April 12 is known as D.E.A.R Day! D.E.A.R. stands for “Drop Everything and Read,” a national month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives. It is also author Beverly Cleary’s birthday! D.E.A.R. programs have been held nationwide on April 12th in honor of Cleary’s birthday, since she first wrote about D.E.A.R. in Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
In her books, Beverly Cleary brought to life the characters of Ramona and older sister Beezus. On D.E.A.R Day, families are encouraged to take at least 30 minutes to put aside all distractions and enjoy books together. Get together with other readers, find someone to read to, or even just read alone.
Here are some additional ideas:
Family Read Aloud
With this tip, learn a few simple read-aloud strategies that can sharpen a child’s emerging reading skills and help you have fun together with a good book.
Journaling
This lesson encourages children to explore authentic reasons for writing by writing messages to their family in a family message journal.
Retell Stories
Tell us about it in your own words! If students can paraphrase the information they have read, then you—and they—can be confident that they understand it.
Drop Everything!
Don’t think that means that the celebration is only allowed during this month, though. It’s encouraged all year long!