Book Week Bonanza
17 Fun Ways to Bring Children’s Books to Life
Book Week 2019 Runs from 29th April to 5th May 2019
Book Week is a big event in most schools and is a wonderful way to help students understand how much fun reading can be. Book Week is a chance to take stories out of the silent spaces of solo reading and bring them to life in the classroom.
Planning a special set of days at your own school?
Here are some great ideas for getting kids excited about books and reading.
1. Recreate a Story as a Comic
One of the best ways to reinforce reading skills is through writing. A great writing exercise is to retell a favourite book as a summary. But why settle for a basic paragraph when you can make a colourful comic? Try this one and watch the kids light up at the thought of a retelling.
2. Honour Dr. Seuss with fun T-shirts
This blog has two great ideas for shirts that celebrate the master of young people’s literature, the one and only Dr. Seuss. The first starts with blank t-shirts in black and then has a cat belly attached to the front, as well as a cattail in the back. It’s adorable and something anyone can make.
The second design is based on the characters Thing One and Thing Two. This version goes beyond the typical red shirt by adding a blue fringe to the sides to represent the characters unique hairstyles.
3. A Very Hungry T-shirt
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the most popular counting books on the market, and one of the reasons it’s so beloved is the beautiful, multi-coloured main character, the caterpillar itself. Use that famous bug as a transfer onto a white tee to take a literal page out of the book and put it on your reading enthusiast.
4. Grab a reading buddy
To celebrate Book Week, introduce some cuddly animals that the students can take with them to their favourite reading spot. You can have the students check them out just like books and then return them to their special pockets. They’ll love adopting a little friend to read with.
5. Build a Library Fort
Work with your librarians and arrange for an after-hours campout in the library. You can put blankets and sheets up to make little temporary structures between the bookcases and have a flashlight story time. Help everyone see the library in a new way with this cozy activity.
6. Try some Story Time Yoga
Add movement to a story with poses that bring characters in a book to life. Yoga poses are wonderful to use because they are emblematic of dogs, cats, snakes and trees. You can teach some basic poses as you tell a story and help your kids get a little extra exercise as well. Try this lesson plan.
7. Have a Character Parade
Kids love to dress up and see their teachers in costume as well, so why not make it an event and show off everyone’s creativity? Make sure to have the parade at the end of the week, so your students have plenty of time to plan some epic costumes. If you can, have them carry the book that inspired them. You won’t regret it.
8. Make Storybook Lanterns
These little paper bag lanterns are so much fun, giving students a chance to celebrate a favourite character. They look great on a school walkway, out in a library during a campout or for the kids to take home and enjoy privately. No matter where they light them up, they will look amazing.
9. Cage up some banned books
Book Week is a great time to discuss censorship and why books get pulled from libraries. If you have older students, this is a great time to have a debate about what kinds of materials should be available in schools. To make a visualization for the kids, try putting some books in a cage to reinforce the idea of something forbidden.
10. Make an Epic Library Display
Libraries become a focal point when it’s time for Book Week, so take advantage! If you need some inspiration, check out these outstanding displays like a stand-up Batman to remind students to return… their books. You can also do a wall devoted to African American authors or a young adult cover ball gown.
11. Host a Book Swap
Book swaps are a fun and interactive way to help students change up their personal book collections. Ask kids to bring in any older books they don’t read as much anymore and make an attractive display.
Then, hand out two tickets per donated book that participants can use to “shop.” Next, just sit back and let the swap begin. This is an activity that runs itself.
12. Make a Giant Book
A mattress box becomes a massive hardcover book with this simple tutorial. What goes on inside it is up to you. You can make it the story of Book Week, the story of your class or just a fun poem with lots of pictures. You can place it on the floor and let the students sit right on it and illustrate the page. Writing inside a book — now that’s good literacy.
13. Create some Fun Bookmarks
A great way to encourage reading is to offer up some fun accessories. You can try these adorable bunny ears or little sharks that love books so much that they chomp the corners.
14. Read at the beach
A great group approach to reading is to give reading a new context. Ask students to bring in beach blankets and then decorate a large space like a resource room or a gym like a beach. Kids can stretch out with a book and lose themselves in the story.
15. Make Reading into a Tournament
A reading tournament takes children’s books and applies them to the same principals of a sports tournament bracket. You must pick out about 16 books before the week starts, and then communicate with everyone in the school to make sure each class gets a chance to try out each story. A series of votes help decide which book becomes the champ.
16. Turn a Story into a Sensory Craft
The story “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” is a fun tale that takes readers over several terrains, giving them a chance to make lots of sound effects and keep an eye out for bears. This activity brings the story to life and gives readers something fun to put together.
17. Eat a Delicious Story
A story can inspire a great snack and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, the story of the runaway alphabet, has inspired several versions of a healthy snack. Here are a few quick recipes to help your students gobble up this book.
Read more by Brenda Kimble…
