High School Reading Classes and Activities

What Skills Are Taught in High School Reading Classes?

High school level texts can be very challenging and require strong comprehension and analytical skills. In a typical high school reading class, your child may be taught pre-reading strategies, which are specifically useful for dense, technical textbook reading. The teacher will show your child how to use the chapter objectives, headings, sub-headings and key words to enhance comprehension.

After covering pre-reading strategies, your child will learn how to take notes while reading. Taking effective notes can greatly increase comprehension and make it easier for kids to study for tests and participate in class discussions. For practice with additional high school reading skills, try the activities below.

Reading Activities for High School Students

Crossword Puzzle

Vocabulary is another important component of high school reading, and teachers may discuss common roots, prefixes and suffixes. By learning parts of words, students will be able to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words based on the word parts and context, which is critical when preparing for standardized tests and college prep work.

To help your child prepare for classroom tests, the SAT or the ACT, you can create a crossword with terms from his study guides using a free puzzle generator online. Many sites provide vocabulary terms and definitions for students studying for standardized tests, and you can put these into the generator to give your child a review while still allowing him to have some fun.

Cartoon Strip

To test a student's understanding of a text, the teacher may ask her to recap the story, highlight key points or answer comprehension questions. You can do the same at home by having your child recap the text in the form of a cartoon strip. Whether your child is artistic or not, this activity is a great way to get her thinking about a text she's just read in a different way.

Trip Planner

With this activity, your child will gain experience planning a short trip by reading and analyzing brochures and customer reviews. As a high school student, your child should be able to make judgment calls based on specific arguments and claims from restaurants, hotels, shops and consumers. Once your child has completed the activity and created an itinerary for a given date, openly discuss his choices. If you want to make the activity more meaningful, you can take the trip your child planned after he reaches a goal or milestone.