April is School Library Month! School libraries play an integral role in helping schools provide students with a well-rounded education. With libraries, students have free access to a diverse collection of educational resources and a safe and quiet learning environment. Having an in-school librarian can even boost student literacy, reading, and test scores. Access to libraries provides students with the tools to become better learners and obtain new skills and knowledge. Now, that is something worth celebrating!
Every April, schools are encouraged to host events that highlight the importance of school libraries for students and help motivate them to continue using the invaluable services they provide throughout the school year. These four activities will help you get a head start on celebrating School Library Month with your students:
1. Host a Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is a great way to familiarize students with the school library and encourage exploration. To begin, create a list of age-appropriate objectives the classroom can easily find. For example, you might have students search for a book adapted into a movie, a book set in a different time period or another country, or a book title featuring the name of someone they know. For younger students, you might assign them to find books with covers that feature their favorite colors or animals. Set a time limit and have students roam the library to hunt down as many books as possible, filling out a worksheet as they go (create your scavenger hunt worksheet for free here). Try to have students return the books to the shelves after the hunt to avoid extra work for the librarian!
2. Play Library Musical Chairs
Musical chairs are a fun twist on traditional “book tasting,” leaving book selection up to chance rather than choice, exposing students to books and authors they might otherwise not choose. To set up, choose a selection of books appropriate for the age range of your class and use either a phone or stereo for playing music. Make sure to have as many chairs as you do students, then arrange the chairs in a circle and place a book on or below each seat. Have students walk around the chairs as the music plays. Unlike a normal game of musical chairs, no one will “go out”! Instead, when the music stops, each student takes the closest seat and stops to read the corresponding book. Allow the students to read the jacket and the first chapter for a few minutes between rounds. Afterward, have students rate the books and fill out a worksheet, such as the one provided by The Unquiet Librarian.
3. Write Letters to Authors
Your students each have a favorite book—a story that resonated with them and made them feel more understood, ignited their sense of adventure, or led them to a new interest. After identifying their favorite books, have your students select an author they want to write to. Guide them through the letter-writing process, including the most memorable part of their favorite book, why a particular character is their favorite, how many times they read the book, or how the story makes them feel. Most authors have a website or social media, making it easier to find where to write to them. Be sure to include a return address in case the author or their team sends a reply!
4. Invite a Special Guest
Speaking of authors, why not invite one to read aloud to your students this April? You can request an author visit through resources like Scholastic or Penguin. If an in-person visit isn’t possible, consider inviting them to chat with your students virtually. Members of your community, such as firemen, athletes, or local politicians, also make for great guests to read aloud to your classroom. For a unique celebration, consider booking Young Authors’ Day for your school, an assembly program that gets students excited to read and write by bringing their stories to life through performance.
Inspire the Next Generation of Storytellers
School Library Month is a great opportunity to turn your students into authors themselves. Mobile Ed's Young Authors' Day assembly program does just that by introducing students to storytelling elements and story structure before guiding them through writing their own stories. At the end of the day, students will get the chance to see select stories acted out for the entire school.
Contact Mobile Ed Productions today to schedule Young Authors' Day to bring storytelling to life for your students this School Library Month!
