Assign a group of children to read a book that is appropriate for their reading level. Encourage the children to take notes while reading the book. Suggest that they take notes about the setting, the time, details about the characters and details about the plot.
Ask kids to write a book report that evaluates their understanding of the concepts of the book. Ask them to write a report on a fiction book that includes the setting, a description of the main characters and a short summary of what happens in the beginning, middle and end of the book. Alternatively, assign children to write a report on a nonfiction book that describes the type of information conveyed, interesting facts they learned, and aspects of the book that they found interesting. Encourage children to conclude the report with whether or not they liked the book and the reasons for their opinion.
Play a reading game with kids called "find the awkward sentence." Divide the kids into three groups. Use a computer with word processing software to type out several paragraphs of text with a few awkward sentences mixed in. Print out the pages and provide each group with a handout. Encourage kids to find the sentence or sentences that do not belong or sentences that are awkward. The team to complete the task first wins a prize or a privilege.
Instruct children to create a story map. The story map is a graphic way to organize the components of a story. Ask children to identify the characters, the setting, the time, the problem and the solution to the problem; instruct them to add the information to the story map. Alternatively, ask children to map what happens at the beginning, middle and end of the story. Evaluate the story maps to determine whether or not they have understood what they have read.
Implement a compare-and-contrast exercise based on a book that the children have read. Divide a piece of paper into two columns. Choose two different aspects of the book to compare and contrast, such as two characters from the story. In the first column, ask children to list the ways the two things are alike. In the second column ask the children to list the ways the two things are different.