ESL Reading Games, Activities, Lesson Plans | Reading Comprehension

Are you looking for some of the best ESL reading games and activities, along with lesson plans, worksheets and exercises? Then you’re certainly in the right place as we have the best ESL reading comprehension activities for you to consider including in your reading lesson plans.

Let’s find out the best ESL reading activity or reading comprehension game that you might want to try out with your students.

ESL Reading Comprehension Games and Activities to Try Out

Are you ready to get into the reading activities? Let’s get to it. Check out these reading games for adults, as well as kids right here!

#1: Hot Potato ESL Reading Game

If you’re teaching students how to read then you may want to try out this hot potato game. It’s a fun way to get them practicing this important skill.

The way it works is that students have to pass an object around the class and when the timer goes off or the music stops, they have to do something. In this case, it may be showing students a flashcard with a word and they have to say it. Or, read the next sentence in an article.

Find out more here: Hot Potato.

#2: Dialogue Substitution ESL Reading Activity

There are a ton of dialogues in ESL textbooks as it’s a very common way that new grammar and vocabulary are introduced. However, have you noticed that students often just blow through them and don’t really pay attention to what they’re reading?

A way to combat this is to remove some of the key words. Then, it turns it from simply an easy reading activity to one that focuses heavily on meaning as well. Learn more about this ESL reading activity right here: Dialogue Substitution Reading Activity.

#3: Odd One Out

#4: Do you like to _____?

Try out this simple reading, writing, listening and speaking activity with your students. Yes, it covers all 4 skills and is some ESL teaching gold.

The way it works is that students have to write 5 facts about themselves. It could be something they like or another kind of fact. Then, distribute the papers around the class to the other students and they have to mingle with their classmates finding the matches.

Sounds like something you want to try out? More details here: Do you Like to ____? 4-Skills ESL Activity.

#5: ESL Board Games

In real life, I love to play board games so I also like to incorporate them into my classes as well. It’s really easy to make your own and they also have a good amount of reading comprehension in them as students have to read the question or statement and then respond to it correctly.

Want to check them out? You can see all the details here: Board Games for ESL.

#6: Post-Reading Activities

After getting students to read things, it’s always a good idea to do some post-reading activities to get the most bang for our buck! There are tons of things you can do and it’s good to mix things up to keep it fresh and interesting for our students.

Find out more about this: ESL Post-Reading Activities.

 

#7: Task-Based Reading Activities

I LOVE task based teaching and learning and try to incorporate at least some of it into each of my classes. There are numerous advantages to them including being a nice change of pace from the regular routine, students have a large degree of freedom and also that they’re very student-centred.

As far as reading goes, there are numerous things you could do for task-based activities:

• Novel studies with a group project
• Reading a newspaper article and making a short presentation to the class
• Ordering events based on a short story
• Etc.

Want to know more? Check this out: Task-Based ESL Activities.

#8: Conversation Starters

Although this is mostly a speaking and listening activity, there is a good dose of reading comprehension as students are given a list of questions from which to read. It’s a nice way to combat the silence when you tell students to talk about a certain topic!

More details here: ESL Conversation Starters.

#9: ESL Clothing Quiz

Try out this fun quiz with your students where they have to read clues.

#10: Rocks Scissor Paper ESL Reading Games

Try out this fun review game with a serious dose of reading in it! The way it works is that you make up a bunch of questions and answers and then cut them all up into pieces of paper.

Each student gets a mix of questions and answers and then circulates around the class trying to find their matches. When they do find a match, the students do rocks scissor paper, the winner takes both and gets a point.

Want to know more? Find out all the details here: Rocks Scissor Paper ESL Game.

#11: Got to Hand it to You

This is a simple review activity that’s heavy on the reading and turns something that’s usually kind of boring (review and error correction) into something new by making it into a relay race.

Want to give it a try? You can learn more about this reading activity ESL right here: Error Correction Relay Race.

#12: Reading Comprehension Games

Here are even more ideas for you to consider:

#13: Agony Aunt Advice Column

One fun reading comprehension activity that you may want to try out is this one for giving and getting advice. Students have to read about a problem and then work together in groups to give that person some advice.

You can see all the details here: Agony Aunt Problem Advice ESL Activity.

#14: Story Timeline ESL Reading Exercise

One of the best activities for after reading a short story (or even a novel) is to do the story timeline. Students have to work together in groups to put the events of the story in the correct order.

Find out more about this useful reading comprehension activity here: Story Timeline Reading Activity.

#15: Current Events Presentation Project

Although this activity focuses mostly on speaking, the basis of it is a current events new article that students have to read and base their presentations on. The results with this activity in my classes have been excellent so definitely consider trying it out in your classes.

Check it out: Current Events Presentation Project.

#16: Running Dictation

One of the ESL activities to try out with your students is running dictation. It hits all the skills in a big way, including reading and it’s also fun and challenging and it can be used to easily focus on something like ESL phrasal verbs. It does take a bit to explain how to set it up and play it, so be sure to check out this detailed explanation:

ESL Running Dictation Game.

#17: ESL Surveys

Surveys are another one of those multi-skill ESL activities that also have a good dose of reading in them. The way it works is that students have to circulate around the class finding someone who can answer yes to a question on their paper (that’s the reading part of it). They also lend themselves to just about any topic.

Check out this versatile ESL activity here: ESL Survey Ideas.

#18: Information Gap Activities

#19: ESL Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Keep in mind that teaching English doesn’t need to be all about entertainment all the time. Sometimes serious work is required in order to learn a language so consider doing some more serious things in your classes too.

In this case, consider doing some focused reading activities that have some reading comprehension worksheets to go along with them. You could consider using some class time for this or assigning something like this for homework. See below for some of the best resources to consider using.

#20: Scrambled Sentences

A simple English reading game to consider using in your class is this one. It’s a perfect way to review just about anything. The way it works is that you can write a bunch of sentences on a worksheet or on the board and students have to work to put the words in the correct order.

Alternatively, you can do this for a conversation or short story at the sentence level.

#21: Choose your Own Adventure ESL Writing Activity

Group writing activities are hard to come by, but Choose Your Own Adventure is one of the best ones. It’s done in groups of four so at the end of the activity, students can exchange stories and this becomes a serious reading activity too. Plus, it’s one that students generally love because their classmates have come up with the stories, plus they have a choice about which direction to take.

Want to give it a try? See all the details here: ESL Group Writing Activity.

#22: Advanced English Conversation Dialogues

If your students want to improve their reading and vocabulary skills, consider recommending this book filled with phrases and idioms in American English. It’s easy to use, engaging, and interactive. Best of all? Your students will love it.

#23: Reader’s Theater

Assign characters to students and have them act out a scene or the entire story. This helps improve fluency and understanding of the text.

#24: Error Correction Relay Race

#25: Short Stories for ESL Students Intermediate

I love to use interesting short stories in my classes. They’re a nice change of pace from the usual news stories or textbook readings. One of the resources for this can be found right here:

Short Stories for ESL Students.

#26: Graphic Organizers

Use graphic organizers like story maps, Venn diagrams, or timelines to help students visually organize information from the reading.

#27: Teach Phonics

If students are not proficient readers, phonics may help them out! This is particularly true for very young learners in preschool, kindergarten or first grade. Here are some of my top options:

Phonics Activities.

#28: Preposition of Place Memory Game

Check out this simple reading and memory activity for prepositions of place:

#29: Books for English Learners

If you have higher-level students, it can be useful to get them to read simple novels and books in English. Here are some of the top recommendations:

Easy books to read in English.

#30: Digital Storytelling

Have students create digital presentations or videos summarizing the main points of the reading. This integrates technology and creativity into the learning process.

#31: Word Wall

Create a word wall with key vocabulary from the reading. Encourage students to use these words in sentences or discussions.

ESL Reading Exercises and Lesson Plans

There are lots of excellent reading lesson plans that are available to just print off and use in your classes. It’s a huge time-saver and any busy teacher should definitely take advantage of this resource! Here are some of the top picks:

ESL Activity

One Stop English

Tesol.org

ESL Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The good news for teachers is that there’s really no need to reinvent the wheel! There are a ton of great resources online, including reading comprehension worksheets and exercises for ESL. Here are some of the top picks:

ISL Collective

Agenda Web

ESL Galaxy

Did you like these ESL Reading Games?

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book over on Amazon: ESL Reading Activities for Teenagers and Adults. The key to better English classes for adults is a wide variety of interesting, engaging and student-centred activities and games and this book will help you do that in style. Seriously, you’ll be able to make it through an entire semester of reading lessons without having to repeat an activity!

Keep a copy of the book on the shelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide when making your lesson plans. Or, download the free Kindle reading app onto your phone, laptop or tablet and take it with you to your favourite coffee shop for some serious lesson planning on the go.

Either way, it’s the book you need if you’re serious about leveling up your English teaching game! Find out more about these ESL reading activities on Amazon:

ESL Reading Games FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about ESLreading. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is ESL reading?

ESL reading is teaching reading skills to people whose first language is not English. The process involves breaking reading down into distinct steps while the goal is to build reading comprehension skills across a variety of genres.

How do you make ESL reading fun?

It’s possible to make ESL reading more fun by doing some of these things:

• Use a variety of reading material genres.
• Plan a variety of different ESL reading activities and fun games.
• Context is key. Students should be able to connect what they read with their real life.
• Post-reading activities can be very fruitful.

What are the English reading skills?

English reading skills are those acquired through reading, such as comprehension, fluency and the ability to read independently. All of these things allow students to understand the meaning of what they’re reading without having to stop too often to look up words for example.

What are the 7 reading strategies?

The top 7 cognitive reading strategies of effective reading are as follows: activating, inferring, questioning, monitoring/clarifying, searching/selecting, summarizing, visualizing/organizing.

What are the 5 ESL reading skills?

The five ESL reading skills to be aware of are:

• phonics (awareness of letter sounds)
• phonemic awareness (awareness of syllables, words, etc.)
• vocabulary
• fluency (reading speed)
• reading comprehension understanding)

How do you plan an ESL reading lesson?

Have your say about these ESL Reading Activities and Games

What’s your top pick for an ESL reading game or exercise? Is it one of the options from this or do you have your eye on another one? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2025-04-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API