March is a popular month to celebrate all things literacy in your school! After all, positive thinking about reading is a huge factor in student reading abilities. But who has the time to plan elaborate celebrations? Luckily, celebrating literacy doesn’t have to take a ton of planning! Here are some easy ways to celebrate reading and encourage literacy in your school, no matter the grade!
Reading Themed Spirit Days!
There are so many fun spirit day ideas that involve reading! Have a weekly spirit day during March or have a dedicated week to celebrate literacy! Here are a few of my favorite spirit days with fun reading themes!
- Book Character Day – Dress up like your favorite book character!
- Theme Day – Kindness, friendship, happiness – there are so many great themes and lessons that books teach us! Wear a shirt that represents the theme of a great book!
- Oh, The Places You’ll Go – Dress in a shirt that says a location!
- Literary Quote Day: Students can wear clothing with their favorite book quotes or phrases.
- Non-Fiction Day: Encourage students to dress up as famous historical figures, scientists, or real-life heroes from non-fiction books!
- Magical Creatures Day: Focus on books with magical creatures and have students dress up as unicorns, dragons, or other fantastical beings.
- Superhero Day: Celebrate books with superhero themes, and students can dress as their favorite superheroes or create their own.
- Pajama Day: Students come to school in their pajamas, bringing a cozy atmosphere for reading.
Book Talks!
With so many books, it can be hard for students to find one that sparks their interest – especially if they don’t know how to look! Use March is Reading Month as a great time to share a variety of books that students may fall in love with. A school librarian could share a new book each day of the month over the announcements, or you could share one in your own classroom each day or week! I personally like Book Talks over First Chapter Fridays, since some amazing books have very long first chapters and my middle schoolers zone out!
Wall of Book Recommendations!
Invite teachers and students to share book recommendations or their favorite books through a template of some sort. These are easy to print out and post in a hallway, classroom, or library bulletin board! Students may find their new favorite book at the recommendation of a classmate!
Organize a Book Swap!
Many teachers and students have books at home that they have read and no longer need to keep on their bookshelves! Invite students to bring a book or two for a book swap! Students can bring in a book that they are ready to pass on to someone else. All the books are then laid out in the cafeteria or library, and if students brought a book in, they are able to “shop” for a new-to-them book that they can take home! It can be helpful to give a student a ticket for each book they bring in so they can trade in tickets for each new book they’d like to take home, or set a limit for how many books someone could bring in.
Utilize Scholastic!
Scholastic often has virtual author experiences through video that you can tap into or other cool online experiences for kids. Scholastic has a ton of cool programs as well, such as Classrooms Count, where funds can be donated to purchase books for your students! Check out what they can offer to your students!
For The Overachievers…
If you are an overachiever, like I tend to be, or have more time to plan a more involved celebration, try organizing one of these awesome events!
Organize an Author Visit
Reach out to a favorite author for your grade level and see if you can organize a visit to the school. Be sure to reach out to the author early, discuss their pay, book sales, and event set-up. Then, talk it up with your students!
Organize Mystery Readers
Find community members, parents, high school students, or principals to come into class and read a story to elementary school students! You could use a scheduling system, such as a doodle poll, to have mystery readers sign up for a day or time! Then, email out helpful information to them, like questions to ask, book suggestions (or you could provide the book), and tips for reading out loud (inflection, speaking loudly from the diaphragm, etc)
Organize a Reading or Literacy Night!
Many schools organize a reading or literacy night during March to celebrate reading! At these events, students can play games related to reading, practice specific reading strategies with their grown-ups, and get free books! It can be a great way to provide parents with resources and information about the importance of reading at home with their child. Some community organizations, such as libraries or after-school programs, can set up stations to pass out information or sign students up as well!
Other Reading Holidays
Why wait until March? Celebrate all year long! There are so many reading and writing holidays and themed weeks throughout the year that you can celebrate at school!
- September 6 – National Read a Book Day
- September 8 – International Literacy Day
- September 25 – National Comic Book Day
- First Full Week of October – Mystery Series Week
- Second Full Week of October – National Newspaper Week
- October 16 – Dictionary Day
- Third Full Week of October – Teen Read Week
- November 1 – National Family Literacy Day
- November 6 – National Nonfiction Day
- Third Full Week of November – National Book Award Week & National Young Readers Week
- November 15 – I Love to Write Day
- November 18 – High Five a Librarian Day
- December 7 – Letter Writing Day
- January 2 – National Science Fiction Day
- January 18 – National Thesaurus Day
- Fourth Wednesday in January – Library Shelfie Day
- First Full Week of February – Children’s Authors & Illustrators Week
- February 14 – Library Lovers Day
- March 2 – Read Across America Day
- March 4 – National Grammar Day
- March 14 – National Write Your Story Day
- April 2 – Children’s Book Day
- April 4 – National School Librarian Day
- Second Full Week of April – National Libary Week
- April 12 – Drop Everything and Read Day
- April is National Poetry Month
- Second Full Week of May – Reading is Fun Week
- May is National Family Reading Month
- June is Audiobook Appreciation Month
How do you celebrate reading holidays in your school? I can’t wait to hear your ideas in the comments!
