Today is Read Across America Day (March 2)! Established in 1998, the goal of Read Across America Day is to motivate all areas of society to engage in reading. Classrooms across the country will host special guests who’ll read aloud to students, schools will decorate hallways and libraries with images from their favorite stories, and children will happily share their own well-loved books with others. Use today to launch National Reading Month and encourage your students to experience the joys of reading through various activities that highlight what the written word can do! Here are three ideas to start: 

The National Book Awards will be announced on Wednesday, November 17, celebrating the written word of some of the most outstanding creative minds in America. Established in 1950 and overseen since 1989 by the National Book Foundation, the National Book Awards recognize the best writing in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature. 

Ah summer break! A time to relax, refresh, and enjoy time away from all things academic. Sure, there are concerns about losing what was learned during a unique year (and a half) of schooling. But the pressure can ease up a bit so that building in enjoyable literacy-based activities will be more meaningful for our youth. Overall, the purpose of emphasizing reading over the summer is to help children retain literacy skills, maintain comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary skills, and boost self-confidence in their abilities. In addition, reading is the foundation for learning in all other subjects so just a few books can make a difference.

Quite a few of teachers and students are in their last couple of weeks of school. Now is the best time to try activities that couldn’t be done because of challenges to time, planning, and navigating the learning environment whether remote or hybrid. So, as you wind down the year, try having class book groups and enjoy the richness of stories.

If you have young ones at home, you’ve probably heard something similar to this more than once, “It’s summer break! I don’t need to read!” Yep, for most of our children, summer break is just that … BREAK – a break from getting up early, a break from reading and writing, a break from homework. But you and I know that a total break can lead to a ‘break’ in learning progress. The term ‘summer slide’ is not new to most of us – the loss of hard-earned skills achieved during the school year. This loss can make returning to school much more challenging, especially if peers are on pace. Really, the goal of continuing to read over the summer will help our children retain literacy skills, build comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary skills, and feel more confident and successful overall. Besides that, reading is the foundation for learning in all other subjects (yes, you do have to read in math!). Just reading a few books during the summer can make all the difference!