If you’re being run off your feet with work and don’t have time to sit down and plan a reading corner, or if you’re looking for a quick fix or something creative to add to the space tomorrow for an activity, we’ve got your covered.
Use these simple tricks with creativity and some craft supplies to inject a little magic into your reading corner. Take a look at our blog for help and ideas to make your reading corner a success.
- Reading Corner Ideas: A Complete Guide for Primary School
- Why You Need a Nursery Reading Corner
- How to Furnish a Children’s Reading Corner: Ideas from Classroom Experts
- What Makes a Successful Classroom Book Reading Corner?
Turn to your little helpers
Calling on your class for help is a fantastic way to make reading corner decorating easy. Not only will you have a whole team generating material for you, but you can turn this into a fun or educational activity for the whole class. Here are some ideas.
- Make a reading corner tree together
For this activity, you need to start with a bare tree. Cut the shape of your tree’s trunk and branches out of brown paper or put poster paper on the wall of your reading corner and paint the tree directly on with poster paint. You could also split your class into groups and assign one group to draw this if they are old enough.
Use leaf-shaped pieces of paper to decorate the tree. Hand out paper to your students and task them with writing something on their leaf or leaves. Pick a theme like ‘why we like to read’, or ‘my favourite thing about __ book’. If the children are old enough, you could ask them to cut the leaf shape out of the paper. Otherwise, you could order some pre-cut paper leaves to save time.
This activity can be adapted in many different ways and doesn’t always have to be a tree. You could also try making an undersea scene or a roadmap with vehicles on it. We have lots of different pre-cut paper shapes to choose from to save you time.
- Set a homework task
A different way to turn reading corner decorating into a group activity is through an assigned task. This could either be homework each student takes home and works on individually or a group activity carried out during a lesson in class.
Through a more in-depth activity like this, your students get to work on something relevant to their lessons with a resulting piece of work that you can put on display to show off their achievement. Here are some activities you could try.
- Create a new book cover for your favourite book
- Create a new book cover for the book you’re currently reading in school
- Write a newsletter from a different time in history
- Create a room in a house from a particular time in history (to be put together as one whole house on the reading corner wall)
- Draw yourself as a character from your favourite book
Our blog is the place to go if you need more inspiration and guidance on reading corner displays. Find many exciting, creative ideas here to make your reading corner unique.
- Ideas for Your Classroom Reading Corner Display
- 25 Reading Corner Display Quotes
- Resources for Classroom Reading Corner Quotes
- Reading Corner Display Printables: What You Need and Where to Find Them
- Make a Winning Reading Corner Display Banner
- The Best Places to Find Printable Reading Corner Display Posters
- Our Top 7 Reading Corner Display Lettering Sets
- Make or Download a Printable Reading Corner Display Banner
- Reading Corner Display Ideas: KS2 Decorating Activities
Rearrange furniture
Moving furniture around is perhaps the easiest way to make a change in your reading corner. There are lots of ways you could organise the space differently to change the look and feel of not just the reading corner but the whole classroom.
If your reading corner seating runs along the wall, consider moving it out into an island in the middle, or place seats back to back or facing each other with one end against the wall to form an aisle in the middle. In doing this, you can create a small, cosy, enclosed space within the reading corner. Even bean bags and soft seats can be used to create these effects.
Use a table to create a cave in your reading corner quickly. Simply put the table against the wall and throw a sheet of fabric over the top, leaving a small space at the front as an opening. Use clothes pegs to shape the den's entrance and fill the inside with comfy cosy rugs and reading corner cushions. We love the camouflage den-making kit because it goes well in a nature-inspired reading corner, but you can choose from any type of fabric. Browse our den-making supplies for ideas.
Use two or three tables to create a deep cave, great for activities or group learning. Add some lighting to your cave with fairy lights or even a fibre optic lamp to make it really magical.
For more creative ways to use furniture in your reading corner, take a look at our resources. As education supplies experts, we’re full of ideas to help your students have more fun, focus, and learn.
- DIY Reading Corner Ideas
- Reading Corner Display Ideas for EYFS, KS1, and KS2
- Springboard Supplies’ Guide to Reading Corner Furniture
- Reading Corner Canopy Ideas
- 10 Reading Corner Rugs Teachers Love
- 7 Reading Corner Classroom Library Decorating Ideas
- Tips for Making a Cosy Reading Corner
- Reading Corner Phonics Books from the Teaching Supplies Experts
