Which activity would best enhance middle school students' reading comprehension skills?

Enhancing middle school students' reading comprehension skills involves engaging them with text in a way that deepens their understanding and ability to think critically about what they read. Discussing literary themes is particularly effective for comprehension because it encourages students to analyze and interpret texts more deeply.

When students engage in discussions about literary themes, they are prompted to think about the underlying messages and character motivations within a story. This type of discourse stimulates higher-order thinking by requiring students to make connections between the text and their own experiences or other literature. Additionally, sharing their interpretations encourages active participation and allows them to hear diverse perspectives, which can deepen their understanding of varying interpretations and thematic elements.

Through this collaborative learning process, students can clarify their thoughts, refine their arguments, and become more adept at recognizing and analyzing key components of texts, thereby significantly enhancing their reading comprehension skills.