Guided Reading Tasks

Reading Tasks 1 - Fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK A – Give your book marks out of ten and explain why you have given it that mark.

TASK B – Draw a picture of your favorite part of the story. Color it in and explain what you’ve drawn.

TASK C – Write down any new words you have come across in your book and look them up in the dictionary. Record what each word means.

TASK D – Draw a picture of your favorite character in the book. Write down their names and what you have learnt about them from your reading.

TASK E – Write about your favorite part in the story and explain why you liked it.

TASK F – Write down 5 questions you could ask someone about this book to check whether they have read it carefully. 

Reading Tasks 2 - Fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK G – Draw a picture of one of the settings in the story. Where is this place? What happens there?

TASK H – Copy out 3 sentences or phrases you really liked in this book. Why did you like each of them?

TASK I – Draw a poster to advertise the book you have read. Make sure you write on the poster why people should read it.

TASK J – Find 5 – 10 interesting words in this book. Write down what each one means. Then use each word in a sentence of your own.

TASK K – Draw a picture of one of the characters in the book. Find and copy at least 3 things the writer says about this person.

Reading Tasks 3 - Fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK L – Pretend you are one of the characters in the book. Who will you be? Write your diary for one day in the story.

TASK M – Draw a large picture of one of the settings used in the story. Label everything in the picture, using words and phrases from the book if you can.

TASK N – Which chapter or part of the story is the most important? Explain what happens in this section and why you think it’s important.

TASK O – Write a letter to your friend telling him or her a bit about this book. Explain why you think they ought to read it.

TASK P – Do you think the writer uses language (words) in an interesting way? Find 3 – 5 examples, copy them out and explain why you like them.

Reading Tasks 4 - Fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading

TASK Q – Make notes about the story under these headings: *opening *build-up *dilemma *resolution.

TASK R - Make up a wordsearch or crossword based on the book.

TASK S - Write about the main character in the story. Choose 5 – 10 words to describe his or her behavior. Give an example for each one. E.g. Sally is foolish when she goes to the mill by herself.

TASK T – Pick a descriptive word from the text, write it down and use a thesaurus to find 5 words that mean something similar and 5 words that mean the opposite.

TASK U – Re-write a section as a playscript. Remember to include the correct features of a playscript, including setting, props, stage directions and names of characters.

Reading Tasks 5 - Fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK V – Think of 5 questions you would like to ask one of the characters in your book. Then swap these with another person in your group and write the answers as if you were that character.

TASK W – Write an interview between you and the main character of your book. Be sure you write detailed responses for your characters.

TASK X – Which character in this book are you most like? Explain your answer. Which character do you like the most? Which character do you least like? Explain your answer.

TASK Y – Construct a timeline to show all the main events in the story in the order they happen.

TASK Z – Write a summary of the story in 50 words only.

Reading Tasks 6 - Fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK 1 – Make a list of as many adjectives and adverbs as you can from the book. Choose 5 and use a thesaurus to write other words that mean something similar.

TASK 2 – What do other characters think or say about the main character? Why do they feel this way?

TASK 3 – Write a poem describing a place or a person in the story you’re reading.

TASK 4 – Write a newspaper report about an important event including a headline, interviews with people involved and pictures.

TASK 5 – Imagine you are one of the characters. Draw a picture diary recording the key events that happened in the story. Add a comment about how you felt.

Reading Tasks 1 – Non-fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK A – Write a list of features of your non-fiction book. Does it have a contents? An index? How many features can you find?

TASK B – Copy a sentence from your book and answer these questions: What tense is it written in? (past/present/future) How do you know? Is it written in 1^st or 3^rd person or is no-one referred to at all? Does it contain any speech? What is the sentence about?

TASK C – Find 5 – 10 technical words that you don’t know and write your own glossary to explain what they mean. Use a dictionary to help you.

TASK D – Find any 10 words in your book. Now put them into alphabetical order.

Reading Tasks 2 – Non-fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK E – Read through 3 paragraphs in your book and make notes on the most important points.

TASK F - Make a list of as many adjectives and adverbs as you can from the book. Choose 5 and use a thesaurus to write other words that mean something similar.

TASK G - Make up a word search or crossword based on the book.

TASK H – Draw a poster to advertise the book you have read. Make sure you write on the poster why people should read it.

TASK I – Think about 5 questions you would like to find out answers to when reading your book.

Reading Tasks 3 – Non-fiction

Choose an activity to complete about the book you are reading.

TASK J – Write down 5 – 10 interesting facts that you have found out in your reading.

TASK K – Choose your favorite section from your book. Read each sentence and write down the key words and phrases to summarize it.

TASK L – Choose your favorite section from your book and summarize the main points.

TASK M – Thought shower what you have learnt from reading this book.

TASK N – Draw a diagram of something mentioned in your book and label it with relevant information.

 Adapted from a resource contributed to TES Connect by liz_alston