Read Across America Week

so the Seuss is almost here and for the last six years I have been a part of the Read Across America team, and I must say that this is one of the best weeks of school...we've really made it a special time to come to school with give-a-ways, free books, guest readers, and a week of dressing up.  I am not about to let the 'cat' out of the bag just yet about what we have planned for this year....but I thought I would share what we did last year.  

The theme was 'Reading Across America'  each day we had the kids dress from a different regions of the country (tie into social studies :) One day was West Coast Day/Hollywood day, Southwestern Day, Northeastern Day (with hats and scarves), and Hawaiian Day.  Friday is always Seuss day where we dress in red, black and white, strips or Seuss themed clothing.  I made a huge bulletin board with a map of the U.S.A and posted pictures of all the staff with their favorite book that took place in the United States.  I then pinned those cities to the board as a visual of where the settings were.  The kids really enjoyed seeing their teachers, their favorite book, and where the book took place.

We also decorate the hallways with a birthday theme for the week to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday.  There is a table with decorated boxes from each classroom where students put in nightly reading slips for a chance to win free books.  We choose two students per classroom who read a book/15 minutes a night to pick from an enormous array of scholastic books donated by our PTA.  We give each student a ticket for a chance to win a Seuss themed basket.  There are whole school reads, last year we sat outside out classrooms in the hallways, which was so fun to see all the students snuggled up reading and it was so QUITE for those 20 minutes!  We end the week with handing out the themed baskets and 'Cat in the Hat' cookies, which a local bakery make for us.  

If you do not have special activities for Read Across America week, I highly suggest you try.  It can be a great week in the middle of the school year, to revive students interest and remind them of the joy of reading.

**What the teachers pictures looked like, yup that me and one of my favorite books!

**The main bulletin board with the staffs pictures

                                  **Key to the bulletin board
     

                                                           **The classroom boxes for nightly reading

**The poster by the front door reminding students of what to wear each day

                                 **The gift baskets to win