Learn about the Lunar New Year in your classroom and provide students with an opportunity to share their unique traditions with these free printables!
The Lunar New Year’s Festival is a very important celebration in many countries all over the world. It marks the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. Often referred to as Chinese New Year, it is also called Tet by the Vietnamese, Sol by the Koreans, and Losar by the Tibetans.
The first day of this New Year starts with the new moon, which appears between January 21 and February 20. The Lunar New Year is celebrated in many different countries and communities around the world, including Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China. Each country has its own traditions and celebrations. Many families clean their homes and hang colorful decorations such as lanterns to prepare for the holiday. Every New Year is aligned with one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
Download these free Lunar New Year Activities for grades K–3 here.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
Colorful and fun activity books give kids a screen-free alternative that is entertaining and educational! These top workbooks for children are great solutions to keep kids practicing educational skills while having fun with hands-on projects, brain teasers, crossword puzzles, creative writing activities, colorful skill worksheets, and arts and crafts. With game-like activities, these kids’ books provide positive learning experiences for children and help foster a love of learning.
These are the best activity books for kids for fun and learning—and make great kids’ gifts for holidays and birthdays!
Listen and Learn: Animals for grades PreK–1 includes colorful animal activities that help children practice beginning reading and writing skills with hands-on art, drawing, writing, games, and more. From chameleons to kangaroos, the beautiful animal photographs and stories will take young children on an animal adventure around the world. Recipient of a Mom’s Choice Gold Award and a National Parenting Product Award, every page includes an audio read-aloud option so that children can listen to read-alouds and learn about their favorite animals.
Smart Start: Beginning Coding for grades PreK–1 includes engaging, screen-free activities that help young children build a strong foundation in computer science. Recipient of the Creative Child Award, the fun coding stories and colorful activities help early learners become critical thinkers by practicing the building blocks of thinking.
Smart Start: STEM for grades PreK–1 includes hands-on STEM challenges and activities that encourage your child to think creatively and explore different ideas to solve problems. Engaging science stories and colorful thinking activities help guide children to complete a hands-on STEM activity. Complete with planning guides and engaging artwork, these activity books provide endless hours of entertainment as children build and create their own creations.
Ages 4–12
Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids for ages 4–11 has 100 fun activities that support your child’s well-being. The activities create positive learning experiences for children and help them learn to manage emotions, reduce anxiety, and navigate social situations. Activities include art, puzzles, games, coloring, and more!
The Never-Bored Kid Bookfor ages 4–9 This fun activity book is full of game-like activities and art projects that help children practice important skills without them even knowing it. Each full-color book provides mazes, riddles, hidden pictures, things to cut out, dot-to-dots, and other engaging, age-appropriate activities.
Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids for ages 6–11 demonstrates how diverse and innovative writing in today’s world can be. The colorful and hands-on creative activities include infographics, blogs, restaurant reviews, and more! Real-life writing activities will give your child practical writing experience and inspire even reluctant writers to put pen to paper.
Top Student for grades PreK–6 jumbo workbooks provide more than 350 activities to keep kids challenged and excited as they strengthen their skills in every subject area. Topics include math, science, reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, writing, social studies, computer science, SEL, STEM, and mindfulness. Give your child in-depth review and practice in every subject area with these packed workbooks! Each book includes a full-size informational poster and stickers (for grades PreK–3).
Skill Sharpeners: STEAM for grades PreK–6 activity books integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math to create meaningful learning opportunities for kids! The real-world topics in these STEAM workbooks connect learning to the environment, Earth, people, and cultures, and inspire children to solve real problems related to sun safety, water conservation, wildlife, and more! If your child prefers hands-on learning, these books are a great fit. The open-ended questions and problem-solving capture children’s interest and keep them thinking and learning long after the activities are over. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.
Skill Sharpeners: Critical Thinking for grades PreK–6 activity books offer creative activities that challenge your child to use higher-order thinking skills such as analyzing, inferring, solving, and creating. The imaginative puzzles, drawings, and matching activities create fun learning experiences that children enjoy.
For more educational workbook activities check out these top favorites!
Skill Sharpeners series for PreK–6 has 8 subject areas including: reading, math, spelling, science, geography, STEAM, critical thinking, and grammar and punctuation.
Smart Start activity books for PreK–1 offers 5 subject areas including: reading, sight words, math, STEM, and coding.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
Incorporate Rangoli art into your fall activities and teach your students about Diwali! This holiday is celebrated by over a billion people worldwide and is an important festival observed by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs each year in either October or November (dates vary from year to year, based on the Indian lunar calendar.) Also called the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali represents the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Diwali lasts five days and people celebrate it by lighting lamps, decorating, cooking and sending family and friends good wishes.
Rangoli art represents the happiness and positivity of a household and during the festival of lights, it is used to welcome the Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good luck.
Download this free printable for Rangoli art here.
This five page unit provides a description of the Diwali holiday, project directions and three different art templates for children to choose from.
For more free activities and lesson ideas, subscribe to our e-newsletter here.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with activities that highlight the traditions and stories of Indigenous cultures.
Berkeley was the first city to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 1992, but it wasn’t until 2021 that President Joe Biden declared a day in October (typically the second Monday) as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. One purpose of this day is to recognize the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years. In observance of this day, people participate in ceremonies and activities to remember the extraordinary resilience of Indigenous peoples and honor their distinct cultures and contributions. This commemorative day seeks to empower Indigenous communities and recognize the diverse peoples who were the first inhabitants of the Americas.
There are many ways to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day and honor the history and culture of Indigenous nations present in pre-Columbian America. Listed below are a few ideas, free activities, and stories to highlight Indigenous stories and traditions.
This unit includes a two-page nonfiction story about Forrest Goodluck, an Indigenous American actor who is proud of his heritage and proud to represent Indigenous people in movies and television. He is breaking Hollywood stereotypes of how Indigenous people have been portrayed historically. The unit includes a suggested teaching path, individual and partner activity pages, a class discussion, and a project menu.
This unit includes of a two-page nonfiction story about Wes Studi, an Indigenous American actor who has done many jobs during his life but never gave up on his dream of becoming an actor in Hollywood. The unit includes a suggested teaching path, individual and partner activity pages, a class discussion, and a project menu.
This unit includes of a two-page nonfiction story about Bethany Yellowtail, an Indigenous American fashion designer and founder of the brand B. Yellowtail. She always felt that to be happy, her work had to reflect her culture. The unit includes a suggested teaching path, individual and partner activity pages, a class discussion, and a project menu.
Teachers Pay Teachers Native American Lessons and Activities
Teach your students Indigenous legends, history, and traditions with these reading activities from TeachersPayTeachers.
This two-page read-and-understand Native American fable is about a boy who meets some little men and turns down an offer to trade bow and arrows. The unit includes four skill activities on synonyms, comprehension, word meanings, long vowels, homographs, rhyming words, and the suffixes “er/est.”
This leveled reading unit tells the story of a Native American legend about “sisters” Bean, Corn, and Squash. Students read the tale, answer questions, define vocabulary, and practice a variety of reading skills on five activity pages.
This unit on celebrating diversity presents a two-page article about Native American powwows (ceremonies) and the importance of the drum. The unit includes four skills activity pages on answering comprehension questions, synonyms & using vocabulary, writing/comparing celebrations, & planning a celebration.
Indigenous Stories and Picture Books
These picture books are a great way to introduce Native American traditions and stories with recipes and unique perspectives.
Awâsis and The World-Famous Bannock by Dallas Hunt (Illustrated by Amanda Strong)
This story highlights the Cree traditions and vocabulary with a fun recipe.
Encounter by Brittany Luby (Illustrated by Michaela Goade)
This is a true story about a French explorer and an Indigenous fisherman and their unforgettable meeting.
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard (Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal)
This heartwarming story highlights a modern family’s love and use of traditional food.
Close reading is an important skill for students to learn in school and was designed to build strong reading habits in children that they will need in higher education and future careers. It requires students to really focus on what the author is saying, what the author’s purpose is in writing the text, what the vocabulary means within the text, and how the text is structured.
Analyzing and comparing texts is challenging, and rarely comes naturally. By helping students learn the process of analysis with key strategies, they can become more comfortable with analyzing fiction and nonfiction texts on their own. These strategies work perfectly with paired text sets and help students improve their reading analysis skills.
As teachers, we can help our students learn to analyze and evaluate complex texts with the following targeted questions and reading strategies:
Ask an Essential Question to help students focus as they read
Incorporate Guided Questions and Note-taking to help students understand the text and find key information easily
Use Text-Dependent Questions to help students understand the text deeply
Identify the Text Structure to help students understand the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts
Cite Evidence to Support Conclusions with writing tasks that help students demonstrate understanding
Download these free printables for Reading Comprehension: Paired Text grades 1–6 here!
Strategy 1: Ask an Essential Question
Close reading begins with setting a purpose. Incorporating essential questions about a reading theme or topic can help direct students to think about a specific theme as they read and analyze text.
Teaching students how to navigate complex texts with detailed reading skills is especially helpful when students don’t have much background information on the topic they are reading about. Activating prior knowledge about a text is a good idea, but the fundamental goal of close reading is to teach students how to understand a text without much background knowledge. This set of skills is designed to help students evaluate a text based on what they read, not what they already know. Focusing on a specific text-related question can help students narrow down their focus as they read.
Strategy 2: Incorporate Guided Questions and Note-taking
Build important lesson scaffolds within each close reading activity with key questions and important note-taking skills. While reading together, model these skills:
Asking guided questions while reading to show students how to ask and answer their own questions about a text
Chunking information to show how to break up text into readable portions
Annotating and highlighting text so students can find key information easily
Strategy 3: Present Text-Dependent Questions
Identifying key aspects of a text can also help students understand its purpose better.
Incorporating text-dependent questions while reading and after reading can help students learn to recognize which parts of a text are the most important and what details support the bigger theme or idea. These types of questions engage students in evaluating the text and provide guidance on how to assess the information presented.
Strategy 4: Identify Text Structure
Identifying text structure can help students understand the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. By learning to identify a text’s purpose and genre, students will know which questions to ask when reading a specific type of text and can make inferences about what they are reading based the structure.
Narrative/fiction texts require students to think about:
Characters
Settings
Problems and solutions
Nonfiction texts require students to evaluate whether a text is:
Comparing/contrasting
Defining a problem and a solution
Delivering information sequentially
Describing a cause and its effect.
When students are making inferences with text, they are learning how to ask and answer their own questions about what they are reading. These questions can help to guide students later in the lesson as they incorporate the text to support their conclusions:
What is the location?
When did it happen?
Who is doing it?
What is happening?
What caused this to happen?
How was the problem solved?
How did this text make you feel?
Strategy 5: Cite Evidence to Support Conclusions
Close reading strategies are designed to help students understand the text so well that they can reference it to support their thoughts and ideas through either writing or talking about a specific text. A good way to monitor students’ understanding during a close reading activity is to assign a writing task that requires them to cite evidence to support their conclusions.
Part of learning to cite evidence includes learning:
How to answer text-dependent questions
How to participate in teacher-guided discussions
How to mark up the text with questions and thoughts
How to make connections beyond the text (often with whole class or partner discussions)
Additional Resources:
Close reading lessons can require significant time and preparation commitment from teachers and students. Incorporating ready-made close reading units is a great option to save planning time and ensure that your instructional lessons include the important aspects of close reading such as:
Essential questions
Vocabulary
Text-dependent questions
Text structure analysis
Written assessment task that cites evidence
Reading Comprehension: Paired Text for grades 1–6 provides in-depth reading selections about grade-level science and social studies concepts to help students learn to closely examine texts.
Each robust unit includes two thematically related sections, an informational text and a literary text, that are focused on an essential question. Each paired text unit requires students to evaluate information from two different texts and includes a writing-prompt assessment. Each selections’ activities include vocabulary development in context, an oral close reading discussion, comprehension questions, and a writing prompt. Every unit includes an assessment with discussion questions, texts, essential question, and a writing prompt.
Teach your students how to deeply comprehend brief and complex texts and how to reference a text to support their thoughts and ideas with close reading lessons and activities! For more close reading activities and tips, check out: How to Improve Students’ Close Reading: Strategies for Nonfiction Text
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
Enhance your students’ close reading and analytical writing skills by teaching them key strategies for unraveling the main purpose within nonfiction texts. Filled with complex vocabulary and complex details, nonfiction texts can be difficult for students to understand. Specific text strategies can teach students how to deeply comprehend brief and complex texts and how to reference strategies to support their thoughts and ideas.
Improving close reading and analytical writing skills also helps to prepare students for testing, increases their reading comprehension, and provides a valuable life skill.
There are two main strategies to help students understand and analyze informational texts:
Elements
Structures
Strategy 1: Recognizing the Elements of Informational Text
An element is something students can think about or look for in a text and it can help them understand what is in a reading selection. There are five main elements that are typically included in nonfiction texts.
1. Purpose for Reading
These questions help students understand their purpose for reading a text and enable them to identify key information relate to this purpose.
Why am I reading this text?
What do I want to learn from the text?
Does the text match my reason for reading?
Is the author’s purpose to entertain, inform, argue, or teach?
2. Major Ideas
Identifying the most important messages in a text can help readers understand what the author is trying to tell the reader.
What is the main idea the author is sharing?
How is the idea being shared?
3. Supporting details
Identifying details within a text helps students understand the main ideas of a text.
What are the supporting ideas for each major idea?
How are the supporting details shared?
4. Visuals and Graphics
Illustrations, photos, graphs, or charts can provide students with important information about the text and should not be ignored.
What pictures or graphs does the author use to give me information?
Do the pictures or graphs tell me about major ideas or supporting details?
Do the pictures or graphs help me understand information from the text?
5. Vocabulary
Identifying key vocabulary within the text is necessary to help students understand what the text is about.
Strategy 2: Identifying Structures of Informational Text
A structure is how a text is organized and how the main ideas are shared. Thinking about the text structure helps students understand what the major idea of the text is. Signal words can also help students identify what kind of structure a text has and help them find details to support major ideas. Typically, informational texts follow five main structures.
1. Main Idea and Details
A major idea is supported by details and examples. Signal words such as for instance, for example, such as, another, also, and in addition are often used.
2. Time Order
This structure has one major idea supported by details that are presented in a specific order so that the text makes sense. Typical signal words that are used with this text structure are: at, first, during, next, last, before, after, while, finally, following, and when.
3. Compare and Contrast
This text structure highlights how two or more things are alike and how they are different. The major idea is supported by details and examples. Signal words that are used to compare and contrast are: but, different, same, however, as well as, both, while, and instead of.
4. Cause and Effect
The main idea within this structure highlights a cause or the reason something happened. Signal words that are used to show this are: because, in order to, effects of, and if . . . then.
5. Question and Answer
This structure identifies a major idea that is written as a question. The supporting details within the text answer the question. Typical words used in this structure are: who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Additional Resources:
Reading Comprehension: Nonfiction for grades 1–6 helps students to understand nonfiction texts while developing a rich background knowledge of science and history! Activities include leveled texts and study units that include: academic vocabulary, text analysis, and text-based writing prompts. With guided discussions and interesting topics, these close reading activities keep students engaged and entertained.
Check out these free downloadable close reading units for grades 1–6 here.
Each book targets the five text structures of nonfiction reading and helps students recognize key text features that can assist them in determining the important information in a text.
The complete Reading Informational Text units include ready-to-go lessons that help students learn how to navigate difficult texts. Each unit includes:
Suggested learning path with teaching tips and discussion questions
Leveled reading selection
Dictionary page to identify vocabulary
Close reading hunt that guides students on how to identify important information
Reading comprehension and vocabulary activities
Text-structure activity that asks students to examine how information is organized
Text-based writing activity to evaluate how well students understand and analyze texts
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed in the United States each year from September 15 to October 15. The date of September 15 is significant because it marks the day that several Latin American countries attained their independence. During this important month, the histories, contributions, and cultural traditions of those whose ancestors came from Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and other Hispanic or Latino countries are taught about and celebrated. People may observe this month by learning about Hispanic and Latino cultures and individuals who have been influential and have made an impact on the world.
Build a sense of community and inclusiveness for National Hispanic Heritage Month with culturally responsive teaching units that connect students’ cultures, languages, and life experiences with their learning. These thoughtful lessons incorporate open-ended questions that invite students to share their unique viewpoints and experiences and learn from each other.
The free Evan-Moor activities below will help your children or students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month through fiction and nonfiction stories that highlight different perspectives and experiences.
Culturally Responsive Lessons and Activities, Grade 2: Change Can Be Hard
This unit includes a two-page fiction story about a brother and sister whose parents are migrant farm workers. The family moves a lot, causing the kids to change schools in the middle of the school year and making it difficult to have friends. The unit includes a suggested teaching path, individual and partner activity pages, a class discussion, and a project menu.
Culturally Responsive Lessons and Activities, Grade 5: You Can Have a Blend of Cultures
This unit includes of a two-page nonfiction story about Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, an iconic, talented, and inspirational Tejano performer, singer, and fashion designer. The unit includes a suggested teaching path, individual and partner activity pages, a class discussion, and a project menu.
Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina (author) and Angela Dominguez (illustrator)
This endearing tale is about the relationship between Mia and her Abuela, who comes to live with the family. Mia enjoys cooking with her grandmother, but she struggles to communicate with her. Mia and her Abuela begin to learn each other’s language.
Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte (author and illustrator)
Carlitos lives in Puerto Rico with his mother, grandmother, and Coco the cat. Even though he loves his happy, cozy home, he leaves for the capital city across the bay to find his father. During his adventures, Carlitos learns the true meaning of home.
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal (author and illustrator)
Alma ponders her name and why she needs so many. Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela learns the origins of each name from her father and begins to appreciate the that she, too, will have a story to tell about her name.
Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña (author) and Christian Robinson (illustrator)
This lyrical story delivers a moving story about family, dreaming, and finding hope in unexpected places. Carmela is finally old enough to join her brother as he does family errands around town. Together they travel through their neighborhood with its colorful shops and residents.
Where Are You From by Yamile Saied Méndez (author) and Jaime Kim (illustrator)
With themes of acceptance, identity, and home this book delivers a wonderful message to those who have ever felt as if they don’t belong. One little girl is always asked where she is really from. Her loving Abuelo gives her an important answer, but it’s not one she expected.
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Celebrate learning in your classroom with activities that build students’ fundamental skills and get them excited about learning! Learn how TeacherFileBox, Evan-Moor’s digital lesson library, makes it easy to differentiate lessons throughout the school year with just a click.
With over 80,000 printables to choose from across the PreK–6 curriculum, TeacherFileBox provides instant access to thousands of lessons, hands-on center activities, STEAM units, math support, SEL printables, reading comprehension units, and more. Search by subject, grade, or theme to easily find units for your back-to-school classroom activities.
Check out these activities from TeacherFileBox to help you save time on lesson planning and prep.
Click on the sample pages to view each unit.
TeacherFileBox SEL Printables
Help students open up and talk about themselves with SEL printables that build a positive classroom culture.
“Feelings Show”
Help early learners recognize friends’ emotions and develop appropriate responses.
“Think About It”
Teach positive classroom behaviors with activities on kindness.
“A Friend Wanted”
Help students think about and discuss what makes a good friend.
“Compliments”
Build a classroom culture of empathy and kindness with lessons on how to show kindness in the classroom.
TeacherFileBox Printables for The First Week of School
Get students excited about learning with activities that interest them.
“Back-To-School Activities”
This crossword puzzle is perfect for early finishers and those extra ten minutes you have before the lunch bell rings.
“Narrative Nonfiction Reading”
Brush up on reading skills and give students narrative writing examples with targeted reading comprehension activities.
“Descriptive Details”
Review the basics of descriptive writing with this exercise.
“Billboard”
This real-world writing activity is perfect to warm up students’ writing skills and introduce some persuasive writing techniques with engaging hands-on activities.
“Alphabet Puppets”
Have fun with the alphabet and practice fine-motor skills with these alphabet puppets.
TeacherFileBox Dailies for Back-to-School Routines
Set-up consistent classroom routines and help students review important grade level skills with short daily practice activities! Choose daily practice activities in every subject area for grades 1–6.
Daily Math Practice
Help students remember important math facts and skills with just a few questions a day.
Daily Phonics
These daily phonics activities are the perfect review to help students remember letter/sound combinations.
Daily Paragraph Editing
Children love to become editors and sleuths as they look for grammar and language mistakes.
Daily Language Review
These ELA review activities help students recall and practice vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and more.
Daily Reading Comprehension
Increase students’ fluency and comprehension with short daily reading activities.
TeacherFileBox Hands-on Activities for Morning Centers
“Add, Then Subtract Math Center”
Perfect for center rotations, these math activities provide fun hands-on practice for students to build number fluency.
“Grasshopper Art”
Add a little art to your bug unit with this fun craft!
“STEM Lessons and Challenges: Remote Control Game”
Encourage collaborative learning and problem solving with hands-on STEM challenges.
“Parts of Speech”
Create fun learning opportunities with this hands-on language center.
Try TeacherFileBox for free for 14 days and save time with these easy-to-print activities. Browse the amazing lesson library or start a FREE TRIAL today!
School discounts are available for 10 or more teacher subscriptions, savings 60–75% off annual subscriptions. Learn more here: TeacherFileBox School brochure.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
As a learning specialist, I get this question from almost every parent I meet–and I always appreciate it, since reading fluency is often predictive of academic outcomes, and reading frequently supports fluency. No matter the time of year, families have several options for helping kids spend more time reading. Relaxing on the couch with a great book is heaven to many adults — and plenty of kids! — but what if it sounds like torture to your child?
Before we dive into strategies, let’s define what “reading” means in this context. Many parents and teachers associate reading with fiction. Yet, any kind of reading is positive for kids’ development. Options like Minecraft encyclopedias, magazines, and emergency survival manuals may not be literature, but they can still give kids meaningful and relevant reading experiences.
Strategies to help children connect to literature
Familiarity and context matter. Ask your child to read the book jacket summary aloud. Read a few reviews together. Read the first chapter or two aloud to the child. Make sure the context is clear: A reluctant reader needs to know who the characters are, what the setting is, and what the plot is about in order to connect with the story and enjoy it. To support this, emphasize that it’s fine to read the first chapter over a few times before moving on to the rest of the story. Too often, kids understand reading as completely linear, but re-reading is actually highly valuable for helping boost understanding and enjoyment.
Evaluate reading level. Children need reading material they can readily decode and comprehend. As a rule, the more independently a child is expected to read, the more closely the reading level of a text should match a child’s own reading level. In the classroom, teachers refer to a child’s independent, instructional, and frustration levels when it comes to describing how specific texts interact with a child’s current reading ability. One way for children to evaluate texts either independently or with help is what’s called the five-finger reading rule. Here are the steps:
Choose a book
Open it to any page with text
Read the page, and count the number of words you don’t yet know:
0–1 words = too easy
2–3 words = just right
4 words = challenge
5 words = might be too hard
Limit competition. Reading is more challenging and produces less of an immediate brain response than video games, YouTube, or cartoons. In order to enjoy reading, kids need regular opportunities to be bored. That’s because reading is a natural antidote to boredom, but a poor competitor to more enticing activities. Promoting boredom and providing access to interesting books will gradually create an environment where reading can thrive.
Keep picture books around. An emotional connection to reading drives most readers, and many kids enjoy connecting with books they read more frequently as younger children. Pulling out a too-young-for-you book and reading it to a child provides a nice moment of nostalgia, and it also demonstrates that no book is out of bounds, and that all reading is good!
Create reading traditions or rituals. Set up a time when everyone in the house reads, adults included. It can be weekly, or a pop-up holiday, but if there’s cocoa and it’s cozy, and you insist on it in a good-natured way, it builds up the habit. Kids pick up on what adults do much more than what we say, so seeing a family member reading can make a big difference to kids. Adults who frequently read on a tablet or phone may wish to show kids what they’re reading to create a similar effect.
Ask librarians for advice. School librarians in particular love to suggest books. They read all the time, they know what’s out there, and they know what kids with similar interests have enjoyed. Many schools publish recommended reading lists, sometimes with links to online resources to obtain books at no cost.
Set expectations for graphic novels. For example, some families limit these to certain days or times, or for bringing to appointments where kids may have to wait. If you have young children, consider waiting to introduce graphic novels until they are readily reading non-illustrated chapter books independently. This advice might prompt questions about whether graphic novels are inherently less-than when compared to non-illustrated texts. In fact, graphic novels can be a great motivator for readers, but because they require less visualization effort and present the reader with less text on a page, they can sometimes resemble dessert more than a main course when it comes to the benefits of reading. Making them more of a treat allows kids to develop the boredom needed to motivate many readers to engage with more challenging texts at their reading level.
Use audiobooks. Particularly for children with reading challenges, listening while reading along in the text is enormously helpful. In addition to major commercial audiobook providers, many libraries offer apps with audiobook access, and there are resources available specifically for people with documented learning disabilities. Playback speed can often be adjusted so it matches the child’s reading rate.
Set up a book club. Particularly for sociable kids, reading and discussing with friends may help engage them in stories they wouldn’t care as much about on their own. Many librarians and teachers have experience running groups like this, and families may be able to set one up with a few children with similar interests.
Don’t forget non-fiction. Some people just aren’t into fiction, and some of those people are kids! Magazines, animal encyclopedias, books on Pokémon, golfing manuals, Lego reviews — anything that sparks the child’s interest can work. Several news providers offer children’s news magazines, which offer the benefit of helping kids build their context knowledge. No matter the topic, engaging kids’ interest bests literary value when it comes to developing children’s motivation.
Making a plan
With all of the possible strategies for helping motivate children to read, it’s easy for families to lose sight of making a specific plan that can work for them. To get started, think about a plan that’s straightforward, has just one or two elements to start with, and that you can describe easily. For example, a parent might decide to set up a family reading night every Thursday, or a book breakfast twice per month on Saturdays. Other families might determine that they want to limit screen time on weekdays to allow children more time for boredom, while increasing the options for appealing books at home by scheduling a library visit twice per month. Don’t forget to include an option for parents to read, too – that demonstrates that reading is truly for everyone.
Katharine Hill, MS, MAT, ET/P, is a learning specialist and educational therapist in private practice in Brooklyn, NY, who has twenty years of experience working in K–12 and higher education. upnext.nyc
Writing prompts and journaling can help students practice healthy ways of expressing their thoughts and emotions. Writing activities that integrate SEL can build lifelong habits for students as they learn to take more time to reflect on situations and carefully choose their words before responding. Students’ responses can also provide great insight into their motivations and emotional states of mind, which can lead to better teacher/student relationships.
Strategies for Integrating SEL Writing Prompts
Here are a few tips to consider when you introduce social and emotional learning writing prompts into your curriculum:
Create a Safe Space for Self-Expression Reassure students that their feelings are valid and that they are able to express them without being judged. Explain that writing can be a safe place to reflect on their emotions and experiences before they respond to someone aloud. Tell students that sometimes people say things quickly without thinking about their words, and they can hurt someone’s feelings.
Setting a zero tolerance for bullying and disrespect can help you create an environment of respect and provide a safe place for students to share their emotions. Share your room expectations and rules for how you will respond to writing and build trust by letting students know you will not discuss their writing with anyone, unless you feel someone is being harmed. Do not ask students to share their personal writing or drawings. It is important they know that it is for their eyes only.
Keep It Low Stakes It is a good idea to make SEL writing prompts “low-stakes writing” activities. SEL writing prompts work best when they are not graded. Students can feel free to express themselves without concern for grammar and usage errors. SEL writing prompts enable students to experience the freedom of free writing by allowing them to write and draw about whatever they wish. Reading and responding to students’ writing is a great way to build relationships with positive and encouraging feedback.
Use SEL Prompts Sparingly SEL writing prompts have the most impact when they are sprinkled into your writing curriculum. Timing is important when you ask students to reflect on their feelings and to write about things that may be sensitive or difficult for them. Consider assigning a writing prompt at the end of the day, during a quiet time. Allow a minimum of 30 minutes for students to think about how they feel and write and draw about their feelings without feeling rushed. Writing about personal topics can be very healthy for students, but you also want them to take these assignments seriously, so you don’t want to overwhelm them with too many all at once.
Ideas for SEL Writing Prompts
Social and Emotional Learning Activities for grades PreK–6 helps students practice healthy habits through journaling and reflection. The thoughtful activities in Social and Emotional Learning Activities target the self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills across the curriculum. Incorporate reading, writing, math, and social studies into your SEL learning activities with one resource.
Free writing prompts from Social and Emotional Learning Activities:
Thoughtful writing can help facilitate healthy interactions and emotional expression within the classroom and home! Create a learning environment using SEL writing prompts where every student feels valued and heard.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
For more activities and ideas to celebrate the Lunar New Year, check out Chinese New Year Lessons and Free Dancing Dragon and Chinese Lantern Activity 
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.
Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
Katharine Hill, MS, MAT, ET/P, is a learning specialist and educational therapist in private practice in Brooklyn, NY, who has twenty years of experience working in K–12 and higher education. 
