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25 Fun Reading Activities to Try in 2025

Reading skills are pretty important for a kid’s growth, right? But how can parents help improve kids’ reading? Through practice and improvement strategies used at home. Many of them depend on reading activities. 

Read on to explore why you need those kinds of tasks and find the best reading activities for children, from kindergarten to high school.

What are reading activities?

Reading activities are tasks and games that help kids practice and improve their reading skills at home or in class in enjoyable ways. They focus on building phonics and phonemic awareness while enhancing comprehension or vocabulary. 

Depending on the reading level, they include different activities, from charades with alphabet letters to creating stories. The importance of fun reading activities, with interaction and collaboration at the center, lies in keeping students motivated and confident and making knowledge stick.

If reading activities for kids are fun, they can:

• Improve their confidence 
• Develop reading habits
• Enhance word recognition and reading comprehension

What are some fun reading activities?

1. Reading worksheets
2. Reading Treasure Hunt
3. Vocabulary games
4. Word games
5. Story cards
6. Alphabet Bingo
7. Rhyming games
8. Silly voices reading
9. Story cube
10. Letter Scavenger Hunt
11. Alphabet soup
12. Read-aloud storytime 
13. “I spy” game
14. Rhymes and poetry
15. Reading with puppets and toys
16. Book clubs
17. Word of the day
18. Reading journals
19. Literature trivia quiz
20. Podcast reading reflection 
21. Summary and creative writing 
22. Book-to-movie comparison
23. Debate and discussion
24. Creative reading projects
25. Book soundtrack project

Reading activities for elementary students

What is the role of fun reading activities for elementary students? They are effective and engaging tools to reinforce vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension of stories. So, they help to lay the foundation for further growth.

Let’s look at key activities parents can use:

#1 Reading worksheets

Reading worksheets don’t sound like a fun activity, yet they can be. With the right mix of tasks, they are great reading activities for grade 1. Their main benefit is that they provide structure for the practice and offer targeted questions that aim to focus on the reading components. 

Worksheets are effective for elementary students because they reinforce what is learned in class and don’t require significant participation from parents.

What does a kid need to make it work? A set of prepared questions in the form of fun reading activities PDF, a pen, and a bit of guidance from a parent.

How to use Brighterly reading worksheets?

Worksheets are an integral part of the 1:1 reading lessons that  the  Brighterly math and reading platform provides. Reading tutors can develop a customized reading program for your kid based on their needs and pace. 

There, reading worksheets are important parts of pre-lesson and after-lesson activities backed by the tutor’s guidance and interactive tasks that cover phonics and comprehension. 

With Brighterly, children get the best reading activities that match their level and boost confidence.

#2 Reading treasure hunt

What about a more fun reading activity to try at home? A reading treasure hunt. This variation of a well-known game turns practice into an adventure.

How does it work?

• A parent or a teacher hides written clues around the classroom or house.
• A kid finds it and reads each clue to progress to the next one. 
• After several clues, they find a final one leading to a treasure or prize. 

For a prize, think of a tiny thing that a kid would love to get. Such a reading activity would boost kids’ understanding of words. 

#3 Vocabulary games

Vocabulary games do encourage kids to learn new words. They help naturally absorb meanings and improve semantic understanding. You can choose from a variety of reading activities and games that make vocabulary learning fun. 

Here are some of the most popular ones:

• Charades to guess words, like Pictionary.
• Guess the word 
• Word of the day challenge.

#4 Word games

Word games are the answer to how to improve vocabulary and support reading practice. Yet, they are different from vocabulary games. How? First of all, they aim to strengthen spelling, phonics, and recognition.

In particular, you can contribute to how kids notice letter patterns with such at home reading activities:

• Crosswords based on simple stories or word searches.
• Games like Hangman.
• Scrabble and Boggle Junior.

#5 Story sequencing cards

Another excellent reading activity for kids involves story sequencing cards. How does it affect reading skills? Sequencing cards enhances reading comprehension. With them, children get an order and sense of the story events. 

For them to work, first read a story with a kid. Next, give them cards with story events and ask them to arrange the cards in the correct order. 

That way, you strengthen their understanding of cause and effect and support story structure. Importantly, you can encourage retelling with questions and hints with specific words from a text. 

Kindergarten reading activities

Enrichment activities for kindergarten kids would revolve around letters, sounds, and very simple words. It’s because at this age, they learn the very basics. There, making reading and learning fun and hands-on is crucial as you maintain getting children’s attention.

#6 Alphabet bingo

Alphabet Bingo serves as a powerful enrichment activity for kindergarten students for alphabet practice at home or in a class. 

What are the rules? Each bingo card has letters instead of numbers. You call out a letter or its sound, and the kids would look for it on their card and cover it with a token. Once they have 3, 4, or 5 in line, they call “Bingo”. 

#7 Rhyming games

Do songs and rhymes excite kids? For sure! Rhyming games allow them to hear patterns in words and are among the best beginning reading activities.

So, when teaching a kid, you can sing nursery rhymes, pause and let them say the rhyming words, or find objects that rhyme. Also, combining rhymes and games may bring its benefits.

For instance, say “block”, and ask your kid to find a rhyme, let’s say “sock”. Kids love the silliness of rhymes, and such games help build phonemic awareness.

#8 Silly voices reading

Another fun reading activity, silly voices reading, is perfect for storytime. It turns a story into a hilarious game where kids and you play roles.

First, read a story aloud while switching between a robot voice, animal growl, or whisper. Ask them to repeat or take a role they want to. It can be really effective for shy and reluctant readers or for boring topics as well.

#9 Story cube

Story cube is a quite universal enrichment activity for kindergarten students. With it, you can improve kids’ writing and speaking skills. This activity will also help create associations with words and improve sequencing and comprehension. 

First, create a cube with words and objects from a story. Next, read a story with your child. After it, ask children to roll a dice. You have two options: 

• Ask them to name or describe objects on the cube.
• Build a short story with the objects. 

#10 Letter scavenger hunt

Yep, a scavenger hunt is a pretty universal reading activity for kids. For kindergarten learners, you can use a letter scavenger hunt. In contrast to the word hunt, focus on letters. 

Ask your kid to find objects that start with a certain letter, for instance, “B”. As they search for a “book” or a “banana”, they connect sounds with letters. That way, if you prepare some objects beforehand, this game will help build letter recognition in a fun way. 

Preschool reading activities

Similar to kindergarten learners, preschoolers are unlikely to read on their own. Thus, preschool reading activities would focus on language exposure, listening, and recognizing basic letters and simple words. There, your goal is to support love of reading via play or exploration.

#11 Alphabet soup

Just like with Bingo, you can resort to alphabet plays to back up the development of phonics. A funny reading activity is Alphabet Soup. 

Take a large kitchen pot and a bunch of alphabet letters. Put them in the pot and stir them. Imagine you are making a soup that needs stirring. 

Next, ask a kid to take a large spoon to pick letters and name them afterward. Also, imagine you are cooking and ask kids to name a dish that begins with a letter. 

#12 Reading aloud a story

From the list of the best preschool reading activities, reading aloud is a classic but pretty useful one. When you use expressive voice and point to pictures, it keeps your kid engaged. 

To make it more effective, you can ask simple questions concerning the text. Such regular read-aloud sessions, even 10 minutes a day, would significantly affect kids’ comprehension of words and letters.

#13 “I Spy” game

“I Spy” is a cool and fun enrichment activity for kids, especially in new places. 

Say “I Spy something that starts with C”, or any other letter sound. A kid then looks around a place or room to find an object, for instance, a cup. 

You can play it almost anywhere, even on a ride in a car. With it, students easily connect letters to the real world. 

#14 Rhymes and poetry

Kindergarten and preschoolers love repetition and catchy rhymes. That’s exactly what poetry offers. Short rhyming poems are great preschool reading activities to help develop phonemic awareness and memory of words. 

Thus, read short poems aloud with expression and invite your kid to repeat. There, in the most exciting part of the poem, focus on emotions and connect to the characters. As kids repeat and act out, support them and applaud. It will boost their confidence.

#15 Using puppets and toys with stories

Using puppets as a preschool reading activity can make reading stories more interactive, even magical. For this, you can utilize hand puppets or toys while you narrate a relevant story or a tale. 

Moreover, you can let your kid use the puppet to play a role in a book. Turn it into role play with toys of favorite characters.  

Fun reading activities for middle school

If you compare levels, middle school students often read independently. Thus, they need interactive reading activities to deepen their understanding and enjoy reading more. In this regard, the fun reading activities for kids would focus on discussion, critical thinking, and creative parts, turning assignments into experiences. 

#16 Book clubs

A book club has the potential to turn reading into a social activity. For it to work, middle schoolers should read the same book and then meet in a small group to chat about it. Yet, kids can do it at home with family members, too. Just pick a book to read and discuss together. 

With book clubs as reading enrichment activities, students can discuss characters, plot twists, and opinions. Hearing and sharing thoughts would improve understanding, critical thinking, and vocabulary.

#17 Word of the day

Another fun reading activity to consider is the word-of-the-day practice. Depending on the level of your kid, you can use it differently. Usually, parents introduce a new word each day, let’s say during breakfast or dinner, either from a news story or an assignment. 

Next, challenge learners to use it in a sentence or conversation. A good idea is to turn it into a competition for who uses the word the best or in the funniest way.

#18 Reading journals

Reading activities for students don’t always require other people to be fun. Keeping a reading journal can be engaging if a student finds reflection interesting. So, you can encourage kids to make a reading journal and write entries upon finishing each chapter or a story. A summary, reaction, or even a question would help jot down their thoughts and connect words to them.

#19 Literature trivia quiz

When a student is in a higher grade, you can turn a review session into a game with a literature trivia quiz. After reading stories or novels, come up with questions about their characters, events, and details. 

If it’s a book club, you can split into teams and set a competition. If not, you can make a trivia with interesting prizes. Such reading activities as quizzes would help recall what they read and support comprehension.

#20 Podcast reading reflection

Instead of journaling, a kid can create a podcast to share their reading reflections. As a parent or a teacher, you can let students record short podcasts discussing favorite scenes, lessons, or ideas. You also ask specific questions so that they develop their thought using specific concepts, terms, or words. Podcast-related reading enrichment activities are modern and fun for students.

Reading activities for high school

High school learners are capable readers. For them, reading enrichment activities should tap into problem-solving, higher-level thinking, and real-world connections. So, how can you bring engagement and fun into reading?

#21 Summary and creative writing

One of the engaging reading activities for high school students is creative writing. Importantly, you can combine it with writing a summary or abstract. 

• First, upon finishing a chapter or article, ask them to summarize it. You can add conditions, like “make it as short as a social media post” or “make it clear for kindergarten learners”. 
• Next, ask them to add new events, characters, or rewrite the story’s ending.

This combination can be a basis for enrichment activities for gifted students interested in storytelling.

#22 Book-to-movie comparison

An engaging reading strategy for high school is to compare a book to its movie. When they finish a novel, watch the film version together. Then discuss the following:

• What was different in the movie?
• Why did the directors decide to change things?
• Which version was better?

As comparison encourages critical thinking and shows depth, it may be one of the activities for kids to understand the importance of reading.

#23 Debates and discussions

Classroom or at-home debates and discussions transform reading into active learning, via practicing listening and forming arguments.

So, pose an open-ended question or dilemma from the book. Make children debate their stances using evidence from the text. Also, ask questions to direct the discussion so that they can argue their points.  These activities can prepare them for analytical tasks often found in reading activities for high school PDF collections.

#24 Creative reading projects

Another way to approach reading in high school is via creative projects. Thanks to them, students can give their perspective on a book.  They can draw or paint a scene from it, design an alternative book cover, or create a short trailer for the story. 

Instead of traditional reports, such enrichment reading activities make them think about themes, characters, and plots. Besides, it offers room for creative writing and discussions.

#25 Book soundtrack project

A popular example of engaging reading activities for high schoolers is a fun soundtrack project based on a book. Yes, you got it right, it requires making a list of songs for the book 

So, ask children to choose songs that match a story’s themes, mood, or characters, and then explain their choice via presentation. Such a project helps students interpret stories emotionally.

Conclusion

So, here are 25 reading activities to make reading fun and engaging for kids, whether in preschool or high school. From alphabet bingo to creative projects, these strategies would strengthen vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence. 

If reading is still a struggle for a kid or they need motivation, book free reading lesson  with Brighterly to try how engaging reading lessons can be.