Celebrating Read Across America

March 2nd is Read Across America Day. March is also National Reading Month. This historical celebration is a great opportunity to celebrate literacy in your learning community, while making a lasting impact on students.

Read Across America Day first originated in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA). It began as a celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, but has since evolved into something larger. Today, Read Across America Day is a celebration of literacy across genres that highlights the enjoyability of reading texts to interest all readers. The love of reading is honored on this special day, and it gives students opportunities to engage in literature.

For ideas on how to celebrate Read Across America Day, take a look at the resources below:

Read Across America Through PCSC School Libraries

Elementary

Middle School

High School

Read Across America Calendar

Register for daily virtual events

March 3-7 Events

• Day 1: March 3 - Imagination Station - Read Cat in the Hat with Lala Watkins and Minh Lê.

• Day 2: March 4 - Rhyme Time Tuesday - Read Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? with Laura Lavoie and Ashley Belote

• Day 3: March 5 - Wacky Wednesday - Read Wacky Wednesday with Suzanne Lang and Lane Smith

• Day 4: March 6 - Dr. Seuss Makes Reading Fun - Read Green Eggs and Ham Take a Hike with Colleen AF Veneable and Megan Lloyd

• Day 5: March 7 - Oh, the Places You’ll Go - Read Oh, the Places You’ll Go! with Alexandra Garyn, Bryan Reisberg, and Sarah Hwang

Additional Downloads:

• Request a class kit

• Invite the Cat in the Hat into your classroom

• Dr. Seuss Springtime Worksheets

• 2025 Sr. Seuss Calendar

• Character Education

• Environment

Resources:

• 37 Read Across America Activities and Inspiration

• BookBreak - watch virtual author visits

• KidLit! - read-alouds, book trailers, crafts and activities, and podcasts

• Epic! - online ebooks, listen and read along books

• Vook - sign up for a FREE educator account - read-alouds, resources, and more.

• Story Time From Space - books read by astronauts from space

National Education Association Resources

NEA has created robust lists for classrooms K-12 to celebrate literacy.

• A Read Across America Calendar helps students and teachers engage with the spirit of the celebration by interacting with a different text each month. The calendar is divided into grade bands to support K-12 students.

• This list presents exciting activities for students to interact with the local community. With some planning, these activities provide great opportunities for all grade levels, including high school!

• If you would like to incorporate music or art into literacy instruction, check out this list from NEA that combines literacy and the arts for a unique twist on the celebration.

Dive into the following resources to find inspiration for professional learning and promote literacy for students in all grades.

• This resource guides middle school teachers as they navigate reading aloud in the classroom. Parent resources are also embedded throughout the presentation!

• If you are seeking ideas for use with a high school audience, students can take charge and try these fun activities (e.g., First Read Friday) where you read the first chapter of a book to mimic watching a movie trailer that will leave students begging for more!

• Support special populations by checking out this collection of resources spotlighting high ability, multilingual students, and special education students.

• Parent engagement is a key component to NEA’s Read Across America initiative. Here’s a wonderful collection of QR codes for parents and guardians to listen and read books for free.

• Listen to this presentation by Kathy Collins, who discusses the importance of reading aloud to build background knowledge as a great way to connect parents/guardians to the importance of reading.