Preschool, kindergarten and first-grade teachers bring reading readiness activity sheets into their classrooms to provide children with age-appropriate activities that will prepare them to start reading. Each sheet builds on the sheets that the children have already completed, adding to the students' existing knowledge while reinforcing previously learned skills and concepts. Many reading readiness activity sheets include art activities. ENotes and University Preschool provide reading readiness activity sheets that teachers can use in their own classrooms.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that 45 percent of all fourth-graders tested in the United States are not fluent readers. Fluency refers to the ability to read aloud with expression and understanding. Activity sheets to promote fluency among students include sheets that allow students to repeat readings and phrases, building the students' high-frequency word-recognition skills. Activity sheets, including those produced by Lesson Planet and Reading Source, promote fluency skills.
Reading classes' education goals include promoting the interest and motivation of students to become independent readers. Children who feel that they succeed as independent readers will go on to increase their reading skills on their own as they develop a feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction from their reading. Activity sheets that promote independent reading among schoolchildren may include assigning the children to prepare a reading plan. Students will list the categories of books that they like to read and then, using suggestions from classmates, book reviews and library lists, make a list of books that they plan to read.
A quality reading program stresses reading comprehension as an integral part of the activity. Reading comprehension activity sheets provide opportunities for students to enhance their reading comprehension skills through structured lessons that reinforce the reading material. Comprehension activity sheets also allow the teacher to measure the success of a reading lesson by determining the level of the students' reading comprehension. Super Teacher and RHL School have downloadable reading comprehension activity sheets for all ages.