10 Reading Week Ideas No comments Read Across America, Reading, reading week, Teaching Ideas Once a year we get the opportunity to dedicate a full week to all things related to reading. Reading Week, or Read Across America, is such a great way to instill a love of learning in students. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link. My school does a lot of school wide events to make Reading Week special, but I always like to do a few things of my own. If you're looking for some simple ways to make this week extra special for your students, then keep on reading. Book Snack During a read aloud, let your students enjoy a special snack. This can be as cutesy and themed as you want it to be (or not at all). Trust me when I tell you that your kids will love snacking on Goldfish as you read Mercy Watson to them. But, if you want to amp it up a bit, here are a few suggestions to work with: Read Corduroy and let students eat a button shaped cookie Read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and give them a cookie (or pair any book in this series with its food item) Read The Watermelon Seed or Watermelon Madness and let the students eat a slice of watermelon or some watermelon sour gummies Read Diary of a Worm and let students eat a few gummy worms Random Themed D.E.A.R. Times Rather than offer silent reading at the same time each day during Reading Week, switch up the times each day. Better yet, make that D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) time themed! This is such a simple way to make silent reading more fun. Invite your students to participate in daily themes such as reading to a stuffed animal, laying on a pillow, or reading in the dark with a flashlight. Send home the note below home the Friday before Reading Week so students can prepare over the weekend for day one. You can grab this D.E.A.R. note by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. :) Schedule some D.E.A.R time for Read Alouds D.E.A.R. time isn't just for silent reading. It can be for read alouds too! So, drop everything and read to your students. They'll love it. Flashlight Read If you don't like the idea of themed D.E.A.R. time, then opt for a day or two of flashlight reading. Finger flashlights are always popular with students. Turn down the lights, give each student a finger flashlight, and let them read. Easy peasy. Find a New Place to Read Weather permitting, maybe you can take your kids outside to read one day. Is there anything more fun than sitting on the play structure and reading? If the weather isn't cooperating, then find other places in your building to read. Maybe you could let them read: on the school stage in the hallway in your computer lab in your school library (if it's available for use) Buddy Read Partner up with a different grade level for some buddy reading. I remember having Big Buddies in elementary school (and then one day becoming a Big Buddy myself). It was always so fun to read with kids in a different grade. Have a Read-In Let your students participate in a read-in. This could be a full day event, or a half day. Let students bring a blanket and pillow so they can cozy up as they read. And, if you're feeling bold, let them build reading forts. Set Out Baskets of Special Books Put out some special baskets filled with books. These books can come from your own classroom library, or even the school library. Choose some fun themes, new titles, or Caldecott winners and invite your students to read these featured books during D.E.A.R. time. Book Share Throughout the week, let the students take turns sharing a favorite book. This is an easy way to incorporate some speaking and listening into your week. Once students choose a book, they can explain why they like it. It would also be a great way to get students excited about reading new books. Make a Bookmark Let your students make a bookmark. They could make one from scratch (give them a plain white template and let them have at it), or let them color a bookmark like the one shown below. You can grab this fun bookmark by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. :) Extra, Extra A few fun extras you might want to consider are sending home Reading Bingo to encourage more reading at home. Or, a fun reading themed graphing activity that allows you to get in a little extra math practice. You can grab both of these fun extras by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. :) I hope you are able to use an idea or two from this post! Happy reading, my friends. And, don't forget, you can grab all of the fun resources featured in this post for FREE by signing up for my newsletter. Click here to sign up. DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:
