Read Across America Activities

About this resource

Read Across America activities for PreK to 2nd grade that work with any book your students pick: a bookworm craft to color, cut and glue, a reading log, 6 bookmarks to color, a book talk page, a cut-and-glue rhyme match with real picture words, a dress-up days planner and writing on three levels, in one print-and-go PDF. It is unbranded: no author, character, book title or quote is used, so it fits Read Across America week or any reading celebration.

The bookworm is one big picture, a smiling green worm sitting on a stack of three books, on a cream background with gold sparkles. It is cut into 9 equal squares in three columns and three rows, so every cut is a straight line and there are only a few cuts. Children color the black-and-white pieces (or use the ready-colored set when coloring is not the goal that day), cut them out and glue each piece on its faint twin. Every glue box is exactly the size of its piece, and the nine pieces make the whole picture. A picture step page shows every step with one short sentence, and a small finished model sits on the glue page so a child can check their work.

Then the week gets to work. The reading log has 8 rows to write the book and tick whether the child read it alone, with a friend or with a grown-up, and a worm of 8 circles to color, one for each book. A page of 6 bookmarks (READ, BOOK, STORY, FUN, WOW, YAY) has a pattern of shapes to color on each one and a place for the child's name. The book talk page has three parts: I read, my favorite part (a box to draw in and a line to write on) and I rate it (5 stars to color). On the rhyme match children cut 5 pictures (log, snake, jug, boat, house) and glue each one under the picture it rhymes with (dog, cake, bug, goat, mouse). The dress-up days planner has one row for each of 5 days, where the child circles one of four pictures (pajamas, a hat, socks, a backpack) and draws the outfit in a box; you choose each day's theme, and the page has no brands. A short picture-supported page about reading week has 4 sentences with a picture for each, and a word bank page has 6 words to trace and write. Three writing pages are about reading: trace and draw, fill in the sentences with a word bank, or write a reading adventure (If I could go inside a book...). A last page asks for the first, next and last of a book, with a box to draw and lines to write for each. Every student page has one short instruction with a picture and a "My name" line.

What'S Inside

• Start Here: how the craft works, how to use it for any reading week, the rhymes, the three levels and a five-day plan
• Meet the bookworm: the finished picture with 6 labels (antenna, body, feet, smile, pages, books) and 4 word pictures
• A word bank page: 6 words (book, bookworm, library, lamp, pajamas, backpack) to trace and write on handwriting lines
• A picture-supported page about reading week: 4 short sentences, each with a picture, and a "My favorite book is" line
• The bookworm craft: a picture step page, 9 pieces to color and cut, the same 9 pieces ready-colored, and a glue page with the 9 twins
• A reading log: 8 rows, 3 tick boxes in each row, and a worm of 8 circles to color
• Bookmarks: 6 to color and cut
• Book talk: I read, my favorite part, I rate it (5 stars)
• Rhyme match: 5 printed pictures, 5 glue boxes and 5 pictures to cut
• A dress-up days planner for 5 days: circle one of 4 pictures, then draw it
• Writing on three levels (trace and draw, fill in, reading adventure) and a first, next, last page
• A "Who Did What This Week" class data page, with the rhyme answers
• A family letter to send home
• A credits page (font and art license)

21 pages in all, 16 of them for students.

Cutting Built For Small Hands

Every cutting page has big pieces lined up edge to edge: 2.1 inches for the bookworm squares, 1.2 by 8.3 inches for each bookmark, and about 1.5 by 2.6 inches for the rhyme pictures. 29 pieces to cut in all (9 black-and-white pieces, 9 ready-colored pieces, 6 bookmarks and 5 rhyme pictures). You will need crayons, scissors and glue sticks. Card stock suits the craft and bookmark pages.

Three Skill Levels

A small shape beside the name line marks the three writing pages: circle (trace and draw), square (fill in the sentences) and triangle (write a reading adventure). Easier: trace and draw, or a partner who holds the glue stick. Harder: the reading adventure and the first, next, last page.

Who This Is For

Preschool, PreK, kindergarten and 1st to 2nd grade classrooms, self-contained special education classrooms, and paraprofessionals who want reading week activities with a craft, a log, bookmarks, rhymes and writing attached, ready to print.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A printable PDF (print and cut). It is not Google Slides, Docs or PowerPoint, and it has no fillable fields. It is not a book companion and uses no book's characters or pictures. It does not name an author or a book, and it makes no claim about any student's reading level or rate of progress. Read Across America is a program of the National Education Association; this resource is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Education Association.