Activity Themes 2006-2007



RIF Motivational Activities 2006-2007

The following is a brief summary of some of the activities that were held during the RIF book distributions for the 2006-2007 school year:

• Lots of train themes! Ride the Reading Rainbow, All Aboard for Reading - tables arranged like train cars. Hop on the RIF Express - Polar Express DVD was playing while students chose books - decorations were books about travel and trains. All Aboard the Reading Train - students made book covers which were made into a table-top train. Here Comes the Caboose - each class decorated a caboose with names of favorite books.

• Lots of Thanksgiving themes! Children wrote title of RIF book on turkey feathers; various grateful for books themes.

• Pajama parties - kids came to school dressed up in pajamas, hot chocolate and cookies were provided, kids laid on pillows and blankets and read books.

• Favorite Characters - kids dressed up like their favorite book characters and had a parade.

• Reading Is Fun Day (RIF Day) - students rotated their book distribution with a variety of activities and games.

• Guess the Mystery Reader - pictures of teachers were taken with their faces partially covered by a book and students had to guess the name of the teachers reading.

• Buddy reading - kids could read with a buddy or with a stuffed animal that they brought from home.

• Travel the World and Read a Million Words - with their passport in hand, students learned about different countries and had a variety of visitors present cultural information. Lots of fun presentations and activities!

• Thanks for the Books - students could visit an arts and crafts table and make different items to sell at the PTO’s craft fair to say thanks to the PTO for buying their RIF books.

• RIF Books a Sweet Deal - students got to eat lots of sweets during their book distribution.

• A Series of Fortunate Events - a variety of Lemony Snicket activities. Students could enter an essay contest to win extra books by writing about a fortunate event in their lives.

• Oceans and Waterways - McKinley-Thatcher students all went to the Denver Aquarium and returned to school for the book distribution.

• Reading Wonderland - students made snowflakes to turn their library into a wonderland.

• Fall Reading Festival - parents dressed up as book characters and read to students.

• Favorite Story book characters - students drew pictures and wrote about their favorite characters and displayed their work in the hallways.

• National Young Readers Day - community “celebrities” came to school to read to students (including Denver Bronco Football Player Mike Bell.)

• Lots of Dr. Seuss parties with a variety of activities. One school had Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos Quarterback, read to students; he brought them a Dr. Seuss Build-A-Bear and donated some books to the school. Dr. Seuss Field Day - students went from station to station playing literature themed games and having fun with arts and crafts; there were Dr. Seuss trivia questions leading up to the distribution. In another school, students made Dr. Seuss hats, guests came to read (First Lady of CO Jeannie Ritter), story tellers told stories and sang songs, and parents were invited to school to read Dr. Seuss books.

• A-MAZE-ING books - lots of different maze activities (nice to have Amazing candy bars!)

• Paper Chains - students wrote their names and book titles on paper chains.

• Curious George - students wore yellow hats, lots of C.G. activity sheets.

• Lots of Charlottes Web activities! Get Caught in Charlotte’s Web of Reading - students dressed in pink for Wilbur or grey for Charlotte - also had an all-school “read-in” with the book. Having Empathy - empathy was discussed and students received Charlotte’s Web book marks. Charlotte’s Web Movie Tickets - students entered a drawing to win movie tickets.

• Clifford the Big Red Dog visited one school which culminated in a spaghetti dinner.

• Ocean of Readers - students cut out ocean animals and glued them to an ocean mural “Dolphins Flip Over RIF Books.”

• Reading Around the World - story tellers told tales from different countries.

• What’s the Next RIF Theme? For the 1st distribution students turned in their ideas for fun themes for the next two distributions, and all received pencils with the winners receiving extra books.

• Our Gift to You - older students spent time reading books to younger students and provided them with punch and cookies.

• Lots of “Read a Million Words” activities!

• Snowstorm of Books/Blizzard of Books themes in honor of our back-to-back blizzards!

• Reading in Every Day Life - guests were invited to speak to students about the importance of reading and how this impacts their every day life (Superintendent Michael Bennet, police officers, and various community members participated.)

• Sweet on Reading - students decorated cupcakes.

• Favorite Reads - each class created a banner on which students wrote down favorite books and authors then the library was decorated with all the banners for the RIF distribution.

• Winter Reading - winter maze activities were provided and students made snowflakes.

• Warm Up With a Good Book - students laid on pillows around a fake fireplace and read their RIF books. They also drew pictures of favorite characters and some will be chosen to make a quilt.

• Reading is Snow Much Fun - various winter reading activities.

• Pick Yourself a Winner - activities related to Caldecott award winning books. Students created a chain with “winners” they have read.

• Lots of Valentine themes - I Love to Read, Falling in Love with a Good Book, etc, with lots of fun valentine activities.

• Lots of different Black History Month activities. Reading Sets Us Free - children created covers for their favorite books and these were displayed on a freedom trail; after distribution children watched a video about Harriett Tubman. Another school highlighted Coretta Scott King award books.

• February is Denver Public Library Month - DPL guests came to read to children, brought them bookmarks, and encouraged them to get a library card.

• RIF Pep Rally took place before book distribution.

• Crazy Hat Day - students could win prizes (books & candy) and also they made valentines for their favorite authors. Another school gave out prizes for goofiest and most creative hats and parents read books with a hat theme.

• For the Love of Books - a huge graph was displayed showing the students’ favorite books. A quilt was made from pictures the students drew. Students were served hot chocolate with marshmallows during distribution

• How Low Can You Go for RIF! - students had a Valentine’s Day party and did the Limbo dance to see who could go the lowest. Students wrote the names of their favorite authors on red and white balloons and also sent valentines to RIF.

• Non-Fiction is Exciting - non-fiction books were highlighted.

• Ground Hog Day - students read the book “Ground Hog Day” Lots of fun activities were provided and students could go to computer to explore websites about groundhogs.

• Roundup and Read - students could dress in western clothes and all students received western bookmarks.

• Treasure Hunt for Favorite Authors - treasure hunt in the library and classes had reading parties (parents invited to come to school to read.)

• Students discussed their teachers’ favorite books and had the opportunity to enter a bookmark design contest through the Tattered Cover Bookstore.

• Celebrate Chinese New Year - children ate fortunate cookies and also wrote their own fortunes.

• Teamwork - teamwork was discussed and word-find puzzles were provided.

• Winning bookmarks from previous distribution were duplicated and given to all students. Students interviewed teachers regarding their favorite books and these interviews were posted in the hallways

• “The Giant Jelly Bean Jar” book by Marcia Aboff was highlighted and students had a chance to win a giant jar of M&M’s.

• Be a Winner - Own a Book. Students could enter a drawing for heart-shaped boxes of chocolates - these were delivered to the winners while they were in class.

• Reading with our Neighborhood Firemen - local firefighters came to read to students and discuss safety.

• Lots of Spring themes! Spring Fling - students wrote book titles on cut-outs of flowers, fruit, and vegetables and displayed them in a spring garden. Spring into Reading - guests from the Optimist Club and parents came to read to students to celebrate spring. Spring Time with Eric Carle books - students received Eric Carle bookmarks, they made flower hats and wrote titles of favorite books on flowers to decorate the school.

• A Story in Gold - students wrote their book titles on gold coins and put them on a bulletin board with a pot of gold and a rainbow.

• Fun with Harry Potter - various activities to celebrate Harry Potter books.

• Hispanic Authors - author Alma Flor Ada was highlighted and students participated in buddy reading with various books by Hispanic authors.

• Moore K-8 Sleepover - Moore had an all-school sleepover with the principal, parents, and the students. They had their book distribution, read to each other, and enjoyed many activities.

• Name the Author Trivia Contest - students participated in the Tattered Cover book mark contest and created a book garden.

• Create a Book Cover Contest - students created covers for books about themselves.

• Where Are the Mystery Books? - clues were given to students about several different “mystery” titles of books that could be found on the tables during the distribution.

• Library Egg Hunt for Egg-Cellent Readers - students found eggs with coupons for prizes.

• Hispanic Reading Challenge Godsman - students celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss with a pajama party and shared Reading Across Grade Levels in the library. They also held several story time events after school utilizing staff members, community leaders from City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and school board members. There was a Big Dog Reading Contest in which students earned tickets to be entered into a drawing for a 4 foot stuffed dog by reading 30 minutes (younger) and 45 minutes (older) with a grand total of 39,915 minutes reading.

• Scavenger Hunt - students participated in a scavenger hunt to earn prizes and Gov. and Mrs. Ritter came to read to the students.

• Bring a Stuffed Animal to School - students spent time in a comfortable environment reading alone or to each other.

• Spend Your Vacation with a Good Book - students illustrated book covers based on their dream vacations.

• Duck into a New Book - the library was decorated with rubber ducks and children were given duck bookmarks.

• I Spy a Good Book - “I Spy” books were highlighted. Children illustrated their own I Spy books and everyone played an I Spy memory game.

• Sail the Seas of Reading - tables were set up with a variety of pirate-themed stations (i.e. Walk the Plank with Pirates.)

• Lots of Earth Day Celebrations! Every Day is Earth Day - the entire school read 2 books by Shim Shimmel “Children of the Earth Remember” and “Dear Children of the Earth” and students participated in a recycling program. Earth Day - students decorated brown paper bags with various titles, i.e. Recycle Cans, No Littering, etc. and these were gives to customers at a local grocery store. At another school, students read poems and stories about Earth Day, nature, etc. Planting the Seeds of a Good Book - students were given seed packets along with their RIF books.

• Give a Hand to RIF - children outlined their hands on colored paper, wrote down their favorite RIF books, and decorated the entire school with their hand outlines.

• Curious George - students made yellow hats and drew pictures of their favorite Curious George stories.

• Run for Reading - in conjunction with P.E. class students ran half a mile and then picked out their RIF books and bookmarks (by the way the P.E. teachers were absolutely delighted to be a part of this.)

• Lots of “Thank You RIF” activities where students wrote thank you cards to RIF.

• Book Walk Game - when music stopped children sat in chairs with numbers taped to them then when their number was called students answered literacy trivia questions.

• Jump Into Reading - distribution was held in conjunction with school’s jump rope program.

• Book Talks - teachers did book talks and older students acted out stories for younger students.

• Books Are Dino-Mite - students wrote thank you letters to RIF and had a chance to enter a drawing for a giant stuffed dinosaur.

• RIF is Double the Fun - students could choose 2 books and also enjoyed fun word puzzles.

• Find the Golden Ticket - golden tickets were hid in books and if a student chose that book then they could choose a second book.

• I Like RIF - students wrote down why they like RIF.

• Women Who Made a Difference - middle school activity to go along with Women’s History Month. Books about women were highlighted and students had enjoyable discussion on the book “Girls Who Rocked the World” by Amelie Weldon.

• Spring Poetry - poetry books were highlighted.

• Just Duckie - kids had rubber duck races to win an extra book.

• Godsman Wall of Reading Stars - students wrote their names and favorite books on a 20 foot poster.

• Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin was highlighted as the first U.S. librarian. There were lots of trivia questions and fun handouts. Older students could create PowerPoint presentations about Ben.

• Author Spotlight Laura Numeroff - there was a contest writing stories based on the format of her “If You Give …” books.

• Pair and Share - students did buddy reading and ECE students read to their stuffed animals.

• Crazy Hair Day - parents came to school with crazy hair and read to students.

• Read to Feed - student council presented information about the documentary “Invisible Children” and gave handouts about children in Africa. Families pledged money and they raised $200 in donations.

• Hooray for Captain Underpants! Various activity sheets were enjoyed by students.

• Hispanic Reading Challenge Beach Court - school sponsored a Hispanic Fiesta and storyteller Angel Vigil performed.

• Hispanic Reading Challenge College View - sponsored a poster contest, students read at home with their parents and took pictures of this, and a police officer came to school to talk to students about goals.

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Reading is FUN! FUN! FUNdamental !

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