Top 10 read-a-thon ideas for school, with no money in it
The ten, in order
- A pyjama reading day. Everyone comes in pyjamas with a pillow and a favourite book; the timetable has reading where the lessons were.
- Read in odd places. Under the tables, in a blanket fort, outside on a rug: a new place makes the same book feel new.
- A class wall chart that fills · ours. One square for every book anyone finishes, coloured in on the wall, so the class has one total and nobody is ranked.
- Reading buddies across the school. Older readers read to younger ones for twenty minutes; both sides read more than they would alone.
- Mystery readers. A grown-up from outside the class (a cook, a caretaker, the principal) reads one book aloud, and the class guesses who is coming.
- A cheer sheet instead of pledges · ours. Families promise time (to read together, to listen) rather than money, so no child is ahead because of what their family can give.
- A theme for each day of a week. Funny Monday, True Tuesday, Wild Animal Wednesday: the theme picks the books and the dressing up.
- Count books or minutes, never both. Pick one number for the whole read-a-thon and keep it simple; a picture book and a chapter count the same if books are the unit.
- A week's challenge on screens · ours. The challenge maker starts a seven-day reading challenge a class can open on any device, with nothing about a child in the link.
- Certificates for everyone who read · ours. A certificate for taking part rather than for the most books: the point was the reading.
How this list is made
Not a ranking: ideas to pick from for a day or a week. Peabody's own advice, from its read-a-thon kit.