10 fun and quick ideas for World Book Day

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Last updated: 15/11/2023

Contributor: Teachit team

10 fun and quick ideas for World Book Day

Main Subject

Key stage

Category

English

Resource type

Teaching ideas

It feels even more important than ever to share a love of books and the escapist pleasures of reading with students, given what we know from research about the benefits of reading for students’ attainment and lifelong wellbeing.

If time is short, you’ll find a range of chatty starters, quick quizzes and fast writing activities for World Book Day which will help you to celebrate the day and get students talking animatedly about books.

Suitable for KS3, KS4 and KS5 students, there are quick starter quizzes, fast fiction writing challenges, and fun discussion tasks.

Example ideas from the resource for teachers:

Would you rather…? Cold call on students in lessons with a range of starter questions, or ask them to write questions for peers such as:

Would you rather have the Grand High Witch (The Witches) or the White Witch (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) as your arch enemy? Voldemort or Moriarty?
Would you rather try fizzing whizzbees (Harry Potter) or a fizzy lifting drink (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)?
Would you rather live in Mordor (Lord of the Rings) or Panem (The Hunger Games)?

Virtual book festival. If you don’t have the time or resources for in-school activities, many writers share videos, classroom resources and activities on their websites, and some will be doing virtual events on WBD. Curate a selection for students to pick and choose from or join a live event if you can.

Balloon debate. Give students this scenario to discuss:

A hot air balloon carrying 10 famous writers (of your choice) is about to crash and only 6 of the passengers can be saved. Which authors would you save and why?

Quick draw. Students choose their favourite book and draw it for others to guess. They have to say why they love the book.

Adaptation Oscars. Share your top suggestions as a class for favourite film adaptations of books. Add different categories such as ‘Best adaptation of a children’s book’, ‘Best adaptation of a classic novel’, ‘Best animated adaptation’ etc. and watch a few trailers as a class (popcorn optional!). As an extension, ask students to write short film reviews.