Introduction
World Book Day approaches and this year it is on Thursday 7th March.
It’s the perfect day to celebrate a love of reading, to highlight new books to your pupils and to show them that you are a reader too.
If you are signed up to our Juniper Book Awards, you will have been using the shortlisted books and all the additional tools, resources and activities that come with your sign-up to nurture a reading community within your school Now is the time to showcase everything you have been up to.
For any participants looking for additional ideas, we have some great ones here that we’ve seen JBA schools do in the past, and we thought we would share them with you for a little extra inspiration.
Masked reader
Looking for something that will bring fun to the whole school and get the teachers involved? All you need for this is one of the shortlisted books, a camera to record on, willing teachers and a disguise or an app with a silly mask filter.
Record your disguised teacher reading a section of the book. Then see if pupils can work out who it is! You can make it more challenging by adding voice modulation.
Create engaging displays
Get your pupils involved and create displays on notice boards around the school. You could even turn the classroom doors into giant book covers.
Dress up as one of the characters
One for pupils and teachers. Pick a character from one of the shortlisted books. Costumes do not have to be extravagant; it could be as simple as holding a prop. See if you can guess which book they are from.
Create a diorama of a scene from one of the books
Take a scene from one of the books and recreate it in a box, or even on a hat (we have seen diorama hats create a beautiful display). Looking at the details from the scene can provoke an interesting discussion about the book and characters, bringing a different angle to the story.
Dragons' Den
Challenge your students to put together and deliver a 1 minute ‘pitch’ as to why their favourite shortlisted book should win the JBA.
Storytime
Ask your teachers to pick one book each, they can then host read aloud sessions in your library area during breaks or lunchtimes. A great way to model teacher-readers while providing an indoor option on those rainy days.
Drama
Students can work together in groups to act out scenes from the book. Use props and costumes to help set the scene. There are opportunities for someone to act as a director and other behind-the-scene roles for pupils who feel uncomfortable on stage. The groups can showcase their acting to the rest of the school in assembly, introducing others to new books.
In addition to these activities, there is an audiobook available for Steady for This by Nate Lessore, read by Kudo Dutiro Robinson available on the World Book Day website. https://www.worldbookday.com/stories/steady-for-this-hot-key-books-bonnier-books-uk-independent-reader/
How ever you choose to celebrate World Book Day, enjoy yourselves and happy reading.
