By Maria Gurevich
Isolation is tough on kids. We want them to learn. At the same time, in the absence of social interaction, they need fun ways of learning. In an earlier blog post I shared fun writing activities my students and my own children enjoy. This time I want to talk about reading and reading comprehension. Many children need help understanding what they read. At home, this can be resolved by adding some exciting reading comprehension games.
Retelling finger art: Read a story. Draw the characters on small sticky notes. Stick them to your fingers and recreate the story, using your fingers as puppets.
DIY Comic: Split a sheet of paper into 8 squares. Read a story and draw comics to recreate the plot of the story. There are also websites that can be used for this purpose.
Story scramble: Read a short story, then print it out and cut into sentences or paragraphs depending on the length of the story. Mix the paragraphs and ask the child to put the story back together.
Cootie Catcher story telling: Cootie catchers are big in elementary schools, yet most teachers consider them a distraction. Using them for reading comprehension was an idea I found in an old teacher blog, and I was both amused and amazed. Print the cootie catcher diagrams below. Most of us remember how to fold them from our own elementary school days. If you do need help, there are plenty of videos on YouTube.
