World Book Day is celebrated each year on 4th March, but this year, the Learning Academy Partnership marked the day a little differently than normal years!
Our Multi Academy Trust, which supports schools across Devon through our Trust and acclaimed Illsham English Hub, invited their students to ‘pause and read’ at 2pm. Staff and pupils were encouraged to stop what they are doing and read for 10 minutes, as part of their celebrations, many of whom also joined in with the usual tradition of dressing up as a beloved book character.
Our Trust has an exceptional track record supporting pupils with reading and phonics, but World Book Day provided an opportunity to really highlight the joy of reading across the Trust.
The team drew upon the expertise within their English Hub, to support teachers with creating innovative ways to celebrate World Book Day remotely. Their home heroes loved taking part remotely sharing their favourite books, dressing up as favourite book characters and reading in unusual places. Mr Jones found a very quiet space at home for the ‘pause and read’ at 2pm, escaping to his loft to read (see photo attached). The pupils loved identifying the masked readers, reading in unusual places, sharing stories, listening to their favourite stories, recreating book covers and listening to 153 authors wishing them Happy World Book Day!
At Warberry in Torquay, they had virtual meets with their classes to celebrate the joy of reading. Children brought along their favourite books for book talk and an opportunity to recommend their home books to their friends. They also had cosy story times with children joining meetings wearing their pyjamas whilst snuggled up in bed, ready to listen to their teacher sharing stories.
At Ellacombe in Torquay, the pupils had a ‘spud-tacular’ day! The children took the characters from their favourite stories and transformed them from stars to starch. On Google hangouts, classes had ‘potato parties’ where everyone bought along their decorated potato and had lots of fun trying to figure out which story characters the children had chosen to create. They also had virtual scavenger hunts where the children had to race to get their favourite stories, favourite blanket to snuggle up in and of course, there was the ‘potato parade’ as a finale.
Miss Cleverly, Interim Chief Executive, said:
“World Book Day is always a date in the calendar we take full advantage of, and this year has been no different.
Despite the lockdown, we have made sure pupils are encouraged to continue their reading and develop those essential skills they need for their learning.
I have been delighted to see our staff grip this initiative and encourage our pupils to embrace the world of reading and literature, to grow their imagination and let their minds run free.
We are committed to supporting our pupils, through our work in the trust, but also the English Hub, to deliver the very best outcomes for our pupils, and ensure they are avid readers and learners from the earliest ages.”
Mrs Bone, Strategic Lead for Ilsham English Hub, added:
“During the most recent lockdown, where schools have been closed to many pupils, developing reading and sharing that love of books and literature has been at the forefront of our curriculum offer across the trust and is one of our key drivers as one of the national English Hubs.
We are delighted to see so many pupils embracing World Book Day, and continue to excel in their reading and learning at this challenging time.
I look forward to welcoming pupils back to school to continue engaging them with the wonderful work of reading.”
