World Book Day Ideas for Teachers
World Book Day is a fantastic opportunity to promote reading for pleasure and create a buzz around books in school. We’ve put together some of our favourite ways to get children excited and chatting about books!
Book Scavenger Hunt ~ use pictures of book covers, characters and favourite quotes from books for children to discover around school. Older students could have the additional challenge of matching characters and quotes to their front cover. We’d highly recommend the brand new title from Nosy Crow, We’re Going on a Book Hunt to support younger children with this activity.
Dress Down Day ~ instead of spending lots of money on costumes, encourage children to come to school in comfy clothes ready to relax and spend the day reading, chatting and taking part in fun activities.
Buddy Reading ~ a firm favourite with all students! Invite older children in school to read aloud to children in Reception and Key Stage 1. This is a lovely way to start conversations around books and form bonds between different age groups.
Be an Author ~ spend the week writing stories then turn them into illustrated books. At the end of the week, invite parents in to see all the beautiful creations and to read them!
Book and a Biscuit ~ invite parents & grandparents in to school to enjoy shared reading with their child’s class and, of course, some biscuits too!
Book Swap ~ ask children to bring in unwanted books and create a huge display of them. Then the fun begins! Ask children to come along and choose a new book that they would like to read. Create longer term projects like a book box at the school entrance/drop off area for adults to share and swap books. Getting parents involved in reading will encourage your students to read more too!
Reading Ambassadors ~ do you have reading ambassadors in school? If not, this is the perfect week to set it up. Think of it as similar to your School Council so students will be elected and will spend the year promoting reading for pleasure and recommending books.
Favourite Books ~ ask children to bring their favourite book/s to school and recommend them to friends. They could chat about their favourite books in groups (no spoilers please!) or create book reviews to display in classrooms and the school library.
New Books ~ get the whole school excited about newly published books with Book Launch. We’ll choose the best in children’s publishing each month; your Reading Ambassadors host an assembly to celebrate the new titles!
Author Visit ~ it might be too late to book a visit for this year… have you booked a visit for next year’s World Book Day?
Virtual Author Events ~ there are lots of live lessons and events happening throughout the week. The World Book Day website, Authorfy and Publisher sites all have links and timetables of everything on offer.
Extreme Reading ~ challenge your students to take photos of themselves reading in unusual places and create a display in the school hall or library.
Story Podcast ~ Ask children to record themselves reading their favourite book or chapter. Add sound effects and different voices for each character.
Author Letter ~ write letters to our favourite authors. Will anyone get a reply or even a signed book plate?!
The Great Story Bake Off ~ design a cake or biscuit to represent your favourite book.
Mystery Book ~ this is a great one for all the staff to take part in. Everyone wraps up a book and write a few sentences to describe it. Spend lunch together choosing a myserty book to take home and enjoy.
Books about Books! ~ share a story with your class that promotes reading. We’ve got a fabulous selection of stories to help you choose!
Vote for Your New Class Story ~ instead of the teacher choosing this term’s story, offer the children a few different alternatives. Review the blurbs, front covers and what they may already know about the genre or authors then carry out a vote. You could even read the first page of each story. We have lots of recommendations for brilliant, modern and diverse class stories for each age group.
The Masked Reader ~ ask teachers to dress up/disguise their voice and read an extract from their favourite children’s book. Can the children work out who is behind the mask?!
World Book Day Bingo ~ create a bingo card for every child and give them the whole week to complete it. Include fun ideas for reading at home like creating a reading den, reading to a pet or reading a recipe and baking it!
Library Audit ~ sounds boring… make it fun! Ask the children what titles they would like to see in their library by creating reading wish lists and buy them!
Bedtime Story Pledge ~ can you encourage all your parents to pledge that they will read or share a story at bedtime with their child every night this week? Start a habit that will last beyond Book Week. We’ve got a fabulous collection of bedtime stories chosen specifically for Reception children to encourage reading at home.
Library Open Afternoon ~ have your parents ever been in to your school library? This is a great way to get parents more involved with the child’s reading and can help children choose books that they can access and are interested in.
Local Library Visit ~ if you’re not lucky enough to have a well stocked library in school, invite a librarian from your local library in to school. They can help get the children signed up and talk to them about what books are avilable and other services they offer.
PTFA Events ~ ask your PTFA to get involved with events over the week. Can they run a Wonky Bar Golden Ticket event, second hand book stall or a competition to create a school book mark?
