World Book Day and National Storytelling Week - Teaching Resources

BBC Teach > Educational Calendar

Explore our collection of teaching resources for primary and secondary schools, perfect for inspiring your class with the joy of reading on World Book Day and with the wonder of stories during National Storytelling Week.

In 2022 National Storytelling Week took place 30 January - 6 February and World Book Day will take place on Thursday, 3 March.

Primary

Tales From Around The World

A series of short animated films based on folktales from around the world.

Bringing Books to Life 1

An adventure into the world of children’s literature as celebrity presenters share what they love about their favourite books.

Bringing Books to Life 2

More adventures into the world of children’s literature as celebrity presenters share what they love about their favourite books.

CBBC Book Club

CBBC Book Club is all about celebrating books and getting excited about reading! Each month Rhys Stephenson is joined by authors, illustrators and celebrities to talk about their latest books, stories they loved reading when they were young, the creative ways in which they write/illustrate and most importantly, getting children involved with games, challenges and book reviews.

CBeebies Storytime

CBeebies Storytime introduces children to a world of stories through beautiful, interactive story books. The app aims to inspire a love of stories in every child in the UK and support early years reading.

World Book Day's 10 Minute Story Sharing

These videos are from World Book Day's 10 Minute Story Sharing, where you can watch and listen to a selection of book readings with some of World Book Day's favourite authors. Reading together and sharing stories for a few minutes a day can contribute to pupil development. These videos can be enjoyed at home, or together as a class, and might inspire your pupils to find new ways to love reading.

Roald Dahl - Extracts

Three video clips featuring extracts from Roald Dahl texts read by Eniola Aluko, Bella Ramsey and Sir Michael Palin, designed to encourage pupils to think about storytelling and persuasive language in the most giganticus way!

The Tales of Beatrix Potter

Age 5 - 7. A collection of Beatrix Potter's best-known stories, read by famous voices.

Little Red Riding Hood

The story of Little Red Riding Hood told over the course of seven fun video clips.

Jack and the Beanstalk

An animated version of the classic fairy tale featuring Jack, Daisy the cow, some magic beans and a very big Giant!

Audio stories

A growing collection of audio stories for all age groups, arranged by theme.

Traditional Tales - Tiddalik the Frog

The traditional Aborigine tale is told in two animated videos for KS1 pupils.

Traditional Tales - Lakshmi and the Clever Washerwoman

The traditional Hindu tale is told in two animated videos for KS1 pupils.

Traditional Tales - Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock

The traditional West African tale is told in two animated videos for KS1 pupils.

Secondary

Curriculum Collections: English Literature / Language

Anthony Horowitz introduces clips from the BBC archive featuring famous faces including Stephen Fry, Kate Humble and Griff Rhys Jones.

LIT P.D.

A series of short films exploring modern English literature texts through a police-style dramatisation.

Invasion of the Bookreaders

In this series of short films a group of aliens explore some of the characters, plot and themes of key set texts.

Classic Stories

A collection of timeless fiction from the literary greats. Through BBC Sounds, you and your class can enjoy unabridged audio versions of classic novels.

Why is reading good for me?

In an era where there are so many other distractions, why do we still love to curl up with a novel and what are the benefits of doing so?

Interactive Lessons

World Book Day 2022 – Live Lesson

Join in with your primary class and celebrate the 25th anniversary of World Book Day.

Watch again: World Book Day 2021 - Live Lesson

Whether you're at home or at school, join us for a very special Live Lesson for primary pupils to celebrate books and share a story. We're learning all about themes in stories and how to identify them, hearing about the stories you've been reading and some of your favourite themes, and meeting some of the incredible people that write about them.

Watch again: World Book Day 2019 - Live Lesson

This Live Lesson, hosted by Ben Shires, was first streamed live on World Book Day 2019, and ties in with the curriculum for English and literacy at KS2/2nd Level. The programme challenges students to share stories and complete fun reading and writing activities to help Ben to save World Book Day.

Watch again: Roald Dahl Day lesson - The Power of Words

Watch our celebration of Roald Dahl Story Day with this special interactive lesson for pupils aged 7 to 11.

Watch again: CBeebies: Stories by the Sea - Live Lesson

This interactive lesson explores storytelling techniques for 5-7 year-olds with CBeebies friends from Old Jack's Boat.