the location of your story, do some research if it was an actual location or just get creative and make up some locations and tourist attractions based on what you read.

You’re Hired READING TASK

Select a character from a book and consider what might be an excellent job for them. You can choose something entirely suitable such as a security guard job for Superman or a more oddball approach, such as a pastry chef.

Either way, you will have to write a letter from this character’s perspective and apply for a position.

Be sure to explain why your character would be a great employee and what special skills they would possess to make them ideal for the role. Sell your character by explaining all the great attributes they possess.

What’s the Status? READING TASK

Create a Facebook page for your character with some status updates about what they have been up to.

Include some pictures and ensure your status updates are relevant to the character and the story.

Around 3 – 4 status updates with mages should give an overall picture of the character.

Use your status updates to explore what your character does for a job, leisure time, places they might go on vacation and the like.

Bubbles and Clouds READING TASK

Using speech bubbles and pictures of the characters, draw a conversation between two characters from the story you have read.

Remember, thought is drawn as a cloud, and a spoken statement is drawn as a  bubble.

Be sure to look at some comics or graphic novels for inspiration and insights.

This activity is usually best done on pen and paper, but numerous digital apps and tools will allow you to make this a reality through technology.

Amazing Artifacts READING TASK

An artifact is an object that has some significance or meaning behind it. Sometimes, an artefact might even have a very important story behind it.  I am sure you have a favorite toy, or your parents have a particular item in the house that they would consider an important artifact.

For today’s task, you will select five artifacts from the text you have been reading and explain what makes them significant or essential.

They don’t all have to be super important to the story, but I am sure that at least a couple played a significant role.

Be sure to draw a picture of the artifact and if necessary, label it.

FREE READING ACTIVITIES RESOURCE TO DOWNLOAD

Thinking Differently READING TASK

Choose three important events from the text and explain how you would have handled them differently from the characters in the story.

Explain how it may have changed the story’s outcome in either a minor or significant way.

Be insightful here and think of the cause and effect.  Sometimes your smallest action can have a significant impact on others.

Popplet Mind Mapping Task

Popplet is a mind mapping tool that allows you to connect ideas together using images, text and drawings.

From a text, you have recently read, create a family tree or network diagram that explains the relationship the characters have with each other.

Some may be father and son, husband and wife or even arch enemies.

Try and lay it out so it is easy to follow.

You Have Three Wishes READING TASK

A genie lands at the midpoint of the story you have just read and grants the two main characters three wishes.

What do they wish for and why?

Finally, would their wishes have changed anything about the story?  How so?

Again think about the cause and effect relationship and how this may have altered the path of the book you have been reading.

A COMPLETE DIGITAL READING UNIT FOR STUDENTS

Over 30 engaging activities for students to complete BEFORE, DURING and AFTER reading ANY BOOK

• Compatible with all devices and digital platforms, including GOOGLE CLASSROOM.
• Fun, Engaging, Open-Ended INDEPENDENT tasks.
• 20+ 5-Star Ratings ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MORE GREAT ARTICLES WITH READING ACTIVITIES

Top 7 Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students and Teachers

How to teach Guided Reading: Teaching Strategies and Activities

Identifying the main idea of the story: A Guide for Students and Teachers

Teaching Cause and Effect in Reading and Writing

Graphic Organizers for Writing and Reading

Top 7 Tips for Teaching Guided Reading in Large Classes

5 Reasons You Need a Digital Reading Diary In 2023

• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

20+ creative alternative homework ideas for teachers

When giving homework, it must always be based on learning goals your students have to reach, just like in your lessons. But it’s sad to see that lots of teachers are using homework as extra lesson time. Of course, as a teacher, you’re on a clock. But that doesn’t mean your students have to suffer from it and keep working on those boring textbooks and worksheets at home.

Consider goals like attitudes, real-life experiences, and practice, physical exercise, social encounters, creative solutions, and philanthropy as crucial as your lesson goals. These are things students don’t just pick up in your classroom. These are things they pick up in life.

In this blog post, I’ll give you some innovative homework ideas that will engage your students more. These alternatives to traditional homework will thereby also teach your students new things that can’t be taught in the classroom. You will find a variety of homework ideas: online and offline.

I will mention homework alternatives for primary school and high school. Some of these ideas can be changed a little bit, so they are the perfect fit for the right audience.

20 Creative homework ideas

You can divide homework tasks into the following themes or categories:

• Crafts & arts
• Outdoor activities & outings
• Games and activities
• Physical activities
• Digital or computer activities
• Philanthropy & social work

💡 Good to know : all the ready-to-use homework activities are created with BookWidgets . You can easily create activities like these yourself or duplicate an activity below for free, edit it if needed, and share it with your students. You can do so in the examples separately, or you can find all the homework examples in the BookWidgets Blog group folder .

Crafts and arts homework

1. prepare a dish from a recipe book.

2. Make a board game

3. Create a birdhouse

4. Transform a fictional book character into a hand puppet

Outdoor homework activities and outings

5. coupon game.

Students can also go grocery shopping with their parents. Here, they have to read the ingredients of the products and help their parents choose the healthiest products for the best prices, figure out the best deal between the sizes of items, …

6. Visit the zoo

7. Visit the local dumping ground or container park

8. Build a tree house

Games and activities as homework

9. bookwidgets games.

10. Minecraft

11. Play Cards

12. Play Zoo Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon

Physical homework activities

13. rope skipping.

Many rope-skipping songs let your students do different tricks while rope-skipping. This is an excellent opportunity for homework as well. Ask your students to transform a rope skipping song into a song with lesson content. Let them count or spell or even sum up the different states or capitals. To engage their lifestyles even harder, you can additionally give them the assignment to create a TikTok in which they are jumping and singing.

Click here to see how you can get Tiktok more involved in the classroom.

14. Walking quest

If there aren’t any walking quests in the neighborhood, you could ask your students to create a walking quest like this for their fellow students. What a fun day it will be!

15. Obstacle Quiz

In order for students to answer the questions, they have to run and pass a challenging parkour. This is a fun homework exercise, and in the end, it’s a great lesson starter or lesson end.

16. Swimming games

After the activity, they can fill out an Exit Slip:

Digital or computer homework activities

17. create a picture album.

This teaches them to handle the online software, add pictures and write without spelling mistakes. And of course, creating memories is so much fun!

18. Video job application

19. Your life in 10 minutes - video

20. Email pen-pals

Is it still too complicated? Read the messages from your students, before they send them, and provide them with some feedback.

Philanthropy and social homework

21. grow a community garden.

22. Help in a retirement home

23. Help at a homeless shelter

24. Collect litter

Here’s another homework tip: Don’t call homework “homework”. Call it a challenge. Homework has become a negative word for students, and I bet they start rolling their eyes as you even mention the word.

Still looking for more inspiration? Check out the blog on short films and lesson activities that spice up your Google Classroom . Tip: even if you don’t use Google Classroom, there is a lot of inspiration back here.

Above you have read single assignments. But, you also have the option to involve your homework in a project. Find out more here .

So, as I mentioned earlier, there are many fun alternatives to traditional homework. Now it’s up to you to apply this in the classroom as well. In this folder , you will find all the examples you have come across.

Which idea do you or perhaps your students like the most? Let us know on Twitter . Of course, there are many more alternatives. If you have other ideas, you are always welcome to share it with other teachers in our Facebook group .

One more thing: don’t forget to say hi👋 on LikedIn .

Join hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and get the best content on technology in education.

BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

Filter Results

• clear all filters

Resource Type

•  Worksheets
• Guided Lessons
• Lesson Plans
• Hands-on Activities
• Interactive Stories
• Online Exercises
• Printable Workbooks
• Science Projects
• Song Videos

middle-school

•  Fine arts
•  Foreign language
•  Math
•  Early Literacy
•  Alphabet
•  Reading Comprehension Strategies
•  Reading Genres and Types
•  Writing
•  Grammar
•  Science
•  Social emotional
•  Social studies
•  Typing
•  Arts & crafts
•  Coloring
•  Holidays
•  Offline games
•  Pop Culture & Events
•  Seasonal
•  Teacher Resources
•  Common Core

Reading Worksheets and Printables

Reading worksheets by skill :.

Tips for Reading Practice

27 Fun Reading Activities To Try At Home or In The Classroom

Written by Ashley Crowe

Teachers and parents

Prodigy English is ready to explore! Get kids playing — and learning — today.

• Prodigy English

Fun reading activities for the classroom

Reading activities for parents & children, activities to try after reading, other educational activities to help kids learn.

Learning to read is a huge milestone in a child’s life. We all know how important a love of reading is for future learning. When children love to read, they can learn anything. 

Make sure your children keep the joy of reading alive by using fun reading activities along with traditional reading strategies .

These fun daily moments can improve reading skills and help reluctant readers find joy in the written word. We’ll be covering reading activities by grade level both for the classroom and at home, as well as some activities to improve reading comprehension after your students are reading independently. 

Though many children begin the basics of reading at home, most solidify their skills and become accomplished readers in the classroom. These activities keep early readers engaged and improving while helping reluctant readers master the basics. Here are our favorite ways to keep reading fun!

1. Find the secret word

Great for: Kindergarten to 2nd grade

Turn a reading lesson into a scavenger hunt! Give each student or pair of students a piece of text, then speak the first secret word. Once they find it, have them circle it in a specific color, or circle and number, then report back to you for word #2. 

Keep this word search up for as long as you like — we recommend choosing about 8 to 10 words for students to find. It’s one part competition, one part scavenger hunt! Choose a prize for each team to receive when they complete the activity. Or celebrate everyone reaching the end with a classroom dance party! It’s a great way to keep your kids moving and learning.

2. Read aloud as a class

Great for: All grades

Kids are never too old to hear a story read aloud. Reading aloud as a class is a great way to keep kids engrossed in a story. Since you are most familiar with the text, you can keep the flow going during the dramatic moments. Then hand it off to your students to take their turns.

Want to add a new element to your classroom read-aloud? Pass around a ball or stuffed animal to indicate the next reader. It’s a variation of popcorn reading to help minimize reading anxiety, and it gives kids the power to pass it on after spending a short time reading. 

3. Partner reading

Great for: 1st to 3rd grade

Sometimes trying to get the whole class to read together is just too much. To encourage more reading time, pair up your students for partner reading. 

During partner reading, each child will get more time to practice their skills. And being corrected privately by one friend may be better for a struggling reader’s confidence. Try to pair a confident but patient reader with those who need some extra help and watch them both learn to succeed.

4. Find the synonym

Great for: 2nd to 5th grade

Once your readers are feeling more confident, take our scavenger hunt game mentioned above and add a new twist. 

Instead of searching for the exact spoken words on your list, give students the challenge to find the word’s synonym in the text. It’s a great way to keep the game challenging for older students.

5. Word searches

For younger students, a word search is a challenging way to encourage early reading. You can do this much like our scavenger hunt-style games, but instead of saying the words aloud, provide a list. 

They can search for one word at a time, with you providing the next word to the team once the first is found. Or provide a full list from the beginning and let them work individually. Add in some color matching (marking the word in the same color as printed on the list) to keep this game fun and engaging.

6. Keyword bingo

Looking for a calmer alternative to the secret word game? Have each child work individually in a game of reading bingo. Choose a grade-level text and compile a list of words found in the passage. 

Read each word aloud, giving about 15 seconds before moving on to the next. It’s a race against your clock to find the words, or they can try to remember them while looking for the others. When they find the words, they can mark them out. Once the list is done, allow 20 more seconds to wrap up any remaining words, then pencils down and count. Whoever finds the most words, wins!

7. Decoding games

Decoding games focus on letter sounds and phonemic awareness. A favorite game for pre-readers is to say a letter and have students find an object that starts with that letter. As they bring the object back, reinforce the sound that letter makes.

Other decoding games can focus on the mechanics of reading — such as reading a word or sentence from left to right. This is a great time to utilize finger puppets, following along with a finger as you sound the words out together.

8. Thumbs up, thumbs down

Great for: Kindergarten to 5th grade

Thumbs up, thumbs down (or the higher energy variation — stand up, sit down) is a great game to keep your students engaged. 

Check reading comprehension when you ask students to give a thumbs up if a statement about a recently read story is true, or a thumbs down if it’s false. Help them grasp grammar concepts by having them stand up when you say an adjective word or sit down if you say a noun. 

It’s a fun way to keep their bodies and brains working. 

9. Discover the missing letter

When you’re teaching letter sounds, it’s fun to get creative. In this game, you’ll call your students to the front of the class by their names — minus the first letter. For example, Stacy becomes tacy and Roland becomes oland. Let the kids guess who you’re calling up, then have them decode the missing letter. 

You can do the same thing for objects, or drop middle letters for older children. Just be sure to prepare your words ahead of time to avoid any slip-ups!  

10. Guided reading ball game

Great for: 2nd to 7th grade

Grab a few beach balls from your local dollar store and get your classroom moving. Take a sharpie and write a discussion prompt on each colorful section of the ball. What is the setting? Who is the main character? What happened after…? 

Toss or roll the balls around. Students answer whichever question their thumb lands on when the ball heads their way. This is an exciting way to mix things up, practice reading comprehension and get kids thinking outside of their seats.

Not all reading happens in the classroom! Parents can play an active role in helping their children learn to read. Here are a few activities to try with your kids.

1. Reading together

Great for: All grades and ages

There’s something special about listening to a book being read out loud. It can capture your attention in a unique way. Whether your child is a baby or fully grown, it’s always a good time to read together.

Take turns reading chapters from a favorite story, or just read to your child. Enjoying good stories is a huge motivator in learning to read.  

2. Silly voices reading

Great for: Kindergarten to 4th grade

Kids love to laugh and joke, so play into this with a crazy story and silly voices. Get really high-pitched, speed it up like a chipmunk, and then pitch your voice low. 

Your kids will love seeing these stories come to life with your words, and you’ll all share a good laugh. To get them involved in the fun, ask them to do their own silly voice!

3. Dialogic reading

The word dialogic means to have a dialogue, and that’s exactly what this activity is designed to do. Instead of reading to your child while they passively listen, invite them into the story. Ask them what they think may happen next, or at the close of the book invite them to create a completely different ending. This is a great way to stretch your little storyteller’s imagination.

4. Reading outside

Kids thrive outdoors. They can run, climb, and dig in the dirt. Outside is also a great place to practice reading and letter writing. Invite your child to help you create words in a sandbox or take a stick and dig a letter into the dirt. 

Older kids can simply take their reading outside. It’s amazing how refreshing a change of setting can be. 

5. What word starts with…

Great for: Kindergarten to 1st grade

Letter sounds are an essential early reading tool. With this game, ask your child to think of words that start with “B” (or any other letter).

 Give an example, like b-b-butterfly, then think of more “B” words together. Choose your child’s favorite things to keep the game fun and exciting. Early readers especially love to talk about the letters in their names.

6. Try nonfiction

Great for: All ages

You never know what a child may love to read. Though many kids enjoy a good princess or dragon story, others will prefer non-fiction books. 

If your attempts at fiction are met with indifference, try a book about their favorite animal (sharks, dinosaurs, or lemurs are popular here), learn about space or strange weather events. Whatever your child is into, and whatever their reading level, there’s a book for them.

7. Create a “book nook”

A cozy spot dedicated to reading can add joy to the activity. Load up a corner or top bunk space with comfy pillows and blankets, make sure it has good lighting, and include some sticky notes and a dictionary. All your child needs to bring is their favorite book! Even better, snuggle in together and discover a new favorite with your child.

8. Who’s coming over?

This game can be played in a couple of different ways, and both are great for reading comprehension. First, try giving clues so your child can guess their favorite characters. These favorites can be from books or TV. You can mention physical characteristics, some of their best friends, or things that happen to them. Keep giving clues until they guess correctly.

The second way to play is to invite a favorite character over and then discuss what you’ll need for their visit. A special kind of bed, their favorite foods, or a place for their pet to stay are all things to consider. This is a fun way to create your own story around your child’s favorite characters.

9. Take turns reading

As your child begins to read you can invite them to read to you. Don’t push if they don’t want to, but as their confidence builds they’ll be excited to share their new skill with you. 

This may look like you both taking turns reading a new chapter book, or they may want to share all the creature descriptions from their favorite new computer game. No matter the topic, do your best to listen intently and congratulate them on their reading skills.  

10. What happens next?

Keep reading fun and active when you step outside the book and asking your child what happens next:

• What do they think will happen?
• What would you like to see happen? 
• What’s something funny that could happen?

Any question that gets them thinking through the story on their own is both fun and helpful for reading comprehension. 

11. Talk about the pictures

Pictures are a great way for kids to follow along with a story. When your child is beginning to read, have them look at the pictures and ask what they think is going on. As they unravel the story, point out the words they are discovering in the text. Or just let them enjoy creating their own unique version of the story based on the pictures. 

12. Try new reading apps and websites

There are some amazing reading apps for both reading instruction and digital reading libraries. If your child enjoys spending time on their tablet, give some of our favorite reading apps a try and watch them learn while they play.

After your child is reading on their own, there’s still plenty to learn. Reading isn’t effective if they’re struggling to understand the words on the page, or how they all fit together to create the story. Here are a few activities for children to practice reading comprehension.

1. Summarize the text

Once a child is done reading a text or section of a book, have them revisit the main ideas by highlighting or taking notes on the text’s biggest themes. Once students identify the main themes, ask them to break them down further and quickly summarize the story.

2. Book reports

Great for: 2nd to 12th grade

Book reports are a classic reading activity. Have the child analyze the book, highlighting the most important themes. Older children can present arguments pertaining to the story, and provide passages to support their theories. 

Keep book reports even more engaging when you invite kids to give a presentation, complete with dress-up and drama. 

3. Review the book

Ask children to rate their most recent reading. They can assign it a number of stars, but then they must also explain why. Was it too scary? Not funny? What were their favorite parts? What would they do differently?

Not only does this help students think critically about what they’ve just read, but it can also help parents and teacher identify what they might like reading next.

4. Extend the story

Great for: Kindergarten to 12th grade

“And they lived happily ever after…”

Maybe so, but what happened next? Ask your child to keep the story going. Where do they go next? Who do they meet? Favorite characters can continue adventuring when your child takes over the story. This is a great writing prompt , or just a fun dinner conversation!

5. How could it have been better?

Everyone has an opinion, so ask your child for theirs. How could this book or story have been better? Would a different ending be more fun? Or maybe they just think the main character should be named after them. 

No matter their critique, listen and discuss. Then encourage them to create their own tale.

How reading activities help kids embrace learning

Reading keeps kids learning for the rest of their lives. When a child can read, they can take more control over their education. And that’s a wonderful thing!

Fun activities are the best way to keep a child interested in the world of books. Learning to read can be a frustrating journey for some. Others may simply find it boring (especially if they’re being made to read about topics they care little about). These activities are designed to get kids moving and thinking beyond the page. Because when reading is fun, learning happens naturally.

When teaching starts to feel like a drag, or the kids are fighting their instruction, revisit this article. Mix in some fun activities and keep the learning going. Getting up, moving around, or enjoying a laugh together can help stimulate everyone’s mind. 

Looking for even more great learning activities to engage your kids? Here are some of our favorite activity posts for reading, math, and more!

• 21 Classroom Games
• 15 Geometry Activities
• 20 Exciting Math Games
• 30 Virtual School Activities
• 36 Fun Word Game for Kids
• 15 Free Multiplication Games
• 37 Quick Brain Breaks for Kids
• 27 Best Educational Games for Kids
• 25 Social-Emotional Learning Activities  

Get more ways to help kids love learning with Prodigy English , a brand-new learning adventure! Whether you're a parent or a teacher, create a free Prodigy account to access tools that help you support reading and language learning in the classroom or at home.

Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Inferences worksheets.

• Context Clues Worksheets
• Theme Worksheets

Main Idea Worksheets

• Reading Games

Summary Worksheets

• Online Tests
• Figurative Language Worksheets

Short Stories with Questions

• Nonfiction Passages
• Genre Worksheets

BECOME A MEMBER!

Here are a bunch of free reading comprehension worksheets. These will help students master reading skills. You can print, edit, or complete these worksheets online . Try the nonfiction or short story reading worksheets to cover general reading skills. Or focus on specific reading skills like making predictions .

Nonfiction Passages with Questions

• Story Structure Worksheets
• Characterization Worksheets
• Setting Worksheets

Making Predictions Worksheets

All Nonfiction Passages

All Short Stories

All Inferences Worksheets

All Main Idea Worksheets

All Theme Worksheets

All Story Structure Worksheets

All Characterization Worksheets

All Setting Worksheets

All Summary Worksheets

All Prediction Worksheets

324 Comments

Thank you soooo much for all of these great resources! Especially valuable for my ELL students.

gdugeugeuygh

This test makes no sense.

Blanca Portillo

Wow. I could not not agree more with all these positive comments people have posted on this wonderful website. I do thank whoever created such a great resource for teaching. I have been exploring and using the worksheets. Not only do I but also my students have found them pretty useful and meaningful. Best wishes. and Keep up the wonderful work.

Thank you so much for your material. This has been a lifesaver! I wish to improve my students’ reading skills and you have been helping so much!

Priscilla Araba Hagan

Awesome. This has become my go-to site for testing my students’ reading comprehension. Keep it up!

I love your website my kids benefit so much from everything you do! THANK YOU!!

Priscilla Hagan

This has been a great find. I love the stories and so do my students. I have particularly found the nondiction passages wonderful – the ones which appear in their reading books are often bland and not engaging – and so do my students. They’re learning so much and it’s stirring their curiosity to do their digging about the topics they most enjoy.

Since comprehension questions in our part of the world are not mcqs – they are usuallyquestions which require short answers – I usually dowload the passages and prepare my own questions, with maybe one or two mcqs from your question bank thrown in. Thus, my students cannot find answers and it makes them do the hard work of comprehending the passages.

I also underline some of the words and phrases and ask them to find words or phrases which mean the same and can replace them in the passage – that’s another important component of questions asked on reading comprehension passages in my part of the world, Ghana. Maybe those complaining about cheaters can use some of these strategies. They can also tweak the questions on this site to do away with cheating.

Mr. Morton, you’re amazing. Love, love this site. My students and I are the better for it.

Ayana Sanchez

Hello from Panama, this website has proven so helpful to help my students study for the TOEFL

Keshia Cabriole

Good Morning may we use the Redwoods and Arm Races Story for our study? I would like to say that the story and questionnaire will be a big help if you allow us to use your story to our study.

Of course. Best wishes!

Sahar Zaher

Greetings from Egypt….I’ve been using this site for the past 3 years, and it never failed to impress me and my students. It’s very resourceful and I use it on daily basis. Wherever the owner of this site is, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

You are so welcome! Thank you for using my site.

Honestly, I am writing this short message from the far lower corner of Africa,all the way from Namibia. Coming across this website has just proven to me that truly good people still exist in this world,as opposed to my traditional name which means “Good people are extinct.” I am so grateful to the person who shared all this helpful and precious information. May God continue to fill your heart and life with gifts overflowing upto an eternal fold. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I appreciate the kind words and hearing your story. I wish you the greatest possible success in all your endeavors.

Thank you so much for this. I am a 5/6 grader and I think my teachers will enjoy this too. I use this also over the summer so I can keep track of my smartness 🙂

Your website has been very helpful. I really appreciate all the material and worksheets you have available for free. Thank you!

gabriel simon

love your materials; like to be a member

Abeku Adams

Whoever you are behind this resource, know that you are a good person and I am grateful for making such superb materials available to us. I am in Ghana, West Africa. You’ve made life a lot easier. Do you have a button to which those who wish to make a small number of donations can go?

This website is supported by advertisements. No need for donations! But I am very happy that you like the site and took the time to comment. Best wishes!

Malik Radwan

These comprehensions were really helpful in studying It would be great if you would add poetry comprehensions too (the ones that ask for literary elements) Really thank you.

Do you mean poems with questions like these ?

Jornalyn N. Agapito

Thank you so much for this reading material. It was great help to my students to develop love in reading.

You’re such an amazing person! Thank you for sharing these materials. They helped me a lot as an ELA middle school teacher. May God bless you!

Excellent passages

I am looking for material for a 10-12 reading comprehension class. Your materials are great, but a lower interest level from HS students. Any suggestions for upper levels?

Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful worksheets!

JHANNET VELÁSQUEZ

EXCELLENT WEBSITE!

Excellent and the really valuable resource.

Delores J. Mayes

My students has searched and found the answer keys to these readings. I wish there was a way the teacher’s could sign in for the content and keep the cheaters from having the honest kids miss out on these readings. What has our world gone to. This is so sad that my students would copy answers word for word and expect to get a 100% as well as their parents. We are growing a nation of untruth and cheaters.

Yeah, that is pretty frustrating.

It’s tough to keep the content free and open while preventing students from finding the answers.

One thing that might help is downloading the .RTF file and editing the titles of the assignments. A persistent student will still be able to find the answers, but that may make it a little harder.

Also, remember, cheaters are only cheating themselves! And the system and everyone else too, but mainly themselves! Best wishes!

Hi Ma’am Dolores. That happened to me years ago during the MDL (modular distance learning) in our country, Philippines. You know what I did, I shorten my URLs and add number 1 at the end of it. This way, they can no longer trace my resources.

Alexandra Bardon

Thank you Mr. Morton for sharing! Your material is just what we need to keep students busy during lockdown. I really appreciate it. K. Bardon

Harbani Kaur

Thank you so much for sharing so much worksheets

This is a great website! thank you very much for sharing.

PASKARAN RAMAYA

Thank you very much Mr.Morton for providing such good reading texts . You have a big heart to share the resources without expecting nothing in return. I’m a teacher and it has been a great help to me in preparing reading materials for my students. Thank you!

Nusrat Jahan

I am pleased to get such a wonderful worksheet through this website.

love your website, thanks for caring and sharing your talents in many ways. the resources are quite helpful, and the games are invigorating

You, My Friend, have a guaranteed slot in heaven for sharing all of this amazing material.

I am a middle school remedial reading teacher and finding supplemental material for our students is always a challenge. Your content will be so helpful!

Thank you for your generosity. I have liked and am following your FB page, and I’ve already referred several of my teacher friends to check this out.

People like you make the world a better place.

I wish you all the success in the world, and hopefully some advertisers so you can start getting some money for all of this content.

Thank you for the kind words and the blessings. I wish you, as well, the greatest possible success.

Wonderful resources for teachers and learners.Express my heartfelt Thanks.

Great website could be a bit more specific on some stories and grade 4-8 is quite a gap

Übermom Fakoya

This is such a treasure trove, especially during this period of remote learning. To also offer these gems freely is great magnanimity on your part. I am grateful; thank you ever so much!

Do more worksheets for Grades 1-5.

Lawrence Fried

Hi. I use your material alot. Question: Regarding these Reading Comp worksheets, how to you level them at “grades 2-6”? Quite a gap!

I have neglected the earlier grades for a long. I am beginning anew at this website: worksheetland.com

Please join me.

it so excellent helpful for English language learning

Mary Levtzow

Thank you for sharing and caring about each child’s potential.

Excellent website!!!

Thank you for allowing some things to still be available without having to sign your life away first.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Author's Purpose Worksheets
• Conflict Worksheets
• Fact and Opinion Worksheets
• Figurative Language Activities
• Figurative Language Poems with Questions
• Genre Activities
• Irony Worksheets
• Making Predictions
• Mood Worksheets
• Nonfiction Passages and Functional Texts
• Parts of Speech Worksheets
• Poetic Devices
• Point of View Worksheets
• School Project Ideas
• Simile and Metaphor Worksheets
• Text Structure Worksheets
• Tone Worksheets
• ALL PAGES AND WORKSHEETS

Reading & Math for K-5

Kindergarten

• Learning numbers
• Comparing numbers
• Place Value
• Roman numerals
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Order of operations
• Drills & practice
• Measurement
• Factoring & prime factors
• Proportions
• Shape & geometry
• Data & graphing
• Word problems
• Children's stories
• Leveled Stories
• Sentences & passages

Context clues

Cause & effect

• Compare & contrast
• Fact vs. fiction
• Fact vs. opinion
• Main idea & details

Story elements

• Conclusions & inferences
• Sounds & phonics
• Words & vocabulary
• Reading comprehension
• Early writing
• Numbers & counting
• Simple math
• Social skills
• Other activities
• Dolch sight words
• Fry sight words
• Multiple meaning words
• Prefixes & suffixes
• Vocabulary cards
• Other parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Narrative writing
• Opinion writing
• Informative writing
• Cursive alphabet
• Cursive letters
• Cursive letter joins
• Cursive words
• Cursive sentences
• Cursive passages
• Grammar & Writing

Breadcrumbs

Download & Print Only $3.49

Reading Worksheets

Reading comprehension for k-5.

Our reading worksheets focus on building early reading skills and improving reading comprehension . They include phonics worksheets, early reading exercises (sentences, paragraphs), children's stories and worksheets focused on specific comprehension topics (main idea, sequencing, etc). Our children's stories all include their own comprehension exercises.

Reading worksheets by grade:

Leveled stories

Children's stories

Early reading:

Reading sentences & paragraphs

Reading comprehension topics:

Compare and contrast

Main idea & supporting details

Conclusions and inferences

Fact vs fiction

Fact vs opinion

Figurative language

What is K5?

K5 Learning offers free worksheets , flashcards  and inexpensive  workbooks  for kids in kindergarten to grade 5. Become a member  to access additional content and skip ads.

Our members helped us give away millions of worksheets last year.

We provide free educational materials to parents and teachers in over 100 countries. If you can, please consider purchasing a membership ($24/year) to support our efforts.

Members skip ads and access exclusive features.

Learn about member benefits

This content is available to members only.

Join K5 to save time, skip ads and access more content. Learn More

• Forgot Password?

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Creative Ways to Use Graphic Novels in the Classroom! 🎥

12 Ways To Boost 4th Grade Reading Comprehension

Make it fun, make it interesting.

By the time students reach the fourth grade, they have mastered the basics of phonics and decoding and are starting to dig deeper into understanding what they’re reading. It’s a great time to introduce learning strategies that will help them be lifelong readers. Here are a dozen ways to boost fourth grade reading comprehension.

1. Color-code your thinking

Taking notes and highlighting reading passages with color can help students differentiate, retain, and transfer knowledge as well as pay attention to critical information for meaningful learning. Teach your students to use colors to highlight passages as they read to help them identify features such as main idea, details and vocabulary words. Or use different colors to mark different sections of a graphic organizer.

Learn more: Think, Grow, Giggle

2. Try think-alouds

Another way to improve fourth grade comprehension is through think-alouds. While reading a text to students, share the questions and answers that are going through your mind. For example, “How does the story make you feel?”

Learn more: The Balanced Literacy Diet

3. Watch a story-elements rap video

You know how they say setting learning to music helps improve retention? Well, with this story-elements rap video, kids will find themselves chanting the chorus long after they watch it. And if rap’s not your thing, check out this list of Our Favorite YouTube Videos for Teaching Story Elements.

[contextly_auto_sidebar]

4. Play a round of reading comprehension Jenga

Who doesn’t love a rousing game of Jenga? The careful strategy in picking just the right block … the rush of successfully pulling out a block … the loud crash of the whole tower tumbling down! This classroom version is not only a blast, it helps boost reading comprehension skills. Score a used Jenga set at a garage sale or thrift store, then download this huge collection of fiction and nonfiction reading comprehension questions from Elementary Assessments.

Learn more: Remedia Publications

5. Beef up vocabulary skills

The more words a student knows, the greater their access to complex reading passages. Practice vocabulary skills in a fun way with these 20 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities . Draw vocabulary Sketchnotes , play Vocabulary Jeopardy, join the Million Dollar Word Club, and more.

6. Practice using context clues

Image source: Crafting Connections

It is vitally important for all students to be able to use context clues to determine the definitions of unknown words. This poster and lesson plan from Crafting Connections will give your students the strategies they need to be a word detective.

7. Find creative ways to respond to reading

Image source: An Educator’s Life

Gone are the days of the dreaded, old-fashioned, stand-in-front-of-the-class and read your boring book report. How about making a mint-tin book report? Or a book report cake? Or a mobile made from a clothes hanger or a paper bag book report? These are just a few of the Creative Ways Kids Can Respond to Books we’ve rounded up to get your students excited about reading.

8. Learn about close-reading strategies

Image source: D Lu on Pinterest

Close reading is defined as “an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means.” And research shows that teaching students how to close-read helps them become better readers. The trick is spicing it up so that students apply close-reading skills without getting bored. Here are Innovative Teacher Ideas for Teaching Close Reading.

9. Create anchor charts together

From marking a text to visualizing to understanding a character’s journey, we’ve got the fourth grade reading comprehension anchor charts for you! Choose from dozens of colorful samples for you to build along with your students during direct instruction time.

10. Introduce figurative language

Image source: YourDictionary.com 

Figurative language—things like metaphors, similes, and onomatopoeia—make reading more colorful and interesting. Understanding figurative language is a complex literacy skill that will stretch your students’ understanding. Center your lessons around these fantastic figurative language anchor charts .

11. Focus on theme

Image source: Upper Elementary Snapshots

To fully explore theme, students must be able to understand what they read and then extract ideas from the text. Here are essential tips for teaching theme in language arts .

12. Read between the lines

Learning to make inferences is a key literacy skill and something all good readers do. When students pause while they are reading to ask questions and make connections, it strengthens their comprehension. For more on this topic, visit Teaching With a Mountain View .

Looking for more ways to encourage fourth grade reading comprehension? Check out our list of 60 of the Best Books for 4th Grade .

Plus, get all the latest teaching tips and tricks by signing up for our newsletters .

You Might Also Like

36 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities for Every Grade

These activities are the definition of fun! Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Summer homework may start as early as elementary school, but you don’t have to do it the way it’s always been done! Veteran educators like third-grade teacher Alycia Zimmerman have spent time thinking about how to make summer homework meaningful and interesting enough that students buy in—and even want to do it.  

Read on for Zimmerman’s summer homework game plan and ideas for how to make summer assignments more fun for everyone.

1. Try a New Student Meet and Greet

If possible, meet your incoming students before summer break (even if it’s virtual!) to instill the importance of summer learning.

At the end of the school year, coordinate with the teachers of your incoming students to swap classes for a period. Introduce yourselves to your future students and build excitement for the fun and challenging learning ahead and the very “grown-up” summer homework you will assign.

“We’ve been far more successful in instilling the importance of our summer assignments when presenting about it face-to-face rather than just sending a packet of directions home cold,” says Zimmernan. “The students sit on the edges of their seats as we talk about the importance of summer reading and our certainty that they will do everything they can to 'keep their brains healthy, pink, and strong’ over the summer.”

2. Emphasize the Importance of Summer Reading

Talk about the best summer assignment of all: diving into books!

Reading should be a treat, not a menial assignment, so Zimmerman doesn’t feel guilty about making reading the bulk of her summer homework. Here are some of her most effective strategies for promoting summer reading:

Have students fill out a log  to keep track of the books and other texts they read over the summer. It isn’t necessary to require a certain number of books or specific titles. Simply ask that they find books they love and spend lots of time reading them.

Have your current students write book reviews of their favorite titles to send home with your rising students. Invite your current students to serve as reading ambassadors and speak to the younger students about the importance and joys of reading. When coming from slightly older peers, the message is very well received.

And of course: Sign your students up for the Scholastic Summer Reading Program ! From May 9 to August 19, your students can visit Scholastic Home Base to participate in the free, fun, and safe  summer reading program . As part of the program, kids can read e-books, attend author events, and keep Reading Streaks™ to help unlock a donation of 100K books from Scholastic – distributed to kids with limited or no access to books by Save the Children. 

3. Share Fun and Educational Activities

Direct your students to fun (and educational) activities.

When considering other homework, the best options are activities that students will be motivated to do because they’re entertaining. 

Give your incoming students the “everything is better in moderation” speech so they understand that they shouldn’t play hours of computer games every day this summer. If possible, send them home with printable and book-based packs to polish their skills for the year ahead (you can even pair these with your own assignments): 

4. Connect Through the Mail 

Stay connected with your students over the summer through cards.

Giving incoming students the opportunity to connect with you and with each other can motivate them to complete summer assignments. Here’s one plan for connecting via letters:

Have your incoming students mail you a letter of introduction. Explain that you want to hear about their summer activities, their hobbies, their families, and anything special they want you to know before the school year begins.

When you receive letters from your students, send a postcard back with a brief response. Tell them a bit about your summer plan, and let them know you can’t wait to see them in the fall. 

Encourage them to write again!

You can also pair up students and have them write to each other over the summer. In September, they can bring their pen pal letters to class to display on the bulletin board.

Take advantage of everyone’s increasing familiarity with virtual resources by connecting online, too! Post a short video, article, or question once a week on your classroom's online platform, and invite both incoming students and rising former students to write their thoughts in the comments section. Be sure to moderate their comments and enjoy their back-and-forth dialogues as they engage with each other.

Get started by shopping the best books for summer reading below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store .

Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Main Idea Worksheets

The main idea, also called the central idea or main point, is the primary concept of a passage. It represents the essential point that the author is trying to convey. The main idea may be clearly stated as a sentence. The main idea is usually reinforced by a series of other points or details which support the premise of the main idea. These are called supporting ideas and may also be stated or implied. Please use any of the printable main idea worksheets below in your classroom or at home. Just click on the worksheet title to view details about the printable PDF and print or download to your computer.Be sure to check out all of our reading worksheets . If you're looking for more activities, check out www.readingvine.com's main idea reading passages .

Find the Main Idea: Storms

After reading a brief passage about storms, students are prompted to write the main idea and 3 details.

Find the Main Idea: Spots the Barn Cat

A short passage about Spots the Barn cat. Students circle the main idea from a list of options.

What is the Main Idea? Carnival

Students read a short paragraph about carnivals, circle the main idea and write 3 details.

Find the Main Idea: Anne of Green Gables

A main idea worksheet about the book, Anne of Green Gables. Students write the main idea and two supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: Planets

Students read a passage about planets and then write the main idea and supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: The Jungle Book

Students read a passage from Rudyard Kipling’s book, The Jungle Book, and write the main idea in the large oval and two supporting ideas in the small, linked ovals.

Find the Main Idea: The Meerkat

Students read about the fascinating Meerkat and write down the main idea and supporting ideas.

Main Idea Graphic Organizer

Learning how to properly structure an essay can be difficult. With this Main Idea Tree, students will create an outline that allows them to better understand the different parts of a five paragraph essay. Students will be asked to write their introduction, a main idea, three topic sentences, three supporting details for each topic sentence, and a conclusion.

Find the Main Idea: Dolphins

Students read about the dolphins and write the main idea and two supporting ideas on the lines provided.

Find the Main Idea: The Louisiana Purchase

Students read about the Louisiana Purchase and write the main idea and two supporting ideas on the lines provided.

Find the Main Idea: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Students write the main idea and three supporting ideas after reading a short passage from the book,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Find the Main Idea: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

A main idea worksheet about the book, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Students write the main idea and two supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: Ben Franklin

A reading passage about Ben Franklin. Students read and write the main idea and supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: Black Beauty

After reading a passage from “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell, students write the main idea and two supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: Little Women

Students read a passage from Louisa May Alcott’s book, Little Women, and write the main idea and two supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Students read a passage from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and write the main idea and supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Students write the main idea and up to 5 supporting ideas after reading a short passage from the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

Find the Main Idea: Two Reading Passages

One passage about the U.S. Constitution and one about the sport of soccer. Students read both, circle the main idea and write a supporting idea.

Find the Main Idea: Call of the Wild

After reading a passage from “Call of the Wild” by Jack London, students write the main idea and two supporting ideas.

Find the Main Idea: Major Art Movements

A worksheet about the major art movements. Students write the main idea and 4 supporting ideas.

One Stop Teacher Shop

Ideas and resources for Teachers | Teacher Blog

Reading Homework: Making it Meaningful

By OneStopTeacherShop

As a teacher, I always made it my goal to make sure everything I did, or made my students do, was meaningful. Whether it be reading homework, math centers, or morning work, I didn’t like wasting time; my time, or my students’ time.  In addition, I always liked to know that real learning was taking place.  I never wanted to passively assign my students to complete some work, collect a worksheet, and give a grade.  I wanted to see my student’s thinking and feel confident that the work they did was rigorous and accomplished my goals as a teacher.  Reading homework was no exception.

NOW AVAILABLE…

One stop teacher memberships.

Our grade-level memberships provide the BIGGEST savings on ALL One Stop Teacher Resources! Get 24/7 access to a library of highly effective, student-approved, educational resources.

For reading homework, I always assigned my students nightly reading and gave them a reading log to complete. Although I never wanted to admit it, I knew that a completed reading log at the end of each week didn’t mean any REAL reading actually took place.  It was a problem I was aware of but was too exhausted to find a solution for.   It was more than that, though.  I had multiple issues.

My Problems…

• I had no way of knowing if students were actually reading each night.
• Even if students were reading, were they understanding their reading?
• Students weren’t practicing the reading skills I needed them to practice.
• Was this type of homework (reading logs) meaningful for ALL of my students?

While I do believe children should read purely for the enjoyment of reading, I knew as a teacher I wanted a bit more.  I wanted something that I could give my students that would NOT be overwhelming and would reinforce the reading skills I wanted them to practice.  This is exactly why I FINALLY created a reading homework system that would solve my problems.

My Solution! I created a reading homework system that…

• Exposes students to a new, rigorous, grade-level appropriate text each week.
• Focuses on a particular skill (currently learning) while also reinforcing skills that have already been taught.
• Requires students to answer text-dependent questions that demand real thinking about the text.
• Is short and meaningful…not overwhelming.

Sounds too good to be true, right? I thought the same thing, but I figured out a way to create such a resource. Here is how it works!

• Each week students get the weekly passage and a set of questions broken up into four days (Monday through Thursday).
• The text is on-grade level, rigorous, and provides practice with the current skill that is being taught.
• Each day, students work through four questions using the same text.  Questions are text-dependent and vary in complexity as the days go on and students are more familiar with the text.

To make it even better, I’ve turned it into a 100% digital resource! You can learn more HERE.

That’s it! Simple. This little nightly assignment provides students with meaningful reading practice without taking up too much time and becoming a burden.  Students reread the passage each night, improving comprehension and fluency naturally.  Also, I love the fact that this assignment can give the teacher a quick peek into what each student still needs help with. If a student is struggling with “Main Idea”, you are going to know it without having to formally assess.

Be sure to check out my other blog post on Getting Rid of Reading Logs!

Be sure to download all of my Reading FREEBIES !

If you love it and want to grab an entire year’s worth for your class, you can find this resource available in Printable and Digital versions.

You Might Also Like...

How can i help.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

Connect With Me

ELT Planning

Tefl tips and ideas from a developing teacher.

Home › Lesson Ideas › Reading tasks for homework

Reading tasks for homework

By Pete on January 11, 2021 • ( 3 )

Hiya, hope online learning is going well.

Here are some random reading tasks I set for homework. Each student chooses one of these to do a week. These are in a big folder on my desk, but they’ll be adapted for online learning now probs. Still, you might find them useful. Ten for fiction, six for non-fiction.

Most of these are well-known, so not all my ideas or anything. Examples:

Here’s the doc:

Image by  pasja1000  from  Pixabay  

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Categories: Lesson Ideas , other

Tags: eal , ESL , fiction , homework , ideas , non-fiction , reading , tefl

• Blogging tips for new ELT writers | ELT Planning
• Some regular EAL activities – ELT Planning
• Useful resource: Comics Uniting Nations – ELT Planning

Leave a comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Creative Homework Ideas For Your Students

Setting appropriate homework tasks is a big part of your teaching role. Setting homework is an opportunity to ensure that your students have absorbed the lesson and can apply what they've learnt to individual study. Homework allows students to reflect on your teachings and broaden their understanding of a particular subject or topic.

However, motivating your class to view homework this way might be something of a challenge! Most young people find settling down to complete homework outside of school hours challenging. If the task feels overwhelming or difficult or seems monotonous, they might just go through the motions of getting it done rather than giving it their full energy and attention and completing it the best they can.

So how can you ensure students' love of learning continues outside the classroom and that they not only give their all to completing homework but actually enjoy it too?

By getting creative with the work you set and thinking about how you can engage and motivate students to complete their homework, you will undoubtedly see better results.

Here are some excellent homework ideas to help encourage creative, student-led learning.

Exciting, engaging homework ideas to keep your students paying attention

Write their own lesson plan.

If you want to give your students a chance to step into your shoes for the day, why don't you ask them to create their own lesson plan around a topic they've learnt about or are about to learn? This will give them a chance to showcase their knowledge, do research and think creatively. You'll also learn more about how your students like to work and what would make a good lesson from their perspective, which could help inform how you shape your lessons in the future.

Write a speech or story from a different perspective

If your students are learning about a famous historical figure or studying a classic text, why not get them to think about different perspectives? You could ask them to embody someone influential from a particular period or a character from a play or story and write a speech or story from that person's point of view.

Create a board game

Gamification is always a fun idea to try to inject energy into the classroom, and getting your students to create their very own board game is a fantastic way to keep things fun while also getting them engaged in their learning. Games could centre around a particular topic; they could be quiz-based, matching games, or number games - let them get as creative as they like. You can then have fun in class playing the best ones too.

Go on a treasure hunt

As a fun homework task that will get your students out and about, ask them to go on a treasure or scavenger hunt, finding certain things that are related to your topic. For younger children, this could be as simple as collecting leaves, flowers, or twigs they might find in their local park, or particular shapes or colours, but older children can benefit from this kind of task too by setting more complicated challenges.

Create a collage

Creating collages can be a fun and interesting way for students to demonstrate their learning, improve their research skills and use their creativity and imagination and can be based on a variety of different topics so they work well across lots of subjects. Encourage them to stick cutouts, fabrics, tickets, photographs, and any other relevant materials to make up their collages, and then they can take turns presenting these in class.

Film a video

If your students are older and have mobile phones, you could set a video-making task for them to do at home. This could involve interviewing friends and relatives about a topic or filming themselves talking about a specific subject, or answering a particular question. Students could share their videos in class and will love being able to use their phones in school for once!

Create a crossword

Get your students to think creatively about questions and answers by asking them to create their very own crossword puzzle, using the material you've taught them in class as a basis. You can ask them to bring all their crossword puzzles into class and then swap them with each other to see if other students can fit the answers in correctly.

Find fun facts

Almost every subject has weird and wonderful facts surrounding it. Did you know, for example, that the word 'hundred' derives from an old Norse term 'hundrath,' which actually means 120?! Or that water can both boil and freeze simultaneously? Encourage your students to find the most obscure or interesting facts about the subjects you are teaching them, and then you can all share your findings in class.

Looking for your next job in teaching?

If you are looking for a new teaching role, we can help! At Horizon Teachers, we work with you to help you find the perfect role in education to suit your needs. Our extensive jobs board lists all the latest teaching jobs, and our friendly team of recruitment specialists is just a phone call away!

- See more at: https://www.horizonteachers.com/blog/2023/01/creative-homework-ideas-for-your-students/279#sthash.x9SGIBTc.dpuf

Teach Starter, part of Tes Teach Starter, part of Tes

Search  everything  in all resources

Homework Activities Teaching Resources

An extensive collection of resources to use when compiling a range of learning at home tasks. Homework gives students opportunities to explore concepts at home which have been covered in class. Engaging homework activities can also encourage students to explore new ways of thinking away from the classroom. Resources in this collection involve a variety of learning areas for all ages.

• Teaching Resource 296
• English Language Arts  114
• Reading  85
• Writing  45
• Phonics  34
• Whole Number Operations  32
• Types of Writing  27
• Vocabulary  23
• Fractions  19
• Narrative Writing  19
• Spelling  15
• Foundational Language Skills  14
• Proportional Relationships  14
• Number Lines  13
• Measurement  13
• Percentages  12
• Reading Fluency  12
• Science  12
• Number Patterns  12
• Decimals  11
• Decoding  11
• Grammar  10
• Place Value  10
• Division  10
• Reading Comprehension  9
• Number Sense  9
• Sight Words  9
• Geometry  9
• Synonyms  9
• Addition  9
• Expository Writing  8
• Dolch Sight Words  8
• Word Problems  8
• Parts of Speech  8
• Number Recognition  8
• Social Studies  7
• Operations With Fractions  7
• Antonyms  6
• Multiplication  6
• Story Starters  6
• Graphing  5
• Long Vowel Words  5
• English Language Arts and Reading  5
• Subtraction  5
• Alphabet  5
• Earth and Space Science  5
• 2D Shapes  4
• Addition Strategies  4
• Percent of a Number  4
• Types of Graphs  4
• Life Science  4
• Rounding Whole Numbers  4
• Skip Counting  3
• Measurement Conversions  3
• Perimeter  3
• Mathematics  3
• Expanded Form  3
• Phonemic Awareness  3
• Solar System  3
• Bar Graphs  3
• Text Structures  3
• Subtraction Strategies  3
• Leveled Readers  3
• Collecting Data  3
• Consonant Blends  3
• Reading and Writing Numbers  3
• Alphabetical Order  3
• Space Science  3
• Report Writing  3
• Reading Passages  3
• Compare and Order Whole Numbers  3
• Earth, Sun and Moon  3
• Patterns  3
• Comparing Fractions  2
• Landforms  2
• Adjectives  2
• Decimal Operations  2
• Silent Letters  2
• Personal and Community Health  2
• Syllables  2
• 3D Shapes  2
• Physical Science  2
• Health Education  2
• Weathering and Erosion  2
• Opinion Writing  2
• Prefixes and Suffixes  2
• The Human Body  2
• Area of a Triangle  2
• Compound Words  2
• Handwriting  2
• Sentence Structure  2
• Earth Science  2
• Kindergarten 60
• 1st Grade 114
• 2nd Grade 124
• 3rd Grade 103
• 4th Grade 95
• 5th Grade 78
• 6th Grade 87
• 7th Grade 10

resource types

• Worksheets 152
• Task Cards 32
• Templates 21
• Color By Code Worksheets 12
• Sorting Activities 11
• Matching Games 10
• Dominoes 10
• Tarsia Puzzles 9
• Graphic Organizers 7
• Cut and Paste Worksheets 6
• Classroom Posters 5
• Tracing Worksheets 4
• Board Games 4
• Mini Book 3
• Writing Templates 3
• Flashcards 3
• Crossword Puzzles 3
• Matchup Games 2
• Classroom Decor 2
• Inquiry Based Learning Activities 1
• Logic Puzzles 1
• Word Searches 1
• Customizable Teaching Resources 1
• Word Walls 1

availability

• Premium 260

file formats

• Printable PDF 275
• Google Slides 162
• Adobe Reader (.pdf) 16
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) 1
• Teach Starter Publishing 297

Student Reading Log Printables

Track your students' at-home reading with this printable reading log.

Tracing Numbers 0-20

Practice writing numbers 0–20 with this tracing activity. 

Word Power Vocabulary Worksheet

A comic book themed worksheet to use in the classroom when building vocabulary.

In the Arctic - Free Decodable Book

Engage your students and inspire them to read and learn about life in the Arctic with a printable book for 2nd grade.

Integer Number Sentences - Tarsia Puzzle

Practice solving addition and subtraction number sentences involving integers with a printable Tarsia puzzle!

"Facts About..." Template

Get a sense of separating fact from opinion in texts with this graphic organizer.

What's Missing? - Alphabet Worksheet

A set of worksheets to practice writing the letters of the alphabet in order.

Color by Letter (c, k, e, h, r) - Dog

Use this free printable color by letter activity with students when practicing letter recognition for the letters c, k, e, h, and r.

Alphabetical Order Activity

A fun matchup activity to help teach children the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.

Tracing Numbers 0-10

A worksheet to assist students when learning how to write the numbers 0–10.

4th Grade Spelling Homework Worksheets

Print your own 4th Grade Spelling Homework sheets with 36 weeks of printable, phonics-based spelling worksheets.

Adding and Subtracting Integers - Codebreaker Worksheets

Crack the positive and negative number code with four adding and subtracting integers worksheets.

Equivalent Fractions – Mystery Picture Worksheet

Determine equivalent fractions while using the color guide to reveal a mystery image.

Coordinate Grid Mystery Pictures

Practice graphing ordered pairs with this set of differentiated coordinate grid mystery pictures.

Simplify to Multiply – Multiplying Fractions Worksheet

Practice how to simplify fractions before multiplying with this worksheet.

What is the Syllable Type? - Color By Syllables Worksheet

Practice identifying the six syllable types in common words with this color-coding activity.

Predator or Prey? Forest Animals – Worksheet

Sort animals according to whether they are classified as predators, prey, or both with this worksheet.

Phoneme Segmentation - Count and Hook Task Cards

Help students gain mastery in phoneme segmentation with these hands-on count and hook task cards.

Find and Color – Shape Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt allowing students to find 2-D shapes in their surrounding environment.

Topic Sentence Starter Cards

A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive, and report (informative) writing sentence starter cards.

Skip Counting Robot Strips - 2s, 5s, and 10s

A set of 12 skip counting robot strips to help students learn to skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s starting at any given number.

K-2 Math Homework Helpers

Give your students handy Math Homework Helper printables to reference when working in class or at home.

K-2 ELA Homework Helpers

Give your students handy ELA Homework Helper printables to reference when working in class or at home.

Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheets

Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex sentences. 

• Homework Activities Worksheets
• Homework Activities Task Cards
• Homework Activities Puzzles
• Homework Activities Games
• Homework Activities Templates
• Homework Activities Color by Code
• Homework Activities Sorting Activities
• Homework Activities Mazes
• Homework Activities Matchup Games
• Homework Activities Dominoes
• Homework Activities Tarsia Puzzles
• Homework Activities Graphic Organizers
• Homework Activities Cut and Paste Worksheets
• Homework Activities Posters
• Homework Activities Tracing Worksheets
• Homework Activities Board Games
• Homework Activities Mini Book
• Homework Activities Writing Templates
• Homework Activities Flashcards
• Homework Activities Crossword Puzzles
• Homework Activities Bingo
• Homework Activities Labels Signs Decorations
• Homework Activities Projects
• Homework Activities Logic Puzzles
• Homework Activities Word Searches
• Homework Activities Custom Studio Resources
• Homework Activities Word Walls
• Homework Activities for Pre-K
• Homework Activities for Kindergarten
• Homework Activities for 1st Grade
• Homework Activities for 2nd Grade
• Homework Activities for 3rd Grade
• Homework Activities for 4th Grade
• Homework Activities for 5th Grade
• Homework Activities for 6th Grade
• Homework Activities for 7th Grade

• Teach Early Years
• Teach Primary
• Teach Secondary

• New for Schools

Home > Learning Resources

Interesting ideas for primary homework

• Author: Kevin Harcombe
• Main Subject: CPD
• Subject: Leadership
• Date Posted: 12 January 2011

Share this:

Evenings and weekends are precious to us all. So don't waste children's time, and your own, by setting dull homework...

Homework – a compound word that resonates down the chalk dust swirling corridors of all our school days. Home: warmth, security, a place to relax. Work: well, fill this one in yourself, why don’t you?

The point is, the two things don’t often sit well together and I have always been ambivalent about the value of homework for children under 11. An Ofsted inspector once told me that they’d stopped being critical of schools about parental attitudes to homework, because invariably half of parents thought the school set too little and the other half set too much, so schools couldn’t win (no change there, then).

Some parents think homework must be a ‘good thing’, without being quite sure why. They may have read it in the Daily Mail, or they may be of the “I had to do it and it never did me any harm” school of thought, in which case what’s wrong with flogging and outside lavatories?

These may well be the same parents who can remember how to do quadratic equations; unlike me whose secondary school child regularly weeps into her calculator at half nine of a Tuesday evening whilst bewailing the fact her parent is a mathematical imbecile. (Watch out, I riposte, it’s genetic.)

When homework has a positive impact

The nub of the matter is that homework is only useful when meaningful, related to and supporting class based work, well matched to the child, time limited and marked with top notch feedback from the teacher. Sadly, this is only the case in a minority of cases. Having got those longwinded caveats off my chest, here are some suggestions where homework can be manageable (for both the setter and the doer) and have a positive impact.

6 creative homework tasks

Interview a family member about their school days, work, play, food, etc. This develops questioning skills and can be recorded rather than written. Digital dictaphones are available for 20 quid and are within the reach of most schools. Results can be shared and presented in any way from a video presentation to a pie chart.

2. Pack a suitcase

Following some input on WWII and the mass evacuation of the young, set the children the task of making their own evacuation suitcase. (Some children will literally make one out of cardboard, but it’s the contents that are the key). What five things would they take with them and why? They can write this, or simply talk through their suitcase with the rest of the class. It’s the thinking behind this task that is the real learning. The speaking/ listening/writing is, as so often, a secondary benefit.

3. Flour babies

Read Anne Fine’s tremendous book of the same name, then provide the children with their very own flour baby (basically a 1 kilo bag of flour they have to look after as if it’s a baby). Children will draw faces on theirs, dress it, even push it to school in a toy buggy. Again, the real learning is in the thinking and empathy the activity generates.

4. Parent portraits

Sketch a parent in Henry Moore / Lucian Freud style, i.e. unflatteringly. It’s great fun, gives the parents a break from the child’s “I don’t know what to draw” cry and is a chance to look at more recent British artists.

5. Set up a museum

Our Y3 and Y4 children were recently given the task of designing their own Egyptian artefact at home. Resourcefulness from children – irrespective of family background – was stunning. We received several hieroglyphic scrolls (rolled up around cotton reels, rubbed with a tea bag to give the ageing effect) a multiplicity of pyramids (made from card, plasticine, lego), sarcophaguses, jewellery and lots of mummified Barbies and Kens. The class was turned into a museum, with carefully written exhibit cards and children curators on hand to explain the historical background to why the Egyptians valued these things, and opened up to parents and other classes on a Friday afternoon.

6. Serve breakfast

Sanctions for not having done homework don’t work, rewards do. Compare “If you don’t hand in homework you’ll miss break / lunch / PE / life.” With ” If you do hand it in regularly you’ll be invited to the end of half term Big Breakfast in the hall where your teacher will serve you toast, cereal, yoghurts, juice, etc.” Simple really, and a special occasion to look forward to at the end of half term.

Level the playing field

Set up a homework club…

For those children who don’t have access to books, internet, paper, pencils, scissors, glue at home, you could start a homework club and give those attending use of the school’s ICT facilities. For those familes who are ‘book poor’ you need to make sure your own library is well provided for. Last Christmas I asked assembly, “How many of you got some sort of a book as a Christmas present?” Less than half the hands went up. In the People’s Republic of Harcombe, when I get round to setting it up, the giving of books as presents would be enforced by presidential decree.

Throw the book at them

When parents ask about homework for their child I always respond that a) the best thing for a child to do of an evening is have some quality time with family and friends, sit down for a meal together, play a sport, learn a musical instrument or sing and not feel badgered into working all the hours God sends, and b) reading is just about the best homework anyone, adult or child, can do.

Parents don’t count reading as homework, see, and we need to educate them (this parent thinks homework is when you have indentations in your finger from holding the pen/tapping the keyboard for three hours, because writing is homework).

Time spent reading is seldom wasted and is either entertaining, thought provoking or informative or – just like this article, hopefully – all three. If you like you can structure what the children read by recommending lists (The Redlands Ten – ten books to read before you’re 10) to add a little challenge to the task. Local libraries might be able to help by ordering multiple copies of books for those parents that can’t/won’t buy them. Children get a certificate (and a book!) when they complete the ten.

You may also be interested in...

• Download your free digital copy of the brand new January issue of Teach Primary now
• Teach Primary Awards 2019 Finalists Announced
• Oxford University Press celebrate double victory
• Free resources for teaching film in primary schools
• National Curriculum Key Stage 2 assessments reveal increased attainment in primaries

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy & Cookies Policy.

Tried & Tested

Power Maths – A Child-Centred, ‘Can-Do’ Mastery Teaching Programme for KS1 and KS2

Category: Maths

Fit To Dance Schools From Disney On Ice

Category: Other

‘S!ng Sensational’ And ‘A King Is Born’ – Two Fun New Musical Masterpieces That Children Will Love

Category: Music

Product review: Schofield & Sims Fractions, Decimals & Percentages

See all Tried & Tested products

Recommended for you...

Use the bottle-flipping craze to create good school behaviour, not bad

Behaviour Management

8 Ways To Get Your Class Drawing

Ace-Art-And-Design

Should you let educational researchers into your classroom?

Ace-Classroom-Support

Creative contexts for history lessons

Follow us on Twitter @teachprimary :

Share teach primary:.

Home | Tried & Tested | Interactive | Book Reviews | Resources | News | Hot Products | Advertising Contact Us | Primary Resources | Primary Teaching Resources | Privacy Policy

Copyright 2024 Artichoke Media Ltd

Registered in England and Wales No 14769147 | Registered Office Address: Jubilee House, 92 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2SN