How to Celebrate "Read Across America" Day in the Classroom
"Read Across America" is a special reading event celebrated every year on or near Dr. Seuss' birthday, March 2. Created and promoted by the National Educator's Association, the goal is to have every child reading in the company of an adult on that day. Now the largest reading event in the nation, it is a popular day for teachers to celebrate in the classroom. Use the ideas below to join teachers across the nation by setting aside this day, or part of the day, in your classroom as a special time to read with your students and celebrate the magic of books.
Instructions
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Talk to your administrator. Explain that you want to join the nation in celebrating children and reading, and ask for permission to have some special activities in your classroom. If you are lucky, your principal may ask you to organize some school-wide activities as well. Talk to your school librarian also, as she probably has some great ideas for you.
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Involve parents. Invite them to come and read with their students during "buddy reading" time, which you could schedule at the end of the day so that the parents can then take children home. Alternately, see if any parents would like to come and read a story aloud to the children as a special "guest reader."
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Prepare some goodies. Print bookmarks, posters and certificates of participation for your students from the NEA website (see Resources below). Use these as simple gifts, or hold some reading contests throughout the day and use them as prizes. For example, hold a contest to see which child can read aloud the fastest or with the most expression.
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Learn about Dr. Seuss. Set aside an hour to read one or two of his books, learn about his life, and visit "Seussville" on the worldwide web. If you can, take your students to a computer lab to visit "Seussville" at Seussville.com. If you don't have access to a computer lab, project your computer onto a TV or Smart Board. Make red and white "Cat in the Hat" hats for the students to wear during the day; find a pattern at the link below in Resources.
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Get someone "famous" to read to the students. Young children are thrilled to have a policeman, fireman, mayor or other prominent figure read a story to them, and such an event goes a long way towards promoting the fun of reading.
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Tips & Warnings
Ask a parent to bring in a "Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss" cake as a special treat, or serve green eggs and ham for lunch.
Resources
- Photo Credit http://apps.internet2.edu
