Pawsitive School Counselor

Read Across America Week is the perfect opportunity to build community through stories and music!

I’ve teamed up with QuaverReady to bring this week to life. Here’s a simple way to organize it using books, songs, and an interactive map activity.

Decide Your Format

First, decide what works best for your school:

Individual Student Challenge
Students track their own reading and complete their own maps.

Individual Classroom Participation
Each teacher reads the selected books and plays the partner song at their own pace—perhaps during a daily class meeting or as part of their reading block.

School-Wide Experience
Create a shared experience by having the entire school read the same book and listen to the same song each day.
You can:

• Send out a daily calendar
• Share during morning announcements
• Feature it on the school news show

A unified experience builds connection and gives students a common language across classrooms.

2. Gather the Books

Partner with your school librarian to secure copies of the selected books.

• School-wide model: You may only need one copy. Read it over the announcements, have the librarian visit classrooms, or record a staff member reading the story and share the video link.
• Classroom model: Secure multiple copies, or provide teachers with a recording and shared links for easy access.

This flexibility makes it doable for schools of any size.

3. Print the Map

There are several printing options:

• Single-page version: Perfect for individual students to create their own reading map.
• Enlarge the single-page version using a poster maker at school or a local print shop (such as Office Depot/OfficeMax).
• 4- or 6-page versions: Print each page and tape them together to create a large display.

💡 Tip: Most printers leave a small white border around the edges. You may want to trim the margins before taping for a cleaner final look.

4. Read & Sing

After reading each story, sing along with the partner song (such as one from QuaverEd).

No Quaver? You can sign up for their 30-day preview to try it out during the week.

After reading and singing, spark a discussion:

• Why do you think this song pairs well with the book?
• What was the theme?
• What message was the author trying to share?
• How did the story make you feel?

(You can also use your universal discussion prompts to deepen the conversation.)

5. Add to the Map & Celebrate!

After each session:

• Cut out the picture of the book and song.
• Glue it onto your map.
• Watch your reading journey grow throughout the week!

Then celebrate your completed map at the end of the week—classroom shoutouts, hallway displays, or a school-wide cheer make it even more special.

Books + music + shared reflection = a powerful (and manageable!) Read Across America celebration. 🎉📖✨

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