Again, a reading day, June 19. We have heard a lot about the importance of reading, the advantages of reading, the importance of reading in daily life, what to read, how to cultivate the habit of reading, and how to read. Book lovers and non-book lovers alike preach about it. So, there is no need to say more about it. Here we are going to talk about some of the games that can be played on Reading Day and the related Reading Week. All these games are fun and informative as well as help to develop the habit of reading.

You can develop the habit of reading through games

Here are some fun games or techniques to develop reading and reading habits. There is no doubt that these games will help a lot to keep the reading going.

Chain reading

Let’s see what is the first game to develop the habit of reading? As the name implies this is a chain reading.  Form a group of eight or ten people. Everyone should have a book in their hand. Must be the same book. Indicate a page number or chapter in that book. Let the child at the far end start reading. The child next to that child read the next line. Thus, everyone must read each line. If a child is unable to read a word while reading, others should help. Thus, by the time a round is read, a page is completed. Everyone will have noticed in the book. How is this game? Did you like it? There is only one rule in this game. That is, if one person stops reading, the next person should read immediately. It should start without wasting any time. Therefore, everyone will pay attention to the reading.

Steal a word

The next game is also interesting. The background is the same as in the old game. Everyone should have a copy of the same book. Start the game from one end. You must first tell which page you are going to read. Deliberately omitting or misreading a word while reading. It can also be read by adding a word that does not exist. Other children who are listening should say what word was left out or added or what went wrong when he or she read it. Only those who look at the book carefully will understand which word is left out. This game will help the children to find mistakes in reading, improve their reading and develop reading habits. When you heard the name of the game, did you think that there are thieves and police in this game? Yes, there are thieves and there are police. The thief is those who utter the wrong words and those who find them are the police. How is this game? Didn’t like it?

Find the word

Sometimes you may think that what is the third game to develop the habit of reading? This is fun as well as very easy. Now you are wondering how to play this game. That’s what I’m going to say. All participants in this game must have a copy of the same book. One of the children should start the game. You must first tell which page you are reading. The person starting the game say a word on that page or paragraph. Other children read aloud the full sentence in which the word is found. The first reader gets the point and gets the chance to say the next word. Isn’t this game good? This game is easy and you will learn to read. There is no better game to celebrate this Reading Day.

Find the context

This game is not so easy. But worth playing because it is so useful. In this game, you have to say which page you are going to read. The child reading should say a word from that page. That word could be someone’s name, place name, or something else. Allow five minutes. By that time all the other students in that game read the whole page and say in a few words what the word is, what it does and what it means in the text. If they could not find the answer to that question from the very same page then skip the word and the next child should say the next word. It would be nice to have a teacher or any adult who knows this lesson to control this game. When one’s turn is over, the next person should say another word. Thus continue this game. By the end of the game, the children will have memorized the whole thing on that page or in that lesson. This is a great game to celebrate this Reading day

Make questions

You might ask if making questions is a game. The answers themselves have a lot to understand and learn. Leave it for a while, we are moving to another game. This is the best game to make this reading day enlightening. In this game, a copy of the same book is not enough. You will need a piece of paper and a pen. The child who starts the game read the first sentence on the page. Other participants in the game should make as many questions as they can to get that sentence as an answer. Check everyone’s questions and choose the most appropriate one. Then ask that question to everyone. Everyone repeats that sentence in response to it. Then the next person reads the next sentence on that page. Then make questions for it. This game has to go on this. Skip the sentence that could not form the question. By the time they have read the entire text of a page, all the children who participated in that game must have memorized the whole thing on that page.

Memorize a sentence

Sometimes when you hear the name of the game, you may understand what the game is. Everyone should have a copy of the same book. The child who starts the game reads the first sentence. Which chapter and which page should be mentioned before the game starts. At the same time that the child is reading, everyone should look at their book and read that verse in their mind. After reading a sentence, everyone should close the book. Then check if anyone can recite that sentence from memory. If not, read the same sentence once again. Now if anyone can tell without looking, they say without looking at the book.  Those with a good memory will tell first. Those who are not, say it again and memorize that sentence. Those who memorize first have the right to read the next sentence. This is how the game should go. This game will be very helpful to learn something like the definitions that need to be memorized while learning. What better game to celebrate this Reading Day?

All these games are for small children. There are plenty of games and other activities for adults to celebrate the Reading day. Prepare reading notes, book reviews, character reviews, and so on. There are many activities such as preparing a book introduction, interviewing any author, collecting authors’ manuscripts, and writing letters to authors.

Reading is a culture

Once again, our reading day, June 19 is arriving. PN Panicker, the founding father of the library movement and a literacy activist, died on June 19th. In his memory, we celebrate Reading Day.  Reading is a culture that should be carried throughout life and not just for a day, a week, or a month. Some worry that reading is declining. Book lovers complain that modern inventions today keep young people, children, and all sorts of people away from books. That is true to an extent. But some argue that reading has not diminished unless the way of reading has changed. The Internet, e-books, and digital libraries continue to advance our reading and reading experience, albeit in a different way. Information technology is not about discouraging reading, it is about developing it in a new way. No wonder the new generation is becoming more interested in e-reading as we need to change over time. Let those who read the old way read so. Let those who read in a new modern way read so. Let us move forward together into the world of knowledge through reading the old way and the new way.

Reading in ancient times

After all, today’s reading has nothing to do with the beauty, enjoyment, excitement, and fascination of the past, that is, the reading of the previous generation. There is no other experience as beautiful as reading in the past. The older generation should be asked about it. They will have sweet and beautiful memories to share. If they want to read the newspaper, they should go to the tea shop or the library. Not everyone can read or write. So those who can read will read aloud to everyone. Some went to drink tea just to know the newspaper news. And radio was another way of getting news, but it was a rare thing in those days. Today’s new generation is laughing when they hear that.

Compulsive reading will not be effective

The problem of today’s new generation is that they do not have time to read. If you want to understand the meaning, depth, and breadth of reading, you have to read it. If you want to experience the value of reading, you must read. Can we understand the taste of mango from words? We have to eat it to understand its taste. But compulsive reading will not be effective. Reading for pleasure is very different from reading under compulsion.  If we are forced to read something, our joy will be snuffed out. However, when we read for fun, we enjoy it a lot. And one more thing, we must carefully choose the books which we wish to read.  The books we choose to read should be intelligently chosen. Reading pleasure can only be enhanced if we can sort out the chaff from the grain when we are reading. We should find some leisure time to enjoy reading for endless enjoyment. Reading for pleasure is not a difficult task.

Final thoughts

Reading is a culture. Moreover, reading reduces stress, improves literacy, increases general knowledge, and exercises the brain. The benefits of reading are endless. In short, reading is a beacon that leads to the infinite expanse of knowledge. Each of us has a responsibility to pass on this lamp to future generations without burning it out. We must read and encourage others to read.

Best quotes about reading

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” – Margaret Fuller.

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero

“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” – Garrison Keillor

“Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.” – Henry Ward Beecher