Start a book club filled with children in this age group. Gather together a group of kids that will meet one to two nights a month. Choose a book according to the children's age group and interests. For instance, kids that are into science fiction would be more inclined to read a book that has intergalactic themes and out-of-this-world main characters. Give the kids a time limit, such as two weeks, to read the book and write down any questions they have about the work. On the night of the meeting, ask the kids about key points of the book, including plot and characters. Each time a child answers the questions correctly he gets a prize or piece of candy. Finish the group by assigning another book and allowing the kids a few minutes to free play with one another.
Offer the children a fun lesson in meanings of words and grammar. First, teach the meanings of the words "noun," "verb" and "adjective," as well as other types of speech. More advanced children should be taught other areas of vocabulary and grammar, such as "independent clause" or "prepositional phrase." After the lesson, give the children a page from a newspaper and a pencil or highlighter. Give them one to two minutes to identify as many examples as possible of the lesson that was just taught. A child receives a point for each example he correctly identifies. The child with the most points wins a prize.
Help bolster a child's imagination while enhancing his reading abilities. Give the child several torn-out pages from unwanted magazines, a highlighter and a pair of children's scissors. Tell the child the topic of a short story, such as a pirate adventure or a child's adventure through outer space. Ask the child to make up a 25- to 50-word story using words found in the magazine pages. The child should locate the correct words and mark them with a highlighter, and then cut them out and glue them onto a piece of poster board in sentences that make up a story. Once the child's story is complete, he can read the story to the class or his parents.
Make up three-quarters of a simple short story for the child. Use characters from the child's life or create a tale in one of her favorite genres, but stop near the end of the story. Ask the child to read what has been written so far, and then give her an allotted amount of time, such as 10 to 20 minutes, to write an ending for the story. Once the story is completed, ask the child to read the entirety of the piece, complete with her new ending.