Book Club › For club leaders › Read-a-thon kit

A read-a-thon kit for a class or a school

A day (or a week) when everyone reads as much as they can toward one goal: plan it, put up the poster and the wall chart, count together, and hand out certificates at the end. The cheer sheet asks grown-ups to promise to read with their child. If your school raises funds, the pledge sheet is for that: the school collects it, and Peabody never handles money.

Read-a-thon printables

On a screen: make a read-a-thon challenge for the week, and readers log their books on their own devices. Count the class on the board with the class tally.

Count the minutes on the board

Give each reader a number instead of a name and add their minutes as they read: the class total climbs toward the class goal on the projector, and each number's own minutes show only if you tap “Show each number”. It is kept on this device; nothing is sent. Print the paper key from the tally and write the names there.

Opening the tally kept on this device…

Read-a-thon ideas for school: the day, hour by hour

Before. Pick the day. Send the poster and the cheer sheet home a week ahead. Ask every reader to bring two or three books, and fill a basket of spares.
First thing. Set the goal for the class (books or minutes, together) and put the wall chart up.
Reading blocks. Read in blocks of 20 minutes with a stretch between: on the carpet, under the tables, outside if it's fine. A grown-up reads aloud in one block.
Every hour. Readers colour their squares on the wall chart. Ring a bell when the class passes each quarter of the goal.
The end. Count the squares together, hand out the certificates, and each reader tells the class about one book.

March is reading month: ideas, themes and spirit days

The kit's calendar is March 2027, with a theme for each week:

Read everywhere. Read in a new place every day: a tent, the bath (with a dry book), the park, under the table.
Read together. Buddy reading, a grown-up reading aloud, a book swap with a friend.
Read something new. A kind of book you've never picked: a true book, a poem, a comic, a myth.
Share a book. Tell someone about a book, make a poster for it, or read it to a younger child.

Spirit days to pick from:

Dress as a book character
Pyjama reading day: bring a pillow and a book
Favourite book day: bring it and tell the class why
Hats for reading: a hat for every reading block
Read-in: the whole school reads at the same time for 20 minutes
Book-swap day
Read outside day
Mystery reader: a grown-up visits to read a surprise book

Checked 30 October 2026 · Free, no account · v0.2.0

📚 Our read-a-thon: the plan for one day

Before	Pick the day. Send the poster and the cheer sheet home a week ahead. Ask every reader to bring two or three books, and fill a basket of spares.
First thing	Set the goal for the class (books or minutes, together) and put the wall chart up.
Reading blocks	Read in blocks of 20 minutes with a stretch between: on the carpet, under the tables, outside if it's fine. A grown-up reads aloud in one block.
Every hour	Readers colour their squares on the wall chart. Ring a bell when the class passes each quarter of the goal.
The end	Count the squares together, hand out the certificates, and each reader tells the class about one book.

📚 Our read-a-thon: the plan for a week

Monday	Start: set the class goal and the wall chart. Everyone logs at school and at home.
Tuesday	Read with someone: a buddy, a grown-up, a younger class.
Wednesday	Read somewhere new: outside, in a fort, at the library.
Thursday	Try a different kind of book from your usual.
Friday	Count up, certificates, and a book talk from every reader.

📣 My cheer sheet

Reader: ____________________ · Ask a grown-up, a big brother or sister, or a friend to promise to cheer your reading. Tick when it's done.

Who	Promises to…	Done
	Read a book aloud to them	☐
	Listen to them read a chapter	☐
	Ask them about the book they're reading	☐
	Take them to the library	☐
	Read my own book beside them for twenty minutes	☐
	Write them a note about a book I loved at their age	☐

📅 Reading month · March 2027

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

Week 1: Read everywhere. Read in a new place every day: a tent, the bath (with a dry book), the park, under the table.
Week 2: Read together. Buddy reading, a grown-up reading aloud, a book swap with a friend.
Week 3: Read something new. A kind of book you've never picked: a true book, a poem, a comic, a myth.
Week 4: Share a book. Tell someone about a book, make a poster for it, or read it to a younger child.

Spirit days: Dress as a book character · Pyjama reading day: bring a pillow and a book · Favourite book day: bring it and tell the class why · Hats for reading: a hat for every reading block · Read-in: the whole school reads at the same time for 20 minutes · Book-swap day · Read outside day · Mystery reader: a grown-up visits to read a surprise book

📚 A read-a-thon is coming

Dear families,

Our class is holding a read-a-thon on ____________________. For the whole day, we will read as much as we can, together, toward one goal: ______ books (or ______ minutes) as a class. Nobody is ranked: every book and every minute goes into one class total on our wall chart.

Your child will bring home a log and a cheer sheet. On the cheer sheet, a grown-up, a big brother or sister, or a friend promises to cheer their reading, such as reading a book aloud to them or taking them to the library, and ticks it when it is done.

Three ways to help:

Help your child pick two or three books to bring on the day.
Read with them, or beside them, for twenty minutes on the evenings before.
Ask them about what they read, and let them tell you about one book they loved.

Thank you for reading with us. If you have a question, please write it here or ask me at pick-up:

____________________________________________

From ____________________ (teacher) · Class ____________

⏱ My read-a-thon minutes

Reader: ____________________ · Goal: ______ minutes · Colour one box for every 10 minutes you read.

Day	What I read	10-minute boxes	Minutes
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
		☐☐☐☐☐☐
Total

📚 My read-a-thon pledge sheet

Reader: ____________________ · Class: ____________ · Read-a-thon day: ____________

Ask family and friends to back your reading. Each one pledges a set amount, or an amount for every book (or every 10 minutes) you read.

Per book (or per 10 minutes)	Or a set amount	Total	Paid
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐
$	$	$	☐

Books read: ______ · Minutes read: ______ · Total raised: $________

Your school collects the pledges after the read-a-thon. The money goes to your school, never to Peabody: Peabody takes no payment and keeps no record of this sheet.