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Sybil Elgar gets into character with World Book Day 2023

Published on 07 March 2023

What is World Book Day and why is it celebrated?

World Book Day is an annual event, part of Literacy Week that celebrates the joy of reading and promotes literacy around the world. 

To learn more about our philosophy and approach to reading please visit our curriculum page where you will find more information about reading at Sybil Elgar School. 

Many of our pupils and students engage with books, even if they don’t read yet. The calming sensory experience of turning pages while listening to a story can provide exposure to new ideas and perspectives in a low-key way that stimulates the imagination.

We provide our pupils and students with a range of books and materials that suit their individual interests and abilities, and encourage and support their engagement with books as part of a broader strategy for promoting their learning and wellbeing. ​​We provide support and guidance as needed to ensure that they can engage with books and stories in a way that is meaningful and beneficial for them.

 

 

Bringing stories to life for World Book Day

Blanca from Havelock and Christina from Woodlands have been leading a range of exciting activities to celebrate Literacy Week and World Book Day. 

Pupils, students and staff got dressed as their favourite characters, bringing the school to life with colour and fun.

What our pupils and students got up to

  • Book hunt: Students explored the covers displayed all around the hall, following the arrows and the ‘book hunt plan'.
  • The survey: What's your favourite book genre? Students could voice their book preferences.
  • Blind date with a book: there were many wrapped books in our hall! Students could choose a book, unwrap and explore it and review it using the 'blind date book review' worksheet.  
  • Fashion Walk: The highlight event, everyone showing off their costumes and favourite books.
  • Reading for pleasure: supporting children’s autonomy in book choices and embedding a habit of reading.
  • Creating electronic books: students created their very own electronic books and produced the front cover and images with discreet support from our expert team. Follow the links to see examples of some of the creative works of our very own Sybil Elgar School aspiring authors: My Hobby and The Rainbow Fish.

You can find the World Book Day 2023 resources used for some of these activities on our home learning resources page under the reading section. 

Some students visited the oldest bookstore in London, Hatchards in Piccadilly. The students explored the bookstore by becoming ‘library detectives’ to find specific books.

A closing note from our therapy team 

Sharing books  can be a valuable tool to promote development of:

  • Social skills
  • Attention and listening skills
  • Turn -taking
  • Problem-solving
  • Understanding spoken and written language  
  • Expressive skills: answering questions, sharing ideas

It is important to provide  opportunities for our students to explore and  enjoy  a range of books and to offer support and guidance as needed.

Please see our home learning resources page for useful home resources, covering topics in our Transdisciplinary Team newsletter such as activities to develop literacy skills and a multi-sensory approach to promoting literacy skills.  

Celebrating World Book Day is an important way for us to promote reading, encourage learning, celebrate diversity, build shared interests, foster creativity, and provide educational opportunities for our pupils and students.

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