Year 6 reading and writing activities: 7 ideas to start the year strong
Looking for engaging year 6 reading and writing activities to kick off the new school year? Discover 7 tried-and-tested ideas, from collaborative sentence building with Exquisite Corpse to book recommendations with Book Round Robin.
Looking for fun and purposeful year 6 reading and writing activities to kick off the new school year? Whether you're hunting for engaging year 6 reading activities to spark a love of books, or creative year 6 writing activities to build confidence on the page, these seven tried-and-tested ideas are perfect for building excitement, boosting confidence and setting the tone for a successful year of literacy.
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Purposeful year 6 writing activities
Engaging year 6 reading activities
Why year 6 reading and writing activities matter
The transition into year 6 can feel daunting for pupils, with SATs looming on the horizon. But the start of the year is the perfect time to build momentum through purposeful, enjoyable activities. Strong year 6 reading activities help develop comprehension, vocabulary and a genuine love of books. Meanwhile, focused year 6 writing activities assess and build the grammatical foundations and creative confidence for pupils.
Purposeful year 6 writing activities
This list of activities will help you engage, assess and improve year 6 writing skills, all in the first couple of weeks of the school year.
Exquisite corpse or Consequences
This is a popular parlour game (originating from the 1920s and invented by surrealists!) and is a fun way to engage pupils in grammar and sentence construction.
How to play
Set up: give each pupil a piece of paper in portrait orientation and a pen/pencil to write with.
- Each child writes one word at the very top of their paper.
- They fold the paper over once, hiding their word completely.
- They pass the paper to the person on their left (or right—just choose a direction and stick to it).
- The next child writes the second word, folds again, and passes it on.
- Repeat until all nine words have been added.
- Pupils then unfold their ‘Consequences’ and share aloud.
Word order
If you use the following order of words, the sentence is more likely to be a grammatically correct sentence:
Determiner → Adjective → Noun → Past tense verb → Adverb → Preposition → Determiner → Adjective → Noun
Display the following on the board if pupils needs a quick reminder:
Determiner: a word that goes before a noun to tell us which one, how many, or whose it is
Adjective: a describing word
Noun: a person, place or thing
Past tense verb: an action word in the past
Adverb: describes the verb
Preposition: shows position or time
Dear Future Me
Invite the children to write a letter to their future selves, to be opened at the end of the academic year (this is also a good opportunity for an initial writing assessment).
They might include:
- how they’re feeling about the start of the year
- personal goals
- things they’re excited about
- any worries they have.
Be sure to model the activity first, perhaps by writing your own letter to share with the class. Once completed, collect the letters and store them somewhere safe until the end of the year. For an extra special touch, consider burying them in the school grounds and planting something on top: something that will grow and bloom over the year, just like them!
Master sentence structure
It seems to be a never ending bugbear for year 6 teachers: so many children don’t understand what a sentence actually is - and some still aren’t using capital letters and full stops correctly. If you're trying to help your class move away from writing how they speak, The Writing Revolution (TWR) by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler offers a clear, practical solution. Though published in the US and aimed primarily at secondary education, its structured, explicit approach to writing instruction has proven highly effective in British primary classrooms as well.
The book breaks down writing into manageable techniques suitable for all age groups, with activities labeled as “Level 1” (primary) and “Level 2” (secondary). The first chapter (Sentences: The Basic Building Blocks of Writing) is ideal as a foundation for daily English starters, focusing on developing a strong understanding of what makes a complete sentence. Key strategies include:
- Identifying fragments orally: Children recognise sentence fragments and add missing parts to complete them, using familiar content from other subjects.Correcting standalone fragments: Pupils rewrite fragments on whiteboards as full sentences, often using current curriculum topics.
- Spotting fragments in text: Students read short paragraphs and correct embedded fragments.
- Unscrambling sentences: Words are jumbled and must be ordered into coherent sentences.
- Fixing run-on sentences: Children learn to separate or connect main clauses using appropriate punctuation or conjunctions.
These exercises improve grammatical understanding and sentence structure. TWR also promotes sentence expansion through techniques like "kernel sentences", "because, but, so", and appositives, helping students craft more complex, meaningful writing across the curriculum.
More on The Writing Revolution
Sophie explores how the Writing Revolution can transform KS2 sentence construction in this dedicated blog.
More on The Writing Revolution
Sophie explores how the Writing Revolution can transform KS2 sentence construction in this dedicated blog.
Read the blog
Engaging year 6 reading activities
These reading activities will help you decide on a book for the coming half term; encourage reading at home; and instill a fun and exciting culture of reading for pleasure.
Bingo challenge
As a class, create a ‘bingo sheet’ for reading and invite the children to complete it at home over the first few weeks. This could include ideas such as:
- Read to someone younger
- Read a page in a funny accent
- Read whilst wearing a hat
- Read to a group of people
- Read lying on the floor
- Read for 45 minutes in one go
- Read to someone over the phone
The children always love coming up with their own. You could even ask them to take pictures of themselves doing some of them for a class display or website post!
Look for reading intervention inspiration?
Explore the core pillars of effective reading intervention with Steph Rhodes.
Vote for a class story
If you've already selected a book that aligns with your initial topic, consider saving it for the following term. By then, pupils will have the background knowledge needed to better understand and engage with the text - an idea supported by Doug Lemov’s theory on embedding non-fiction.
Instead, give your class the opportunity to choose their first book. Present a selection of 5–6 high-quality texts (or more, depending on your time constraints) and explore them together. Show the covers, read the blurbs, and perhaps share the first page of each. Then, invite the children to vote for their favourite!
“The rights of the reader”
Inspired by Daniel Pennac’s The Rights of the Reader, this simple yet powerful activity helps year 6 pupils see reading as a personal, enjoyable experience - not just something they do for school.
Start by asking, “What makes someone a reader?” Then introduce Pennac’s 10 reader’s rights, using real examples and encouraging honest discussion. For example:
- The right to not finish a book – helpful when choosing free reading texts
- The right to read anything – comics, cookbooks, news articles, and even SATs revision guides all count
- The right to re-read – many children return to favourites like Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Tom Gates.
Next, split the class into small groups and assign a “right” to each. They create a short sketch, cartoon strip or freeze-frame to illustrate it. Keep it playful! Reading can be serious and silly.
Finally, turn the rights into a display. Children can add quotes, drawings or reading tips linked to each one (you could even link this to the “bingo challenge” above). This becomes a lasting reminder that reading should be full of freedom and choice.
As an extension, pupils could write a short reflection: Which right do you use most? Least? Why?
This activity works well at the start of term: it reminds pupils that they are real readers, with real reading rights - and that reading in year 6 isn’t just all about SATs. It’s about cultivating young people who take pleasure in reading.
Book round robin
Invite each child to bring in a favourite book they’ve recently enjoyed. Pair up the children and label them A and B. Each child takes one minute to share with their partner why they love their chosen book and why others should read it.
Once both partners have shared, have child B rotate to the next seat, forming a new pair with a different child A. In a class of 30, after a full rotation, each student will have received 15 book recommendations. With so many suggestions, there’s a good chance everyone will find a new book they’re excited to read!
Why starting strong makes all the difference
These year 6 reading and writing activities strike a balance between structure, creativity and pupil voice, perfect for boosting confidence and enthusiasm right from the start. Whether you're looking for engaging year 6 reading activities to build a classroom culture of book lovers, or purposeful year 6 writing activities to strengthen grammatical foundations, a positive start sets the tone for a focused and fulfilling year.