 
Create a memorable reading event for your class with these great ideas from teachers who participated in past events!
Plus, build the excitement by incorporating Read For 2003 into your curriculum in the weeks leading up to December 6!
Planning Your Event | Cross-Curricular
Activities | Celebration Ideas!
Read For 2003 Across the Curriculum
Teachers share great ideas for incorporating Read For 2003 into the curriculum!
Language Arts
Writing Projects
Read For 2003 is a great opportunity to get students thinking about what it means to be a reader, their reading habits, and the importance of books. Have students write about these topics and share them with others.
- What does it mean to be a reader? Describe your reading habits. Which ones you would like to change and why?
- If you were stranded on a deserted island with only one book to read, what book would it be and why?
- Write a questionnaire asking parents, friends and relatives about their favorite books and how reading has influenced their lives.
Videotape guest readers or students reading aloud to one another on the day of the event. Use the videotape as prompts for future writing exercises.
Genre
Your Read for 2003 event can be a culmination of your class's study of a particular genre. For example, one class was studying fantasy and entitled their event: "The Magic of Reading." Each student read aloud from a section of the "newspaper" book report they had written based on a fantasy novel. Then they played a team Fantasy Hunt to find elements of fantasy that were included in each of the novels read by the class. The winning team won a prize!
Use Read For 2003 to study the different genres. Have students in your class choose a genre they want to read for the event. Create a Read For 2003 book and have each student contribute a page, describing the book they read, its genre, the different elements used, and how they liked it.
SSR and DEAR
Many classes have used the "Read For..." event as a kick-off to their SSR and DEAR programs. Students are very motivated by the fact that they are reading at the same time as other people around the world. As a class, brainstorm other ways to make your regular SSR and DEAR time more exciting.
Reading Buddies
Many schools have paired up younger and older classes to read together for the "Read For..." event. Team up with a class that is several grades younger or older than the one you teach. Pair up the younger and older students and let them read to one another-they will love it!
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Great Art Projects
Read For 2003 Poster
Create a Read For 2003 poster with inspiring words, such as: "We're Reading with the Rest of the World!" Have each student sign it and hang it on the door of your classroom.
Student SuperStar Posters
Print out the poster template and let your students personalize and decorate them with a photo, drawing, and words. They'll love having their posters hanging next to the Read For 2003 Celebrity SuperStar posters!
Create a Bookmark for a Friend
Students can create special bookmarks that highlight Read For 2003,
a scene from their favorite book, or that celebrates reading in
some way. Collect them and during your Read For 2003 celebration,
have each student pick a bookmark to keep as a party favor.
Book Mural
Decorate your classroom for your Read For 2003 event with a mural of all the books your students are reading. Have each student contribute a depiction of a scene from his or her book.
Book Advertisements
Have students create advertisements for their Read For 2003 books. Each poster can include an illustration of the book and descriptive words explaining what makes the book so special.
Book Covers
Have students create book covers for their Read For 2003 books. Then hang them up around the school or classroom for everyone to see!
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Fun with Math
A Ticket to Read
Create paper "tickets" for students to fill out with the titles of books that they read for Read For 2003 and beyond. Post the "tickets" on the wall in your classroom or in the hall and see how long and how far it takes the students to read 2003 books. Change the color of the "tickets" each month, so students can easily see which month had the most reading.
Time Calculations
Students love the idea of reading for 2003 seconds. Have them calculate how many minutes it equals. One class from last year's event had lunch at 12:40. The teacher posed the question: "At noon we will read for 2,002 seconds. Will we miss lunch?" Turns out, the timing was perfect!
Calculating Averages, Creating Graphs
Have students count the number of students Reading For 2003 in each classroom, and the number of pages they read. Have them calculate the average number of pages per student for each room, and for the entire grade. They can create pie and bar graphs to illustrate the results.
Challenge the students in your school to read 2,003 books starting on the day of your Read For 2003 event. Have students keep track of the data—individual class totals, total number of books read, number of books read by boys vs. girls, and more. A great opportunity to create charts, graphs, and statistics!
Challenge students in your school to keep a reading log until the end of the school year. Reward the class that has read the most books with a party! Since classes will have different numbers of students, find the winning class by dividing the number of books read by the number of students in each class.
Use the Read For 2003 World Map to determine how many classes across America, Canada, and other countries are participating. Use the data to practice averages and graphing.
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Social Studies
Show students the Read For 2003 World Map and have them research the countries that are participating. You many want to honor the different countries by decorating your classroom or school with flags and pictures of children from those countries. Read books about the countries. Invite parents and community members to bring in food from those countries and speak about them.
Create paper Read For 2003 "passports" for your students. Fill the room with books about different countries and regions of the world. For every book a student reads they receive a special stamp in their passport.
Connect via e-mail with a Read For 2003 class in another part of the world and share information about the books you are reading and about your cultures. Go to Classport to find out more.
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Share your ideas for Read For 2003! — Click here!
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