Back to School 20 Day Reading Kickoff for Upper Elementary

Celebrating Reading 20 Day Kickoff for Upper Elementary

Nothing gets me more excited than starting the year off by celebrating reading!

By taking the time during the first 20 days of school to teach reading lessons that create a community of readers, you will find:

Your students are excited for reading time each day
Your routines are in place so that you can maximize the time you have
You will build meaningful relationships with students as readers
Your students will develop good reading habits in and outside the classroom
YOU look forward to teaching reading each day

I have laid out my favorite reading lessons that help me build a community of readers and am excited to share them with you here! You can use these ideas and activities with ANY READING PROGRAM!

It all begins by celebrating reading with fun, community-building activities! Get started celebrating reading in your classroom this back-to-school season with these simple tips! Read on to see how I create a community of readers using this FREE resource.

Teaching reading is the highlight of my day and helping students fall in love with books is my number one goal each year. I love watching students grow into readers who love reading new books, talking about what they read, and exploring our classroom library. Setting the tone that our classroom is a community of readers right from the first day of school is always a priority for me each year.

What is a Classroom Community of Readers?

Talk to your students about what a community of readers is. What do they talk about? What do they share? How do they celebrate reading? Use the anchor charts included in this free pack to get started on this discussion.

When you are done, pair students up and challenge them to come up with their own ideas to celebrate reading. Come back together as a class and create a list of all the ways your students want to celebrate reading. Complete some of their ideas during the first month of school and then schedule their ideas throughout the year so that you are constantly celebrating reading and your readers!

Have Students Make Their Mark as a Reader

Use the blank bookmarks included to help your students celebrate themselves as readers! They can create any bookmark they want to represent their reading life. They might choose to create an illustration of themselves as readers, write their favorite book quote, list new genres that they want to explore, make a reading goal and write it down, the possibilities are endless! Leave it open-ended for your students and you will be amazed at what they create.

Recently Read Display

I LOVE using student book recommendations to motivate all readers, but especially reluctant readers. Have your students complete the "Recently Read" page and create a colorful display for your classroom library. Your students will love reading what others read and they will be motivated to read. This is a great activity to use and display not just at the beginning of the year, but throughout the year, too! Your classroom library bulletin board will thank you!

reading workshop book recommendation activity

Be Ready for the First 20 Days

There is so much to do before the first day of school, don't let planning engaging reading lessons to create a community of readers get lost in the mix. Be sure to grab the free resource that lays out the first 20 days and you will be on your way to having a community of readers in no time!

reading workshop set up for the first 20 days building a community of readers

Take the time at the start of this new school year to create a community of readers. The time you invest in building a reading community will help you maximize your time and grow students into readers who look forward to reading each day! Have a great year, friend!