Ideas to Celebrate Reading in Your Primary Classroom

This is my eighth (and final!) post about implementing reading workshop in the primary classroom. In my last post, click HERE to read, I explained how I use English Language Arts checklists (for the Common Core State Standards) as the main way that I assess my students during reading workshop. Today, I will specifically talk about how and why you should celebrate reading in your primary classroom.

Okay my friends, I saved the best for last. Reading celebrations! First and foremost, let’s set one thing straight. If you have followed along my eight post series on reading workshop, then you know that I obviously have a passion and love for reading. My number one, ultimate goal that I have for myself as a teacher is to instill a LOVE and PASSION for reading in each and every one of my students. At curriculum night, I make it a point to stress the importance of fostering a love for reading, as I also explain and define the ELA Common Core State Standards.

Here are some things I do NOT do in my classroom for reading: accelerated Reader, a prescribed basal or reading program, computer based reading programs, reading incentive programs, reading logs for homework, any type of reading for homework, choose books for my students, assign my students a reading level, encourage my students to “move up a level” or tell them to read a “certain level” book.

Here are some things I do do in my classroom for reading: celebrate the end of a novel by having a party, celebrate the character in a story by having a favorite character dress up day, celebrate the grand opening of our classroom library, set up my classroom library just like a book store is set up, enlist the help of my students when setting up and taking down our classroom library, celebrate reading by having guest readers (my mom!) come read to my students, model MY love of reading to my students, encourage all readers in my class to read books that THEY want to read, have a decorating party for our reader’s notebooks, have my students dress up as rock stars to celebrate their rock star reading status, have my students partner read with another friend at their reading level, give books to my students as a present for their birthdays and Christmas, celebrate and share successes with their parents, host a book exchange with another classroom, get really excited and take lots of pictures with an author visits our school, dive deep into book clubs and talk LOTS about books, encourage my students to read a variety of books they are interested in.

Why don’t I do those things and why do I do those other things? That goes back to my number one, ultimate goal that I have for myself. I want to instill a love and passion for reading in all of my students.

With that being said, let me share some ideas of what I did in the past few years to celebrate reading in my own classroom. I truly hope this motivates you to think outside the box and celebrate reading in your own classroom full of readers!

At the beginning of the year, one of the first celebrations I have is the grand opening of our classroom library! My students and I write an invitation to our principal, inviting him to the grand opening. We make sure that he knows to bring his favorite book to share with us and also a pair of scissors to take down the caution tape!

He also reads his favorite book to my students, and allows us to keep it on a special spot on our bookshelves for a few weeks. As you can imagine, my students are very motivated to read their principal’s favorite book!

Right before winter break, my mom comes to visit my classroom and helps me wrap my students’ gifts. What do I give them? A book, of course!

Using my Scholastic Bonus points, I get dollar deal books for each student. We wrap them up with fancy wrapping paper, and a bow!, and place them under our classroom Christmas tree. The day before break, my students get their presents and LOVE them!

Many students start to read the book right then and there they are so excited. This is such a joy to witness and makes me so happy every year.

Throughout the year, I also love to have guest readers come and surprise my students. The guest reader brings their favorite book to share with the students and reads it aloud. In the picture below, you see the guest reader…again my mom! She read aloud the book, How to Babysit a Grandma. My students got a kick out of seeing their teacher’s MOM at school. :)

Another way that I celebrate reading in my classroom is by holding reading celebrations when we finish reading a novel. I absolutely love reading Charlotte’s Web aloud to my students. Side note- I cry EVERY TIME. Without fail. EVERY TIME, I tell you! By now I know to have the tissues handy.

Now, I will say, that I go all out with these celebrations. Why? Because it brings ME joy to do these things for my students…and it just makes learning fun!

I hand pass out an invitation for every student, in addition to sending home a permission slip about serving the food during the celebration. (My school district recently adopted a no food policy, but if we have it tied into the curriculum, and have parent permission, we are allowed to share in our classroom.)

Using what we read about in the book, I made different goodies for us to enjoy. If you are familiar with the book, these pictures will bring a smile to your face

I will say, these cupcakes are always a big hit. Some students really don’t even want to eat them because “they are so cute!” To decorate the cupcakes, I just use pink frosting, marshmallow for the snout, pink wafers for the ears, and dark icing for the eyes.

During our celebration, we watch the movie, eat our snacks, and have a coloring contest.

Earlier in our unit, we identified character traits of Charlotte and Wilbur and learned about how they grew and changed throughout the beginning to the end of the story. After studying character traits of these two characters, the students make this adorable bulletin board.

Do you want to hold your own Charlotte’s Web celebration? Click on the image below to get your copy!

After reading Because of Winn-Dixie, we have another reading celebration. I know that I always say I love certain books, but oh my I really do love this book! Little Opal just tugs and my heart strings. One of the reasons I love reading this book so much is because my students can identify with the characters.

Opal’s mom, who abandons her, Gloria Dump with her past regrets, Otis who was in prison, oh my I just love the life lessons they teach my students- acceptance and forgiveness just to name a few. And of course, who can forget Winn-Dixie! That stray dog melts everyone’s heart…dog lover or not!

During this celebration, we spend time celebrating the unique characters in the novel. The students write about each character’s experience as they taste the Littmus Lozenge, providing textual evidence. Then, they have their own taste of a Littmus Lozenge and SAVOR the candy, writing about their own experience, eventually resulting in a final verdict of whether or not they taste the melancholy.

We then celebrate Gloria Dump by decorating a ghost tree in her honor. Students use the water bottle that they got from the party to write about a past mistake or regret.

One of my favorite party activities is the “List of 10 Things.” After students create a list of the 10 Things the preacher told Opal about her mom, they will write special notes to their classmates.

Each student will have a list of “10 Things” about themselves- a special memento to treasure! Honest to God, some student cry when they read their list. It is so touching to see! I even had a parent email me one year, saying how touched her son was about his “list of 10 things.”

Compare the Book to the Movie Using a Venn Diagram: The students will create an interactive Venn Diagram using hula hoops in this interactive lesson and compare the book to the movie. Over 15 sentences are included to sort. 10. Opinion Writing Activity: After completing the Venn diagram, the students will write their opinion to a provided prompt and hold a class debate supporting their opinion.

Below are some more pictures from our Winn-Dixie party. Each food item represents what the character in the book brought to their party.

Otis brought pickles, Gloria Dump brought the punch, Opal brought the egg salad sandwiches.

To say that this was a special way to celebrate the end of this beautiful novel was an understatement. My students were so excited to get their invitation to attend this party….my principal included!

Do you want to hold your own Because of Winn-Dixie reading celebration! Click on the image below to get your copy!

How do you celebrate reading in your classroom? I hope this blog post full of ideas inspired you to try some new ways to excite your readers and celebrate books in your classroom! Hard to believe, but this blog post is the last one in my 8 blog post series. Did you miss one? Check out the posts below to catch up!

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