5 Fun Activities To Develop Your Tween’s Reading Skills

At Once Upon a Book Club, we think of reading as a magical experience that opens exciting doors. With the flick of a page, your tween can learn new things, explore incredible worlds—both real and imagined—and meet fascinating characters, from interesting people to crazy aliens and talking animals. Stories often give tweens unique experiences and perspectives they might not encounter otherwise.

We don’t need to tell you how important reading is; it lays the foundation for your child’s education and personal development. For tweens, the key to engaging them lies in adding a touch of fun and magic. That's where our exciting book boxes come in, offering the perfect addition to your tween’s reading routine. But more about those later!

Here’s to making your tween’s reading journey a whole lot of fun while improving their reading skills without them even realizing it! 

The Ultimate Theater

Transform your living room into a theater, and let your tween's imagination run wild! Encourage them to pick their favorite scenes from the books they've read and put on a play. They can invite friends or family, play different characters, and dress up in costumes. 

This activity is a lot of fun and helps them look deeper into the story, improving their comprehension skills. And let’s not forget about that added bonus of boosting your tween's confidence levels when it comes to that often-dreaded public speaking!

Plus, it’s a fantastic way to bring stories to life and create unforgettable memories.

Create Your Own Book Box

We know how much fun we have putting our monthly book boxes together, and we know your tween will, too! It makes the perfect gift for a friend or sibling—if you can convince them to part with it!

Step 1: Choose an exciting book!

Step 2: Read your book carefully, taking notes of your ideas and the page numbers for where to put that all-important “Open your gift” sticker. Post-it notes would be perfect! This helps your tween focus and think about what they have read and how they can translate it into a gift—comprehension and critical thinking skills rolled into one!

Step 3: Now for the fun stuff! It’s time to go on a treasure hunt and find the perfect gifts. Take it to the next level and select wrapping paper that matches the theme of the book. Carefully wrap each gift, labeling it with the corresponding page number.

Step 4: Create your own whimsical book box. You can have so much fun coming up with your own name, logo, and color scheme!

This activity encourages thoughtful reading and allows your tween to share their love for a story in a creative and meaningful way. It’s a gift that keeps on giving!

Make Your Own Audiobook

Reading aloud can be boring for some tweens—here comes our “Make Your Own Audiobook” solution! Your tween simply needs to record themselves while reading aloud. Encourage them to embrace their inner actor and use different voices for each character. Take it to the next level by adding sound effects!

This is a fun way to improve their reading fluency, pronunciation, and expressive skills. You can even make it a family project and assign a narrator and characters to various family members. Younger children can always be in charge of sound effects!

Writing a Different Ending

Bring out their inner author and encourage them to write an alternative ending. This is great for sparking their imagination and helping them think critically about the story’s plot, characters, and themes. 

They can explore different scenarios, maybe giving the villain an opportunity to redeem themselves, or imagining a future for the characters beyond the book’s final chapter. Writing a new ending can deepen their understanding of the story, and it will help develop their writing skills in a fun way.

Creating a Poster

Channel your tween’s artistic side by having them create a poster for their favorite book. They can illustrate key scenes, highlight main characters, or design an eye-catching book cover. 

A visual representation of the story can help reinforce their understanding and recall of the book. So get ready, haul out those art supplies, and let their creativity flow. For a digital option, they could also use free versions of design tools like Canva! Just make sure to display their artwork proudly at home, as it is always a great confidence booster! 

Conclusion

We can’t wait to see your tween’s creations! Make sure to send us pictures and let us know how much fun you all had!

By incorporating these fun activities into your tween’s reading routine, you’ll not only help develop their reading skills but also nurture a lifelong love for books. If you enjoyed this blog, you may want to check out our blog on 7 Ways To Get Your Kids Off Electronics and Into Books!

Happy reading!