Simple ideas to support reading for fun in schools. These activities are easy to set up and flexible for different ages.
Share reading
Books that made me
Children share books that made them smile, laugh or feel something. Create a class or school display.
Story share
Older children read or recommend books to younger children. This can be live or written as short postcards.
Reading buddies
Pair older and younger children based on interests. They read and talk about books together.
Explore books
Book tasting
Set up a space with books from different genres. Children explore and sample new reads.
Book trail
Hide books around school with clues to find them. Children search and discover new titles.
Register and read
Share a short reading at the start of the day. Talk together about ideas and reactions.
Bring books to life
Act it out
Children act out scenes or create their own versions of stories.
Hidden in plain sight
Children represent a favourite book in a subtle way. Others guess the story.
Book bake off
Create food inspired by books. Display and talk about the ideas behind them.
Share favourites
Carry a book
Staff carry a book and talk about it with children. This encourages conversation about reading.
Guess who
Staff share clues about a favourite book. Children guess the reader.
Get books home
Book swap
Children bring in books to exchange. This helps more children access a range of stories.
Visit the library
Invite a librarian or plan a visit. Support children to join and borrow books.
Rescue a book
Children choose a second-hand book to take home and enjoy.
Creative responses
Lit-egg or lit-spud
Decorate an egg or potato as a book character. Display the finished creations.
Share extracts
Record or share short readings. Create a display of the books featured.
Keep it going
These ideas can be used on World Book Day and beyond. They support reading for fun in simple, flexible ways.
Credit
Some of these ideas are inspired by Litdrive, a charity supporting English teachers.
Visit https://litdrive.org.uk/ to find out more.
Related resource
Use of World Book Day resources
These resources are free to use for schools, early years settings, libraries, charities, and community groups celebrating World Book Day. Commercial organisations must have a partnership or licence agreement in place before using World Book Day assets. If you are interested in working with us, please contact [email protected].