Create a cozy reading environment for Pajama Day before you crack open the books. If you have a class reading corner, have the students help you prepare it for story time; encourage the children to bring in their favorite stuffed animals or a pillow to snuggle with while you read. You can also construct a quick fort using blankets or bed sheets and classroom furniture like desks and chairs. Dim the lights in the classroom and use lanterns or flashlights to boost the bedtime feel of your reading session.
A Pajama Day theme serves as an excellent opportunity to address a variety of important life lessons through reading. For instance, many young children struggle with common bedtime problems like being afraid of the dark or bedwetting; incorporating these issues into your Pajama Day reading can help boost suffering students' confidence, and can help to inform and educate the other students who aren't necessarily suffering from these problems. Similarly, children often put up a fight with parents when it comes to settling on a proper bedtime, so demonstrate the importance of maintaining an appropriate sleep schedule, as well as the importance of respecting the household rules.
There are many book titles on the market that cater specifically to bedtime themes, and any number of these would be suitable for a Pajama Day reading lesson. For instance, "Llama Llama Red Pajama" by Anna Dewdney addresses issues of bedtime separation anxiety and would be an entertaining read for preschool and kindergarten students. For a silly book, read "Pajama Day" by Lynn Plourde, which follows a forgetful Drew A. Blank as he scrambles to throw together a last-minute outfit for school Pajama Day. And for older children in grades 2 to 5, try incorporating a bit of a history lesson into your reading with "What You Never Knew About Beds, Bedrooms, & Pajamas" by Patricia Lauber.
Take some time both during and after you read to discuss the important themes and lessons from the stories; encourage students to volunteer their own bedtime routines and struggles as they relate to the book. Check to see if the book you read has some ready-made reading comprehension exercises like worksheets or topics for discussion that you can use as resources. If you have trouble finding materials, make your own reading reinforcement plans; cover new vocabulary words used in the text, discuss writing techniques like rhyming if the author used it, and have the students create other resources like timelines to break down the sequence of events in the story.