Teaching Tip - Classroom Activities - Text Comprehension with a Colorful Twist

Teachers are always on the lookout for fresh, engaging ideas to keep adult English language learners interested and actively involved. Here's a creative and colorful activity that puts the power of learning directly into your students' hands!

Activity: Color-Coded Fact Search

This interactive exercise asks students to read a passage and answer questions about what they've read—but with a twist! Not only will they need to provide the answers, but they’ll show the evidence by highlighting where they found the information.

Here’s How It Works:

1. Prepare the Materials:

   • If your materials don't already have text comprehension questions developed, create them!

   • Provide each student with a copy of the passage, the questions, and a set of colored pencils or markers. Ensure that everyone has the same sets of colors.

2. Group Activity:

   • Start by reading the first question as a group.

   • Have students color the question in yellow (you may decide to color-code the questions ahead of time instead!)

3. Finding the Answers:

   • Ask students to search the passage for the answer to question 1 and highlight the corresponding details in yellow.

4. Independent or Small Group Practice:

   • Continue this process for each question, using different colors for each.

   • Once the passages are color-coded, students can answer the questions independently by referring to the highlighted sections.

   • Check the colors of the class in whatever way makes the most sense!

     
     

Example

Students might answer yes/no questions based on the reading. To extend the challenge, ask them to highlight where they found their answers, encouraging deeper engagement with the text.

Below is an example of what the activity can look like. In this activity, students are asked to answer yes/no questions about a reading passage.

text comprehension questions

This activity not only makes reading comprehension more interactive but also adds a layer of critical thinking, all with minimal prep work for the teacher. Plus, you can easily adjust the complexity to suit your students' proficiency levels!

*This reading passage and accompanying activities were created and developed by Literacy Minnesota. See more of their content here: https://www.literacymn.org/educator-resources