It is especially important to get younger students to love reading. If they are not hooked on reading at an early age, it will be even more difficult to get them reading in high school. Reading is a window to the world. It is a place where a person’s imagination can be set free. One way to help kids embrace the creativity of writing is to make reading fun with dress up days.
As you read books and stories, have dress up days where students are asked to dress up as their favorite character. Don’t give them any visual pointers. Let them create the character based on reading the story. Avoid popular books that have been turned into cartoons or movies. Try to find stories that the students will have very few visual references for. If dressing up isn’t an option, then have the kids draw their favorite characters. However, the dress up is the best way to make it fun. In fact, you can even re-enact a part of the story. If there is a tea party, hold the tea party and have students dress like each of the characters in that scene. Then let them play it out the way they think it would have actually happened.
Talk about how it feels to be that character. Once upon a time, it was the literary characters who were people’s heros. Then television and movies took their place. As a teacher, you’re competing with visuals, so you may have to make reading lessons more visual. Avoid showing the movie version. Make the kids create the scene. Don’t try to correct their vision of what the character looks like. The point is to let them use their imaginations while reading. Praise their efforts so that they learn to love to read. Make sure they understand that their imaginations are better than any movie, television show or video game, and that it is free to use anytime they want.