Are you ready for Read Across America Day? Or maybe your school is lining up Read Across America Week activities, and you’re still hunting for ideas?
There’s nothing like a holiday that’s all about reading to warm a teacher’s heart, but planning yet another set of activities can leave even the most put-together teacher feeling frazzled. No need to stress!
The teacher team at Teach Starter has put together a range of activities for kids that bring this annual March holiday to life in new and fresh ways. Our ELA teachers have included options for teachers whether you’ve got a kindergarten class this year or you’re teaching one of the upper elementary grades. To save you time on your lesson plans, they’ve even included printable resources, book suggestions, and more ways to align the holiday to the curriculum. Read on for ideas to replace that age-old green eggs and ham breakfast with new ways to bring the joy of reading to life, including Read Across America Day read-aloud guest ideas, books you can add to your read-aloud line-up, reading-themed bulletin boards and of course plenty of Read Across American Week activities and fun ideas for he classroom!
Skip the line, and get your Read Across America Day printables!
Before we dive into the ideas, a quick word. We know you know that reading is important, but if you’re not sure you have time to fit this day into your packed-tight schedule, it’s worth considering the staggering statistics out there on the number of kids who lose interest in reading for fun as they get older.
Maybe you’ve heard it called the “decline by 9” phenomenon? Research shows the percentage of kids who report reading books for fun – five to seven days a week – drops from 57 percent to just 35 percent between the ages of 8 and 10. That’s a huge decline, and it only shows the importance of keeping the “fun” aspect alive for our elementary students.
Read Across America Day Read-Aloud Guest Ideas
Inviting a guest reader into the classroom for a special Read Across America Day read-aloud is just one of the many activities we suggest, and it offers a host of benefits for both you and your students. Not only do you get a break from using your teacher voice for a few minutes (hey, we can all use a break now and then!), but the chance to see some of their role models embracing a love of reading creates more positive associations with books for kids.
Not sure who you can ask to read to your class? Before we get into the full list of activity ideas for the March holiday, we thought it might help to share some ideas of who to invite for your read-aloud!
- Athletes from your district high school
- Actors from your high school drama club
- Students from one of the older classes within your building
- Cafeteria or custodial staff members
- Local TV anchors or reporters
- Local newspaper journalists
- Your mayor or councilperson
- Members of the school board
- Local firefighters or other emergency personnel
- Members of your local veterans group
- A local author
Read Across America Day Activity Ideas
The following ideas are built around doing just that, and yes, there’s some curriculum built in for quite a few too.
1. Dress Up As Your Favorite Book Character
Photo courtesy of Maryland principal Ryan Daniel
No need to wait for Halloween; use Read Across America Week as an excuse to dress as your favorite book character! Maryland principal Dr. Ryan Daniel did just that with this adorable Miss Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus. “Take chances, make mistakes and get messy!”
2. Set a Reading Goal … and Slime the Principal
How many books can your class read on Read Across America Day or during Reading Month? Like a read-a-thon, setting a class reading goal for the month can create a sense of community and remind kids of the fun of reading. And when you make the reward something truly motivating, even the most reluctant readers will want in on the fun.
Work with your students to pick a goal, and ask your principal (or another administrator) to help you create an incentive. Will they agree to be slimed if your class can make their reading goal? Or maybe they’ll kiss a pig?
Get an easy peasy slime recipe if slime is the name of the game!
3. Buddy Up For Reading
Pair up with another teacher for a buddy reading block on Read Across America Day! If you’re teaching one of the upper elementary or middle school grades, your students can read to younger kids in one of the primary grades. Teaching kindergarten or first grade? Find a teacher with older kids who can visit your class as special guest readers!
Reading to younger students will allow the older kids to take on leadership roles and develop a sense of responsibility as they guide and support their younger peers. It also helps 4th, 5th and 6th grade students improve their communication and interpersonal skills as they explain the story and engage with the younger students.
4. Introduce Book Buddies
Speaking of buddies … do you have a set of stuffed animals in your classroom for kids to select when they settle in with a book? If not, Read Across America Day is the perfect time to add these special friends to your classroom.
The concept is simple — a collection of stuffies is set up in your classroom reading corner (we suggest putting them all in a Book Buddies Bin to keep things organized). Students can then select a buddy to read to or with. Having a cuddly friend by their side can make their reading experience just a little less intimidating. The stuffed animals act as non-judgmental and comforting companions — after all, they won’t say a word if the kids stumble over pronouncing a new word!
It’s worth noting that there isn’t a ton of research on using stuffed animals as reading buddies in the classroom, but these are the next best thing to bringing story dogs into the classroom. After all, there is plenty of evidence that when kids read out loud to real live pets, it can lead to improved reading fluency and accuracy in children. One study out of University of California, Davis, for example, found that kids who read to dogs showed an increase in word recognition and reading comprehension skills.
5. Read Books by State
Use this fun site to find kids’ books set in different states around the US to truly “Read Across America!” You can also set up your own system for reading one book set in each state, working with the school librarian or challenging your students to find the books.
Teach Starter Teacher Tip: As your class works its way across the US map throughout Read Across America Week, students can color in each state!
6. Hold a Class Read-a-Thon
Read-a-thons are a fun and low-pressure way for students to engage with books, and they’re a great way to build a sense of community among students who are all working toward the same goal.
Tell students they can dress in their PJs on Read Across America Day, and let them bring a pillow to school along with their favorite stuffed animal and a pile of their favorite books for an all-day read-a-thon! To keep kids on task throughout the day, set a timer for a break every 20 minutes and have students do a book-related activity such as:
- Draw a character from the book you’re reading, and share some traits of that character.
- Make a prediction about how you think the book will end.
- Share three events from the book and make an inference about how you think the character is feeling during each (this template can help them form their thoughts).
7. Create Potato Book Character Dioramas
Teaching your third graders to describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events? It’s diorama time … with a twist!
Add an ounce of fun to their character dioramas by challenging students to use potatoes to create their characters. Students can present their potato buddy dioramas to the class during Read Across America Week, explaining the chosen character, the book’s key elements and the creative choices made in the diorama.
8. Hold a Read Under the Clouds Day
Are you lucky enough to be teaching in one of the warmer parts of the United States this March? Take your students outside for a Read Under the Clouds Day (or hour?)!
You can bring in a science element by discussing clouds themselves before the class exits the building, but you don’t have to!
The goal of this activity is to show kids that reading is something fun and enjoyable to do anywhere — not just in your classroom!
9. Assign Book Reviews
Book reports can feel onerous for kids, but writing book reviews is a different process that can test some of the same skills while engaging students who thrill at the idea of getting to express their opinions (good, bad, or indifferent!) about a book. While you get to gauge your students’ depth of engagement with the content, they get the chance to approach reading with a critical eye while feeling empowered to express their own thoughts and feelings, connecting a book’s themes to their own lives.
And let’s face it: Assigning book reviews can also increase students’ engagement with literature. By requiring them to read and analyze a book, your students may become more interested in reading for pleasure and exploring other books on their own.
Print off a fun book review template like this silly sloth to add to the fun factor.
10. “Pop” Up Your Bulletin Board
Looking for the perfect bulletin board to get kids excited about Read Across America Day? With the popping bubble toys craze still hot, hot, hot, this Pop Into a Good Book bulletin board from K-5 media specialist Erin Wallace is an absolute must!
Check out more of Wallace’s school literacy activities on her Instagram, @librarydunn.
You can also set up a reading-themed bulletin board in your classroom with some of these fun book-related puns:
- I Read a Latte — Surround the words with little coffee mugs
- This School Dives Into Reading — Have fish dive into a book, or print out fish-themed book review templates for students to fill out as they read new books.
- Warm Up With a Good Book — Print these fun cocoa mugs that double as a book review template!
- We Got Caught Reading — Create a spider web, and add a book cover each time you read it with your class.
- Reading Takes Us Places — Add a map of the US
- Reading Makes You Sharp — Add cactus cut-outs!
- A Book a Day Keeps the Monsters Away — We even created a complete kit, so you just have to hit print!
11. Set Up a Classroom Book Swap
You know just how expensive buying new books for your classroom can be (psst — we’ve got some ideas for getting free books!), and adding books to a child’s shelf at home can be equally challenging for parents. Set up a classroom book swap so students can get new books for free!
Encourage your students to bring a book (or several) from home that they’ve already read and are ready to part with. Set up a swap meet and allow students to browse the selections to find a new book to take home! If you know any teachers who are headed toward retirement or made a big grade change this school year, you might want to ask them if they’re divesting themselves of books that can be added to the swap options for students who don’t have one at home to bring.
12. Create a Charitable Reading Challenge
Promote kindness and compassion along with a celebration of reading for Read Across America Day with a charity book drive.
Students can bring in books to donate to the seniors at your local nursing home, or or perhaps they can collect books to be donated to a local store that sells books for a specific organization. Veterans organizations also often collect books for vets to read, so there are plenty of options to give these books new homes while showing your students the importance of sharing the love of a great read.
13. Explore Diversity Through the Reading
Looking for a fun Read Across America Day activity for the whole school? Why not make this big day a chance to embrace and explore diversity and multiculturalism?
Work with your co-teachers to choose a different culture for each grade. You can then find books about that culture or containing characters from the culture and complete an age-appropriate project.
The resulting student work can be added to a cultural bulletin board in the hallway!
14. Build Out Your Classroom Bookcase
Looking to add something new to your bookshelf this Read Across America Day? Here are some of our favorite children’s books by theme!
- Books for 5th Grade
- Books for Teaching About Character Traits
- Books About Love
- Books for Teaching Procedural Writing
- Books by AAPI Authors
- First Day of School Books
- Age-Appropriate Books for Teaching About Body Boundaries
- Books to Hook Reluctant Readers
- Engineering Books for Kids
- Books for Teaching Persuasive Writing
- Books With Female Protagonists
15. Create a Character Crime Scene
Make the entrance to your school library or maybe even the cafeteria into an engaging who-dun-it mystery by staging “crime scenes” from their favorite books. For example. someone has eaten all the cookies, and what’s that (?) … it looks like there are mouse-sized footprints. It seems like someone gave a mouse a cookie!
16. Lean Into March Madness
March isn’t just the time of year we celebrate Read Across America Day. For basketball fans, it’s when the hoopla over the NCAA tournament hits fever pitch. Bring some of that basketball madness into your Read Across America Week activities with a book bracket!
Create a bulletin board that pits 64 different books against one another — bracket-style. Have your students vote each day to advance books through the bracket to pick the winner!
17. Make Their Books Come Alive With a Character Craft
After reading, give students a chance to create the characters from some of their favorite books in craft form.
We love these colorful chameleons from Leo Lionni’s A Color of His Own (below). Get the instructions, plus crafts inspired by Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar, and more!
18. Hold a Reading Scavenger Hunt
Send students on a reading quest with a scavenger hunt! Let them loose in your classroom library or the school library to find books to help them complete the hunt. Grab our team’s reading scavenger hunt template for the perfect Read Across America Day adventure!
19. Explore the Parts of a Book
Understanding the parts of a book is a fundamental skill for academic success, as it is a key aspect of analyzing and understanding literature, so why not bring development of this vital skill into your Read Across America Week lesson planning?
Add this fun reading center activity with the cut and paste activity template, and grab a parts of the book poster too!
20. Make Bookmarks
If we had it our way, we’d make every gift-giving holiday a bookmark-giving holiday. They’re just so useful and make reading that much more fun for kids! But wait, why are bookmarks on a list of Read Across America Day activities? Because these crafty corner bookmarks double as a fun activity for students to complete during the festivities.
Students can make their own bookmarks on Read Across America Day, then use them for the rest of the year.
- Make googly-eyed monster bookmarks
- Hit the barnyard to create chicken and fox bookmarks
- Have a super day making superhero bookmarks!
Or pick from dozens of already-made bookmarks — just click and print!
21. Make Recycled Books
Here’s a fun Read Across America Day idea from Randi Smith, a Georgia teacher on the Teach Starter team. When the holiday lined up with her pollution and conservation unit, Smith challenge students to bring empty cereal boxes into school to make recycled books, then write their own stories.
The inside pages of the books can be made using notebook paper.
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