Assign a reading on a particular event in history to your students, such as the explorations of Christopher Columbus. Have students highlight and take notes on the reading, covering the most important points in the chapter. Once students have taken detailed notes, ask them to rewrite the ending of the chapter in a creative, two- to three-page story. Stress that the ending must be realistic based on what actually happened leading up to the ending. This activity asks students to read the text more carefully in anticipation of a challenge to their creative side.
Perform this activity following the activity in Step 1. Go around the room and have students read one paragraph out of the assigned chapter in their textbook. Following the textbook reading, have five students volunteer to read out their fictional alternate endings. The other students should then write down what facts the reader changed in his fictional rendition. This activity asks students to discriminate between what is true and false in the original and fictional accounts.
Assign one paragraph out of a chapter to each student in the class. Ask each student to read and study this paragraph carefully. Then pick out the most important message in that paragraph. The student should respond with a visual project, compiling pictures that express the importance of that paragraph. Each student should make a collage and present it to the class after reading her assigned paragraph aloud. Students have now heard and seen a collage presented on each section of the reading rather than having read straight through a long chapter in their textbook.
Have each student read through an assigned chapter carefully. Then pick out 12 facts and write true or false questions about these facts. For example, a student might choose a sentence that reads, "Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain with three ships under his command." The student should change this sentence into a true or false question: "True or false? Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain with two ships under his command." Students should then pair up and quiz each other with their true or false questions. This activity asks students to reinterpret information into quiz questions.